Mr Tessacadabra

Cover of the eBook 'Mr Tessacadabra' by Jonny Griffiths, featuring colourful tile and tessellation patterns. Text indicates it's available for free and suitable for young mathematicians.

From the wonderful Jonny Griffiths – a new publication.

This time – a story about tiles and tessellations called ‘Mr Tessacadabra’.

It’s aimed at A Level Maths students and maybe keen younger students as well.
It’s a free PDF eBook in colour, and can be copied as widely as people want to copy it.

Get your copy free from https://payhip.com/maxhikorski

You can also find details of Jonny’s free publications on his website.

To quote Jonny:

Zak is grappling with three problems:
how to get his parents to stop arguing,
how to decide romantically between Sally and Jo,
and how to find a single tile that tessellates but only non-periodically.

The book is fully illustrated.

A series of geometric shapes demonstrating transformation: a yellow triangle evolves into an orange and yellow diamond shape, which then transitions into a rectangular prism made of yellow and orange triangles.
Wonky triangles!

There is much for students to think about here – thank you once again to Jonny Griffiths.
Make sure you check his other publications too.
I have been happily using many for decades!

AS/A Level Maths Question Generator

From M4TH5 we have a brilliant AS/A Level Maths question generator for Edexcel Maths and Further Maths.

Choose your topics and click generate. Note the ability to select specific questions; it is also possible to save a link to your chosen set. Flip the questions and we see the solutions.

We could remind students of essential GCSE Skills.

A screenshot of an AS/A Level Maths Question Generator interface showing various topics, a question generation option, and two displayed maths questions.

AS Level Maths Question Generator interface displaying various mathematical problem categories and a selection of questions.
M4TH5 AS/A Level Question Generator

Applied content is available for AS and A2:

Screenshot of an AS/A Level Maths Question Generator interface, featuring tabs for AS Applied, A2 Applied and various mathematical topics such as Data Collection, Statistical Distributions, and Probability.
Histogram displaying the mass distribution of potatoes in grams, illustrating the frequency density of potato masses between 100g and 400g.

A2 Applied

Remember you can flip the question to reveal the answer.
We can also enter full screen.

Screenshot of a web interface showing various topics in A-Level mathematics, including Regression and Correlation, Conditional Probability, Normal Distribution, Moments, Forces and Friction, Projectiles, Applications of Forces, and Further Kinematics.
An online tool interface for generating AS/A Level Maths questions related to forces and friction, showing two example questions with diagrams for a parcel and a box.

Look – Further Maths too!

A student's proof by induction includes a step with a mathematical statement related to divisibility by 8.

There are many excellent resources on this site – explore!


ESAT

Added to the University Admissions page, a valuable resource for the ESAT Admissions test.

ESAT
The ESAT (Engineering and Science Admissions Test) is a computer-based university entrance examination delivered via Pearson VUE test centres by University Admissions Tests UK (UAT-UK).

The ESAT Admissions Test is required for 2027 entry by Cambridge, Imperial, Oxford and UCL It is used for undergraduate STEM applicants across:

Cambridge: Engineering, Natural Sciences, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology, and Veterinary Medicine.

Imperial: Most Engineering disciplines (Aeronautical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical & Electronic, Mechanical, Design) and Physics.

Oxford: Engineering Science, Physics, Physics & Philosophy, and Biomedical Sciences.

UCL: Electronic & Electrical Engineering (with other engineering courses using alternative tests).

All applicants sit the compulsory Mathematics 1 module plus two course-specific modules chosen from Biology, Chemistry, Physics, or Mathematics 2.

A valuable resource for ESAT preparation comes from Lucas Rey. an Oxford DPhil aerothermal engineer.
Follow the plan suggested – Start here; the site has four sample papers and practice questions filed by topic published free, aditionally, full timed papers in ESAT practice, and the shortcut library, the essentials guide and the diagnostic.

Have a look at ESAT Mathematics 1 Practice Questions by Topic for example.

An algebra question regarding the intersection of a cable duct and a gas main, with coordinates provided for each line and multiple choice answers listed.
ESAT preparation – Lucas Rey

A comprehensive and clear worked solution is provided for each problem, including a section on why the incorrect options are wrong.

Maths Mondays

….for Functional Skills and Foundation GCSE Maths.

Iain Forsyth’s CrackMaths is offering free out-of-class support for resit students this year.

Every Monday from 7:00–8:00pm, Iain will be live on YouTube working through exam-style questions and helping students keep on top of their maths outside of their usual lessons.

From now until December, he will be focusing on the overlap between Functional Skills Level 2 and Foundation GCSE Maths, building up the core skills needed for both qualifications.

Then, in the new year, the content will move on to the additional Foundation GCSE content, working towards covering the full Foundation syllabus in time for the summer exams.

Each week, students are given five topics to work through independently before the following live Monday math’s session, when Iain will go through exam-style questions based on what they’ve studied and set the topics for the week ahead.
Although the sessions are live, they’re recorded and remain available afterwards, so students don’t need to be able to attend at 7pm. It’s really just about offering some extra structure and support for their maths outside of class.

You can find the scheme of work using this link, so you can see exactly what will be covered and when. Everything, including the weekly resources, can also be found at crackmaths.co.uk.

Remember, from Iain Forsyth’s Crack Maths learn Functional Skills Level 2 from 70 (all free) Tutorials. Coverage of the specification is comprehensive and very clearly presented. Plenty of practice questions are provided, making this a valuable resource for studying Functional Skills. Following each video, practice questions are provided, including scenario questions.The videos are all hosted on YouTube. Also available are exam paper walkthroughs.All the resources are freely available on the website; it is also possible to buy books for teachers or students who want printed copies. The Functional Skills book is also available from Amazon