Thinking about practising skills for GCSE, why not create some custom starters?


From Jake Gordon, try his Skills grid creator – customise exactly as you want from 90 skills, and answers are included.
On Jonathan Hall’s Test Maker on MathsBot we could create a test to test many of these skills. Choose the skills you want from the menu, the number of questions, and the initial and final difficulty of the questions on a scale of 1 to 10, also note the Paired Solutions option to show one example with an answer then one to try. An Answer Key is provided for any test you create.

We could also use the many brilliant GCSE resources from MathsBot.

Alternatively, using Transum’s Refreshing Revision, we could create a custom resource to check some of these skills. The resource allows teachers to select the number of questions and the topics to include; scroll down the page and choose the topics you want from the Concept Selection, it is also possible to drag the panels so your questions are displayed in the desired order. A very nice feature is the fact that you can save a particular selection of topics as the URL for your selection will be generated. Every time you refresh the page you get different revision questions. Note also the Advanced Level version. This resource like all the Transum resources is free to use, an extensive collection of resources such as the various KS3 and KS4 self-checking exercises mentioned below provide answers for any user. Answers for some resources such as examination questions and this Refreshing Revision resource are provided for subscribers; extremely good value for money in my opinion.
Transum has an extensive library of self-checking exercises, so we could easily provide examples on inequalities for example. On Transum, there are several ways to search for resources, for example, try:
- Topics
- Maths Map for learners
- Key Stage 4 (note the other options also)


See on Maths White Board: Revision Board – generate a starter based on the Advance Information

On Interactive Maths Generators from Dan Rodriguez-Clark (@InteractMaths), design your own sets of questions on more than 50 maths topics for your students to practice a variety of skills. There are many customisation options, generally as well as for individual topics. Full instructions are on Dan’s site.
On DrFrostMaths try the Question Explorer. A brilliant feature (well one of the many brilliant features) of Dr Frost Maths is the extensive collection of key skills for UK KS2 to KS5 (ages 8-18), practice as many examples as you want, and perhaps watch a video on this key skill.


On TES, from salimnore, this Excel spreadsheet generates an endless supply of 1 mark questions with the option to display the answers, making an ideal starter. Two versions are available, you can choose 5 or 10 questions to display.