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OCR · GCSE · 2026/27

Will your child pass their GCSE Maths exam?

Not content tutorials. Every workshop is a paper-mapped session led by a facilitator who knows what OCR examiners reward — for both Foundation and Higher tier, including OCR's distinctive three-paper, 100-mark structure — followed by community support 7 days a week.

Why Workshops, Not Tutorials

Your school teaches
the content.
We teach the exam.

OCR's distinctive structure

Three 100-mark papers per tier, not two 80-mark papers. More scope per question for method marks — and a different feel under timed conditions than AQA or Edexcel.

The Higher-tier safety net

OCR Higher tier allows a grade 3 for students who narrowly miss grade 4 — a real structural difference from AQA and Edexcel that's worth understanding, not just hoping for.

Tier-aware technique

The same command word or abbreviation in a mark scheme can carry different weight depending on tier. We teach to the tier your child is actually entered for.

Small cohorts, always

Capped at 15 students. Never a lecture hall, never a recording on a loop.

Grade Boundaries

Know exactly what
each grade requires.

Boundaries vary by series — always verify current thresholds at the official OCR site before relying on these for a live decision. OCR's 300-mark total means its raw-mark boundaries cannot be compared directly to AQA's or Edexcel's 240-mark totals.

Higher Tier (grades 9–3, with safety-net access to grade 3) — Papers 4, 5, 6

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Jun 2025258212166126864727

Out of 300 (Papers 4+5+6, 100 marks each). Paper 4 is non-calculator; Papers 5 and 6 allow calculators. A student narrowly missing grade 4 can still be awarded grade 3 — OCR's "safety net," with no direct equivalent on AQA or Edexcel.

Foundation Tier (grades 5–1) — Papers 1, 2, 3

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Jun 2025182134955617

Out of 300 (Papers 1+2+3, 100 marks each). Paper 1 is non-calculator; Papers 2 and 3 allow calculators. Source: OCR official grade boundary documents, published 21 August 2025. Note: OCR's papers are worth 100 marks each (300 total) — different from AQA and Edexcel's 80-mark papers (240 total). Never mix boundary tables between boards.

Mark Scheme Literacy

The abbreviations
that decide your mark.

OCR's published mark schemes use a consistent set of abbreviations — figs, seen, isw, FT — that determine exactly when a mark is or isn't awarded. Misreading these costs marks a student had already earned the knowledge for.

Mark Scheme TermFoundation Tier MeansHigher Tier Means
figsFoundation papers rarely use this abbreviation directly in question text, but the same principle applies: only the digits matter for an answer, not placement of a decimal point or trailing zeros.On Higher tier, "figs 237" in a mark scheme means any answer with only those digits is acceptable — 237000, 2.37, or 0.00237 would all score, but 23070 would not, since its digits don't match.
seenIf the correct number or expression appears anywhere in the answer space, including on the answer line, the mark is awarded — even if it isn't part of the method that leads to the final answer.Same rule applies on Higher tier. This matters most in multi-step Higher questions, where a correct intermediate value can still earn a mark even if the final answer that follows is wrong.
isw (ignore subsequent working)In questions with no final-answer line, no marks are deducted for incorrect work that comes after an already-acceptable answer, unless the mark scheme explicitly says "mark final answer."Same principle, but Higher tier multi-stage algebra and calculus-adjacent questions make this rule more consequential — a correct simplified expression followed by a slip shouldn't cost a mark unless the scheme says otherwise.
FT (follow through)Marks can be awarded where a student's later working correctly follows from an earlier answer, even if that earlier answer was itself wrong.Same rule, but Higher tier FT marks more often depend on a "their" value from an earlier part of a multi-part question — e.g. "FT 180 × (their '37' + 16)" — so OCR's own notation needs to be read carefully against the actual mark scheme.
Frequently Asked

OCR GCSE Maths — Common Questions

How is OCR GCSE Maths structured differently from AQA or Edexcel?
OCR's papers are worth 100 marks each, three papers per tier, for a 300-mark total — compared to AQA and Edexcel's 80-mark papers and 240-mark total. The higher per-paper mark total gives OCR more scope to award method marks within each question, but it means OCR's raw-mark grade boundaries are not directly comparable to AQA's or Edexcel's. Always check which board your child is actually entered for before using a boundary table.
What is the OCR Higher tier 'safety net'?
OCR Higher tier is graded 9 down to 3, with one exception: a student who narrowly misses grade 4 can still be awarded a grade 3 rather than dropping straight to 'ungraded'. This safety-net mechanism is specific to OCR and doesn't have a direct equivalent on AQA or Edexcel Higher tier, which both go down to grade 4 with no equivalent buffer.
Which papers are non-calculator?
On Foundation tier, Paper 1 is non-calculator and Papers 2 and 3 allow calculators. On Higher tier, Paper 4 is non-calculator and Papers 5 and 6 allow calculators. Each non-calculator paper is still worth 100 marks, the same as the calculator papers.
Do you teach both tiers?
Yes — our facilitators work with both Foundation and Higher tier students, tailoring workshop content to the tier each student is actually sitting and to OCR's specific paper structure and mark-scheme conventions.
Is this instead of school lessons?
No — workshops reinforce exam technique and mark-scheme understanding alongside what your child's school teaches, scheduled around school timetables, not instead of them.
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