OxfordAQA International GCSE Mathematics Tutors Online

OxfordAQA International GCSE Mathematics is specification 9260. This page works from the current specification, version 5.1, which covers exams from May/June 2018 onwards.

This qualification has two tiers, and the choice of tier is the biggest single decision a student makes. Core is for grades 1 to 5. Extension is for grades 4 to 9.

A student must take two question papers at the same tier. Core students take Papers 1C and 2C. Extension students take Papers 1E and 2E. Both question papers must be taken in the same series.

The two tiers are not the same length. A Core paper is a written exam of 1 hour 30 minutes carrying 80 marks. An Extension paper is a written exam of 2 hours carrying 100 marks.

So an Extension student sits a longer paper carrying more marks, and sits 2 hours of examination where a Core student sits 1 hour 30 minutes. Each paper is half of the qualification at its own tier, and the specification states that this is 50 per cent of the assessment in both cases.

On every paper, content from any part of the specification may be assessed. The subject content shows the content that is assessed in each tier.

One line in the subject content matters more than it looks. All content can be assessed on the Extension Tier question papers. The Extension tier is therefore not a different syllabus. It is the Core content plus additional content on top.

Both tiers use the same style of question paper. There is a mix of question styles, from short single mark questions to multistep problems, and the mathematical demand increases as a student progresses through the paper.

There are only two assessment objectives. AO1 is recall and use of knowledge of the prescribed content for routine and multistep problems.

AO2 is applying mathematical skills, knowledge and reasoning to solve problems including justification and proof, and to interpret, communicate, infer and deduce.

That second objective is worth reading carefully, because justification and proof are written into it. A student who can reach the right answer but cannot show why has not fully met AO2.

The interesting fact is that the objective weighting does not change between tiers. The specification prints the same ranges at Core and at Extension: AO1 between 59 per cent and 61 per cent overall, and AO2 between 39 per cent and 41 per cent overall.

So moving up a tier does not make the exam more about reasoning and less about recall. It makes the exam longer, harder in content, and worth more marks, while keeping the same balance of the two skills.

What does change between tiers is the weight given to each topic area.

At Core, Number is weighted between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, Algebra between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, Geometry and measures between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, and Statistics and probability between 15 per cent and 20 per cent.

At Extension, Number falls to between 20 per cent and 25 per cent, Algebra rises to between 35 per cent and 40 per cent, Geometry and measures stays between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, and Statistics and probability falls to between 10 per cent and 15 per cent.

Algebra is the topic that grows most. A student who moves to Extension is moving into a paper where more than a third of the marks are algebra. Geometry is the only area whose weighting is unchanged.

The specification states that these weightings apply to the overall tier of assessment, not to each individual question paper.

The content is organised under four headings with reference codes. Number references start with N, Algebra with A, Geometry and measures with G, and Statistics and probability with S.

Number covers structure and calculation, fractions decimals and percentages, and ratio and proportion.

Algebra covers notation and manipulation, functions graphs and calculus, solving equations and inequalities, and sequences.

Geometry and measures covers properties and constructions, mensuration and calculation, and transformations matrices and vectors.

Statistics and probability covers presentation and analysis, interpretation, and probability.

The word calculus in that list deserves a specific answer. The calculus in this specification is differentiation, and it is Extension content. A student at Extension meets the gradient function, the differentiation of kx to the power n for a positive integer or zero and the sum of such functions, the gradient of a function as the gradient of the tangent at that point, and the use of differentiation to find stationary points, meaning maxima minima and points of inflection.

Areas under graphs also appear at Extension, but as calculations or estimates from a graph rather than as a technique in its own right.

Two other Extension items are unusual for a qualification at this level. Vectors include the sum of two vectors, the difference, scalar multiples, and geometrical problems solved by vector methods, though the specification notes that i and j notation is not required.

Matrices also appear at Extension: multiplication of matrices including a two by two matrix multiplied by a two by two or by a two by one, multiplication by a scalar, the identity matrix, transformations of the unit square represented by a two by two matrix, and combinations of transformations using matrix multiplication.

The matrix transformations are restricted to rotations of 90 degrees, 180 degrees or 270 degrees about the origin, reflections in a line through the origin, and enlargements centred on the origin.

The hardest fact on this page is the one most families have not been told. There is no formula sheet. The appendix is titled Formulae which need to be known, and it states that students are expected to know the formulae below, which will not normally be given in the exam.

The list of formulae that must be recalled is the quadratic formula, the circumference and area of a circle, Pythagoras' theorem, the trigonometry ratios for sine cosine and tangent, the sine rule, the cosine rule, the area of a triangle from two sides and the angle between them, the area of a trapezium, and the volume of a prism as the area of cross section multiplied by length.

Any other formula will be given in the examination, in the question for which it is needed. So the exam is not a memory test of everything, but those named formulae are memory.

The calculator rules are specific. Students need a scientific calculator for all papers. Graphical calculators, and calculators with built in symbolic algebra or calculus, are not allowed.

Students should use the value of pi from their calculators if it is available. Otherwise they should use the value of 3.142 given on the front page of the question paper.

Students should know not to round values during intermediate steps of a calculation. Rounding too early is one of the most common ways to lose marks on a long multistep problem, and this specification says it outright.

The grading rules differ by tier in a way that matters. A Core student is awarded a grade within the range of 1 to 5, and a Core student who fails to reach the minimum standard for grade 1 is recorded as U.

An Extension student is awarded a grade within the range of 4 to 9. And an Extension student who just fails to achieve grade 4 will be awarded an allowed grade 3.

So the two tiers overlap at grades 4 and 5, and the Extension tier carries a safety net that Core does not. A student who sits Extension and narrowly misses grade 4 still leaves with a grade 3, which is a better outcome than a student who sat Core and could not pass grade 1 at all.

A student who fails to reach the minimum standard for the allowed grade 3 is recorded as U and does not receive a certificate.

Exams are available in May/June and November.

The specification overlaps with AQA UK GCSE Mathematics 8300.

The structure of the paper rewards a particular habit. Because mathematical demand increases as a student progresses through the paper, the early questions are the ones that must be banked quickly and accurately, and the time spent on them should not be allowed to eat into the multistep problems at the end.