IGCSE maths revision: what to do first, and a 12-week plan
Good IGCSE maths revision is past-paper practice done in the right order: find the weak topics, fix them one at a time, then sit full papers against the clock. This guide covers Cambridge 0580 and Edexcel 4MA1, for Year 11 / Grade 10 students and the parents behind them.
Checklist, one untimed paper, then algebra firstNumber, geometry, mensuration, probabilityFull papers against the clock, error log every week“Show that”, worded problems, latest papersShort daily sessions, no new topics, sleep
Diagnose first. Then revise.
Most revision plans start with a timetable — this one starts with finding out what is actually weak
What is ClassArc?
ClassArc is live one-to-one online maths tutoring for school-age children.
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IGCSE maths revision is questions, marked, not notes re-read
The fastest IGCSE maths revision is doing exam questions from your own board, marking them with the official mark scheme, and recording every lost mark. Reading notes and watching videos feel productive but move very few marks on their own.
Order matters as much as effort. Start by finding the weak topics with the IGCSE maths topic checklist, fix algebra first because it underpins every paper, then move on to full timed papers about halfway through the plan.
Right papers
Check the board, tier and paper codes before revising anything
Each one changes which past papers are worth your child's time.
Cambridge IGCSE 0580, Core: Paper 1 (non-calculator) and Paper 3 (calculator), 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks each.
Cambridge IGCSE 0580, Extended: Paper 2 (non-calculator) and Paper 4 (calculator), 2 hours and 100 marks each.
Edexcel 4MA1: Foundation (1F, 2F) or Higher (1H, 2H); two papers of 2 hours and 100 marks, with a calculator allowed on both.
Edexcel in the UAE in June: centres sit the regional R papers, such as 4MA1/1HR. Where Pearson has released them, practise from those.
A code starting 1MA1 means the UK GCSE, which has three papers rather than two. The timings in this guide will not match.
Topic order
Revise IGCSE algebra first, then the reds
Algebra earns marks on every paper at both boards, and at Extended and Higher it sits inside questions labelled geometry, graphs and probability. A sensible order for most students:
Algebra basics. Expanding, factorising, linear and simultaneous equations, rearranging. At Extended or Higher: quadratics by all three methods, and algebraic fractions.
Non-calculator number. Fractions, negatives, indices, standard form, percentages by hand, estimation.
Ratio, proportion and percentages. Reverse percentages, compound interest, direct and inverse proportion — usually as multi-step worded questions.
Graphs.y = mx + c, gradients, real-life graphs. At the higher tiers: perpendicular lines and sketching curves.
Geometry and trigonometry. Angle reasons, circle theorems, Pythagoras, right-angled trigonometry. At the higher tiers: sine and cosine rules, 3D problems, vectors.
Mensuration. Arc length and sector area, which no formula list prints, then compound volumes and surface areas.
Probability and statistics. Tree diagrams and grouped-data averages; at the higher tiers, conditional probability, cumulative frequency and histograms.
Higher-tier extras. Functions, differentiation, bounds and surds.
Topics students leave too late: bounds, vectors, histograms with unequal class widths, and “show that” algebra. Put them early in the plan instead.
Exam technique
IGCSE maths exam tips board by board
Cambridge 0580: the non-calculator papers
From the 2025 exams, Cambridge Papers 1 and 2 are non-calculator. Before 2025, a calculator was allowed on every 0580 paper, so older Paper 1 and Paper 2 questions were written for students holding one.
Use older 0580 papers mainly for Papers 3 and 4, and practise the non-calculator papers from 2025 onwards material. Ten minutes a day of fraction arithmetic, long multiplication and division, and exact answers in terms of π pays off quickly.
Non-calculator
Work out 2⅔ ÷ 1⅕, giving your answer as a mixed number.
8/3 × 5/6 = 40/18 = 2&frac29;. Converting to improper fractions first is the whole method.
Edexcel 4MA1: calculator on both papers
Both 4MA1 papers allow a calculator, which tempts students to write answers only. A wrong calculator answer with no method shown scores zero, whereas the same slip with working on the page usually keeps the method marks.
On every IGCSE paper
Write the method down, even for two-mark questions.
Keep full calculator accuracy until the final line; Cambridge wants non-exact answers to 3 significant figures, angles to 1 decimal place.
“Show that” means the answer is given and the working earns the marks.
Mark angles and lengths on the diagram; diagrams are usually not to scale.
Use marks as a clock: about a minute a mark, slightly more on Cambridge Core.
Where it usually goes wrong Rounding halfway through. A length rounded to 3 significant figures and then reused in a cosine rule drifts just far enough to lose the final accuracy mark.
Method
Five revision methods that actually move maths marks
Each of these has your child producing answers rather than recognising them.
Practice testing: topic questions and past papers, marked against the official scheme.
Spacing: come back to each topic three or four times across the weeks instead of finishing it once.
Interleaving: once a topic is secure, mix it with others, because the exam never announces which topic a question belongs to.
An error log: every lost mark goes in a notebook with the question, the reason (method, arithmetic, misread, never learned) and the correct method. Rework it weekly.
Timed papers: from week 7, full papers at the real time limit, and for Cambridge no calculator on Paper 1 or 2.
The plan
A 12-week IGCSE maths revision plan to the summer exams
Count back twelve weeks from your child's first maths paper; for the May/June series that usually puts week 1 in February. Get the exact paper dates from your school's exams officer, and plan lighter weeks around Ramadan and the spring break. Allow about 4–5 hours of maths a week in weeks 1–6, rising to 6–7 hours in weeks 7–12.
Week
Focus
What to do
1
Diagnose
Rate the topic checklist. Sit one paper of each type untimed, mark it and start the error log.
2
Algebra 1
Expanding, factorising, linear and simultaneous equations, rearranging. Ten non-calculator number questions a day.
3
Algebra 2
Quadratics, inequalities, sequences; algebraic fractions and functions at the higher tiers. Revisit week 2 errors.
4
Number and proportion
Percentages, ratio, proportion, standard form, bounds; surds and indices at the higher tiers.
5
Geometry and trigonometry
Angle reasons, circle theorems, Pythagoras, SOH CAH TOA; sine and cosine rules, 3D and vectors at the higher tiers.
6
Mensuration, probability, statistics
Arcs and sectors, volume and surface area, tree diagrams, grouped data; histograms and cumulative frequency at the higher tiers.
7
First timed papers
One full paper of each type under exam conditions. Log errors and re-teach the two weakest topics.
8
Reds, round two
Every topic still amber or red on the checklist, then mixed practice.
9
Timed papers
Two full papers, with attention on which questions to skip and return to.
10
Technique
“Show that” questions, long worded problems and non-calculator accuracy. Rework the whole error log.
11
Timed papers
Two full papers from the latest available series — R versions for Edexcel candidates in the UAE.
12
Taper
Short daily sessions: formulas from memory, the error log, one question per topic. No new topics.
Between two papers from the same board, keep going with short timed sections rather than stopping maths altogether.
For parents
Parents can support IGCSE revision without teaching the maths
Own the timetable. Put the plan on the wall and check it once a week rather than every evening.
Ask about the error log. “What went wrong this week, and why?” gets a more useful answer than “Did you revise?”
Guard the timed papers. An Extended Paper 4 lasts two hours; find a quiet weekend slot and protect it.
Running the plan
A teacher can run the 12 weeks with your child
Some students follow a plan like this alone. Many drift by week four, usually when a red topic refuses to turn amber. A ClassArc teacher can take the plan on with two or three 55-minute classes a week, the same person throughout, re-teaching the stubborn topics and marking the timed papers with your child.
Homework is set to match each class and what school covers next, submitted inside ClassArc, and reviewed before the following lesson. The first class is free, with no card, and ends with an honest view of how much support the remaining weeks need.
Twelve weeks before the first paper suits most students, which means February for the May/June series. A student aiming for the top grades, or with several red topics, gains from starting in January.
Are Cambridge 0580 past papers from before 2025 still useful?
Yes, for Papers 3 and 4. Before 2025 every 0580 paper allowed a calculator, so older Paper 1 and Paper 2 questions are poor practice for today's non-calculator papers; use 2025-onwards material for those.
How many past papers should my child do?
Eight to twelve full papers, each marked properly and followed up through the error log, usually does more than twenty papers finished and forgotten.
Is it too late to move from Core to Extended?
The school makes the entry, and entries close well before the exam. If results have moved, ask the maths department as early as you can.
How many classes a week would suit the time left?
Two a week suits most students, and three in the final weeks before exams. WhatsApp us on +91 78781 48026 with the board, tier and exam date and we will suggest a pattern; plan prices are on the UAE pricing page.
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