How to move from 2 to a 5 foundation maths GCSE?

[Thebestthingsinlife]

Is this possible? Realistic? How much work daily will DC have to do from now until exam? How should he be revising daily? We are looking for a tutor but that is only one hour per week. Year 11. Other subjects are ok; maths the weakest one.

Speaking as a teacher's wife here — my husband has taught GCSE/O-Level maths for 20+ years, and grade 2 to 4/5 on Foundation in Year 11 is honestly very doable with the right plan. What usually works: first find the exact gaps (it's almost always number skills and a few algebra basics holding everything else back), then work topic by topic with past-paper questions from the start, not at the end. Two hours a week is enough if there's a bit of practice between sessions — even 15 minutes of Corbettmaths 5-a-day makes a real difference. The jump from 2 to 4 is mostly about securing the 'bread and butter' topics that come up every single paper. Happy to explain the topic order he uses if that helps.

Thank you

You're very welcome — I hope the twice-weekly sessions go well for him. If you'd ever like that Foundation topic-order list (the 'bread and butter' topics his tutor can build around), happy to share it here.

Yes please; if you don’t mind sending it that would be appreciated. Thanks a lot

I agree with this. My eldest for various health reasons was unable to attend school and had a tutor a couple of times a week for one hour at a time and she went from a two in her first mock to getting a five in her final exam.

She did absolutely no revision or other work outside of these tutoring times but they focused on what she didn't understand and worked on where she would get the most marks.

They basically focused on teaching how to pass the exam while making sure they filled in the gaps in her knowledge.

A good tutor who understands how the exam works will be able to get the grade up.

Agree that a good tutor twice per week should help them get the grades up if they focus on where they get the most marks and covering the gaps. Let’s see how the January mocks go 🙏

Here it is — the Foundation topic order my husband uses, in priority order:

1. Number first: place value, ordering, rounding, estimating — everything else sits on this.
2. FDP: fractions, decimals, percentages and converting between them — worth a huge chunk of Foundation marks.
3. Ratio and proportion (sharing in a ratio, best buys).
4. Algebra basics: collecting terms, expanding brackets, solving simple equations.
5. Money, time, measures and converting units.
6. Area, perimeter and volume — big marks, mostly formula + practice.
7. Averages and data: mean/median/mode/range, reading charts and tables.
8. Angles and basic geometry (triangle facts, polygons).
9. Simple graphs and coordinates.

10. Basic probability. 11. For the push to 4/5: Pythagoras, basic trigonometry, standard form and indices.

The logic: topics 1–3 are the "bread and butter" — they appear on every paper and carry the most marks, so they come first. A grade-2 student who secures those plus area/volume and averages is usually most of the way to a 4 already. Hope the twice-weekly sessions go well — happy to answer questions here if anything needs explaining.

As a parent (with a maths degree) whose DD took some time to pass I agree whole heartedly with the list above.

I looked it up and grade 2 is the equivalent to grade E/F. I think you’ll need to teach him basic maths ie Y7 or even upper KS2 before GCSE curriculum as he doesn’t understand the basics. A grade 4/5 is only possible if he studies hard and wants to improve and it sounds like he doesn’t want to.

Thank you. Will share with the tutor

My son went from a 3 in February mock to a 6 in his GCSEs exam four months later. We found a maths tutor he liked and asked her to just concentrate on the basics to gain the easy marks. I learnt alongside him to support him. I printed off maths sheets to support the topic we were learning and then built up to doing the papers. It was constant work and focus. It benefited chemistry and physics too as he became more confident. It is possible but requires commited work from both of you. Good luck.

well done to your son. I may have to do some learning myself so I can support.

I have shared the above list with tutor. I hope they are focusing on the main topics and where he can gain the most marks.

Just to echo it's possible to go from a grade 2 to grade 5, but it will definitely take some consistent work. Tuition should help, but there probably needs to be some independent practice to go with it.

There are some good Maths websites out there like Maths Genie, First Class Maths, and GCSE Maths Lab (good for giving more structure).