Top Free Resources for Retaking Maths GCSE

What if failing your Maths GCSE wasn't about being "bad at maths," but about using the wrong tools? The path to a pass grade is closer—and cheaper—than you think. Making two key decisions first will save you hours of wasted effort by ensuring you study the right material from day one.

First, you need to know which exam tier you are sitting. If your goal is to achieve a Grade 4 or 5 for a college course or apprenticeship, the choice is clear: the Foundation tier is your focus. This decision is critical because it dictates exactly what you need to learn, guiding you toward the correct maths gcse foundation past papers and away from more complex topics you won't be tested on.

Second, not all exams are created equal. Most students will sit their exam with one of three main boards, each with a slightly different feel:

• AQA

• Edexcel (Pearson)

• OCR

Knowing your specific exam board is essential for effective adult gcse maths resit help. Your first step after reading this is to confirm with your college or exam centre which one you're registered for. This guarantees the practice papers you use will be a perfect match for what you’ll face on exam day.

Your Core Revision Hub: The Best All-in-One Websites for Lessons and Practice

When you’re starting from scratch, you need a reliable home base. Forget endlessly searching for videos on one site and practice questions on another. The best free GCSE maths revision websites combine everything you need in one place, giving you a clear path from understanding a topic to mastering it. Two sites, in particular, are celebrated by teachers and students across the country for doing this brilliantly: Corbettmaths and Maths Genie.

Think of Corbettmaths as your personal, on-demand maths tutor. Its real power lies in the "Videos and Worksheets" section. Here’s the simple, effective method: find a topic you’re struggling with, watch the short, clear video explaining it step-by-step, and then immediately download the free practice worksheet that goes with it. This watch-then-do approach is perfect for building your understanding from the ground up, one topic at a time.

Next, you have Maths Genie, which is fantastic for getting you exam-ready. While it also has video tutorials, its standout feature is a huge collection of past paper questions organised by topic and grade. After learning a topic on Corbettmaths, you can head to Maths Genie to tackle real exam-style questions. Best of all, every question comes with a full "worked solution" showing you exactly how to get the right answer, which is a lifesaver when you get stuck.

Using these two sites together gives you a powerful learning system. You can learn a concept with a Corbettmaths video, cement it with their worksheet, and then test your skills against real exam questions on Maths Genie. This structured approach removes the guesswork and helps you build a solid foundation. But to make knowledge stick, you need to practice a little bit every day.

How to Build Confidence: Daily Practice with '5-a-day' and Topic Quizzes

Learning a maths topic is one thing, but making sure it doesn't vanish from your memory a week later is the real challenge. The key isn't to study for hours on end, but to practice a little bit every single day. Think of it like exercise; a short, daily workout is far more effective for building strength than one massive session every month. This consistent effort is what turns forgotten facts into solid knowledge.

A brilliant tool for this daily practice is Corbettmaths' "5-a-day". Every day, the site provides a new worksheet with just five mixed-topic questions, tailored for different difficulty levels. Spending 10-15 minutes on this forces your brain to switch between different skills—just like in the real exam. This small daily habit is one of the most powerful ways to keep every topic fresh in your mind and improve your recall speed.

For those moments when you want to quickly check if a new topic has sunk in, the BBC Bitesize maths GCSE revision section is perfect. After you've learned about something like algebra or probability, you can use their free interactive quizzes. Think of each one as a mini online maths GCSE diagnostic test. It gives you immediate feedback, so you know right away if you’ve grasped the concept or if you need a bit more practice before moving on.

By combining these tools, you create a powerful daily routine. A "5-a-day" worksheet can warm up your brain, while a quick Bitesize quiz can confirm your understanding of a new lesson. Once this daily practice becomes a habit and your knowledge feels more secure, you'll be ready to tackle the final step in your preparation.

The Final Step: Where to Find Free Past Papers (And How to Use Them Effectively)

After weeks of practice, you’ve rebuilt your knowledge topic by topic. Now it’s time to put it all together and prove you can handle the real thing. This final step is all about moving from knowing the maths to passing the exam, and the key is practicing with official past papers. This is the closest you’ll get to experiencing the actual GCSE before you walk into the hall.

The best place to find a huge library of maths gcse foundation past papers—and higher tier ones, too—is Maths Genie. The site neatly organises papers by exam board (AQA, Edexcel, OCR) and includes the all-important mark schemes for free. If you know your specific exam board, you can also get them directly from their websites.

Simply finding the papers isn’t enough; the secret is to treat them like a real exam. Find a quiet space, set a timer for the correct duration (e.g., 90 minutes), and work through the paper without any notes or help. This is your dress rehearsal. It trains you to manage your time, get used to the specific wording of questions, and practice your non-calculator paper revision tips under pressure.

The real learning happens after you’ve finished. Using the mark scheme, carefully check your work. Don't just see if the final answer is right. Instead, analyse where you lost marks. Was it a simple calculation error? Did you misunderstand the question? The mark scheme shows you how points are awarded, helping you see where you can pick up valuable marks even if you don't get the final answer perfect. This analysis transforms a simple test into a powerful tool for improvement.

Need to Study on the Go? The Best Free Apps for Quick Revision

While full practice papers are essential, finding a quiet 90-minute slot can be a real challenge when you're juggling work, family, or other commitments. You can turn small pockets of dead time—like the ten minutes waiting for a bus or the ad break on TV—into productive revision sessions. This is a great way to keep your maths skills sharp without needing to sit at a desk.

Image suggestion: A person casually looking at a smartphone while sitting on a bench or on public transport.

This is where your phone becomes a powerful tool. The idea is called 'micro-learning'—using short bursts of time to test yourself on things you've already covered. One of the best free apps for GCSE maths is the CGP Revision app, which offers quick-fire questions on specific topics. It's perfect for drilling a skill you learned last week, like calculating percentages or simplifying ratios, ensuring the information doesn't fade from memory.

These apps are best used as a supplementary tool. They are brilliant for quick practice and building confidence but aren't designed for learning a complex new topic from scratch. Think of them as flashcards, not a textbook. Using an app for just five minutes a day provides the kind of consistent practice that makes a huge difference, offering valuable adult GCSE maths resit help that helps you improve your GCSE maths grade for free.

Your Action Plan: How to Start Revising in the Next 10 Minutes

Before you started reading, the path to your maths GCSE resit might have felt overwhelming—a common feeling when you're wondering what to do next after a previous attempt didn't go to plan. Now, you have a clear map to the best free tools available. You’re no longer just staring at the problem; you're equipped to solve it.

The biggest hurdle, however, isn't the maths—it's getting started. To turn this knowledge into a grade you can be proud of, here is your immediate, non-intimidating maths resit study plan template.

1. Pick One Resource: Go to a site like Corbettmaths.

2. Find One Topic: Click on 'Videos' and find a topic you remember struggling with, like 'Percentages of amounts'.

3. Watch One Video & Try 3 Questions: Watch the short video, then try just the first three questions on the linked worksheet.

That's it. By taking that single, small action, you will have done the hardest part. You’ll have a clear answer for how to pass your GCSE maths resit: one topic at a time. This isn't about getting everything right at once; it's about taking control of your goal. You have the resources and the first step. You've got this.