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Hello Colleague

Welcome back to the new school year, we hope that the new term has got off to a great start for you. :)

Formulae sheets for the 2027 exams in GCSE (9-1) Maths and Level 3 FSMQ: Additional Maths are now available to download from the qualification webpages on the public website and Teach Cambridge. For more information, please see our subject update. As a reminder, it has now been confirmed that formulae sheets will be provided to students in GCSE (9-1) Maths exams until the end of the current qualification.

Amy has written a brand new GCSE (9-1) Maths blog. Drawing on examiner feedback, she explores common misconceptions and looks at practical strategies to help students overcome them.

As ever, if you have any queries or if we can give you any further support, please do let us know. Our role is to support you as you deliver our qualifications.

Neil, Steven, Ruth, Caroline and Amy

your Maths Subject Advisors

maths@ocr.org.uk
01223 553998
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Examine with us
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If you’d like to mark exam papers in 2027, we’re currently recruiting examiners for GCSE (9-1) Maths, Level 3 FSMQ: Additional Maths, A Level Maths A & B (MEI) and A Level Further Maths A. It’s a great opportunity to develop your understanding of a qualification and the assessment process.

 

 We’re also recruiting for moderators for Entry Level Maths and a GCSE (9-1) Maths test coordinator (the closing date for applying for this role is Sunday 11 October).

Visit our assessor recruitment website and search for ‘mathematics’ to find out more and apply.

 
GCSE (9-1) Maths updated specification and resources

We've updated the terminology used in Higher tier questions that require calculations with bounds.

From the November 2026 series onwards, we will no longer use wording such as 'maximum possible', 'minimum possible', 'shortest possible' or 'longest possible'. Students will be asked to calculate the 'lower bound' or 'upper bound' of a value where appropriate.

Students

We've amended the GCSE (9-1) Maths specification to reflect this change. It now includes revised examples for statement 4.01c. This updated version is available from the public website or Teach Cambridge.

We’ve also updated several related resources, including revision checklists and tests. For full information, please see our subject update.

AS and A Level Maths B (MEI) large data sets
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Following feedback from teachers, we’re changing how we use the large data set pre-release material in our AS and A Level Maths B (MEI) assessments.  

Instead of using a different data set each series, we're now reducing the number of large data sets issued and after summer 2027 will just use ‘large data set 10’ for assessments.

For more information including confirmation of summer 2027 large data sets, please see our subject update.

 
Core Maths pre-release materials and AMSP network

The pre-release dataset for the Core Maths B ‘Statistical Problem Solving’ summer 2028 exam is now published on our public website and Teach Cambridge.  
Teacher working on a laptop

 

The data is the same as in the summer 2026 and 2027 datasets, however the data source link has now been updated (it now links to the CIA World Factbook Archive instead of CIA World Factbook). The data source link has also been updated in the summer 2027 pre-release data set, which was published on 1 September 2025.

For more information, please see our subject update.

AMSP are also running a free specification network for our Core Maths qualifications on Wednesday 7 October at 16:00.

Updated tests for Entry Level Mathematics
Students in lesson

 As part of our accessibility principles, we have improved the clarity of the preliminary and final written tests for Entry Level Mathematics (R449). The updated tests are now available for you to use with your students.  

 

You can download the tests from the ‘Assessment’ > ‘Exams’ > ‘Controlled materials’ section of Teach Cambridge.

Please make sure you're using the updated tests with your students from now on.
Maths professional development

Maths professional development courses for this academic year are available to book on our professional development webpage.

The below courses are coming up later this term.
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  • Thursday 5 November - Exam Review: Core Maths A and B
  • Monday 9 November - Exam Review: Foundation tier GCSE (9-1) Maths
  • Wednesday 11 November - Exam Review: Higher tier GCSE (9-1) Maths
  • Thursday 12 November - Exam Review: A Level Further Maths A and B (MEI)
  • Tuesday 17 November - Enhance your Teaching: Marking and mark schemes training for GCSE (9-1) Maths
  • Wednesday 18 November - Exam Review: A Level Maths A (Applied content)
  • Tuesday 24 November - Exam Review: A Level Maths A (Pure content)
  • Monday 30 November - Exam Review: Level 3 FSMQ: Additional Maths
  • Monday 14 December - Exam Review: A Level Maths B (MEI) (Pure content)

Several on-demand professional development courses are also available from the webpage.

Materials from past courses are available to download from Teach Cambridge. Select your qualification, then in the menu go to ‘Training’, then ‘Past training events’.

 
Upcoming maths teacher networks
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We’ve another set of online teacher networks coming up this term. These are free to attend and set up to bring maths teachers together, so we can share relevant updates, answer your questions, discuss best practice collectively and more.

Book your place now for any of the below:

  • Thursday 08 October - A Level Maths
  • Tuesday 13 October - A Level Further Maths A & B (Pure)
  • Wednesday 14 October - GCSE (9-1) Maths
  • Wednesday 04 November - Level 3 FSMQ: Additional Maths
  • Tuesday 10 November - A Level Further Maths A & B (Mechanics)
  • Tuesday 17 November - A Level Further Maths A & B (Statistics)
  • Thursday 19 November - A Level Further Maths A & B (Discrete Modelling with Algorithms)
  • Wednesday 25 November - A Level Maths A & B (Pure
  • Tuesday 08 December - A Level Further Maths A & B (Additional Pure & Extra Pure)
  • Thursday 10 December - A Level Further Maths B (MEI) (Numerical Methods)

If you’d be interested in running a future face-to-face network at your school or college, please let us know.

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