Opening Maths Unlocked
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Opening Maths Unlocked
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GCSE MATHS REVISION
Revising for GCSE Maths Foundation is easier when you know what to work on next. Maths Unlocked helps you break the course into manageable topics, identify weaker areas and practise the skills that need the most attention.
Use this page as your Foundation revision starting point. Check the full curriculum, take the diagnostic if you are unsure where your gaps are, or choose a topic area and start practising.
Updated 30 September 2026
Use the complete Foundation Topics checklist to work through the full curriculum and identify gaps.
View Foundation topicsUse the Grade 4 Revision Checklist to prioritise important Foundation skills instead of trying to revise everything at once.
View the Grade 4 checklistTake the GCSE Maths Diagnostic Test to sample key skills and find areas that may need more practice.
Take the diagnosticFoundation Maths covers six broad areas. You do not need to revise them in isolation, but breaking the curriculum into sections makes it easier to organise your practice.
Build fluency with calculations, fractions, decimals, percentages, negative numbers, factors and multiples, rounding, estimation and standard form. Strong Number skills support almost every other part of GCSE Maths.
Practise NumberPractise simplifying expressions, substitution, equations, sequences, formulae and graphs. Algebra questions often require several small skills to be combined accurately.
Practise AlgebraRevise ratio, percentages, proportion, scale, speed, density and other real-life applications. These topics rely heavily on confident arithmetic and interpreting information carefully.
Practise Ratio and ProportionWork on angles, area, perimeter, volume, transformations, constructions, Pythagoras, trigonometry and other shape and measure skills. Drawings, units and mathematical notation matter here.
Practise GeometryRevise averages, tables, charts, scatter graphs, sampling and comparing data. Focus on both calculating accurately and interpreting what the data actually shows.
Practise StatisticsPractise probability scales, sample spaces, frequency information, Venn diagrams, tree diagrams and combined events. Be clear about what the denominator represents in each problem.
Practise ProbabilityStart by identifying the topics you cannot yet answer reliably. Use the full Foundation checklist or the Maths Unlocked diagnostic rather than revising topics at random.
If you do not understand a skill, review the method before attempting large numbers of questions. Make sure you understand why each step is being used.
Once the method makes sense, answer questions independently. A skill is much more secure when you can use it without copying an example.
GCSE papers do not tell you which method to use. Include mixed practice so that you have to recognise the mathematics for yourself.
Start with the mathematics that supports lots of other topics. Accurate arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and basic algebra are especially important because they appear inside many different GCSE questions.
Next, focus on skills where you already understand part of the method but still make mistakes. These are often quicker to improve than completely unfamiliar topics.
Then broaden your revision across the rest of the Foundation curriculum. Do not ignore easier-looking topics: reliable marks from familiar skills are valuable.
Use the Grade 4 checklist for a more prioritised pathway through Foundation Maths.
View Grade 4 prioritiesReading notes can help you remember a method, but GCSE Maths requires you to solve problems independently. Most of your revision time should involve actually answering questions.
Reviewing a worked example when you have forgotten a method.
Closing the example and attempting a similar question yourself.
Answering a mixed question without being told which method to use.
A wrong answer is useful if you work out why it happened. Was it a calculation error, a forgotten method, a misunderstanding of the question or a topic you have not learned yet?
Do not simply mark an answer wrong and move on. Return to the underlying skill, practise it, and then try another question later without help.
GCSE Maths includes both calculator and non-calculator assessment. Practise core arithmetic and exact methods without relying on a calculator, but also become confident using your scientific calculator efficiently when it is allowed.
Make sure you know how to enter fractions, powers, roots and brackets correctly on the calculator you will use in the exam.
You do not need to wait until you have revised every topic. Once you have secured several areas, begin mixing in exam-style questions so that you practise selecting methods as well as carrying them out.
As the exam gets closer, include longer mixed practice alongside targeted work on individual weaknesses.
Try a worked example and a small set of HCF and LCM practice questions before continuing into the full Maths Unlocked lesson.
Try HCF and LCM questionsCheck every skill that can appear on Foundation tier.
View Foundation topicsPrioritise key Foundation skills if you are targeting a Grade 4.
View Grade 4 checklistSample important skills and identify areas that may need more work.
Take the diagnosticMove from planning into lessons and questions across the curriculum.
Start practisingFoundation tier offers grades 1 to 5, while Higher tier offers grades 4 to 9. A Grade 4 or Grade 5 has the same value regardless of which tier it is achieved on.
Your school decides which tier you are entered for. If you are studying Foundation, focus on becoming secure across the Foundation curriculum rather than worrying about Higher-only content.
See the Higher Topics checklist if you need to compare the two tiers.
View the Higher Topics checklist