Edexcel GCSE Maths (9-1) specimen paper trial results and support
We’ve successfully completed our specimen paper trial, and you can now download the specimen papers and mark schemes used in the trial.
In March 2016, we completed a trial of our Edexcel GCSE Maths (9-1) specimen papers (set 1), released in September 2015, with nearly 3000 students. Most of these students were either in Year 10 or Year 11, with a small number of Year 12 students, across the full ability range. Thank you to all of the schools and colleges who took part.
Watch our short video to find out more.
What was the purpose of the trial?
We wanted to find out more about how students might approach new-style questions, to gain performance insight, and then use this to make further improvements to how we assess the new GCSE in our future mock and live papers.
As part of our ongoing commitment to support teachers in preparing their students for the new specification, we've used the outcome of the trial to provide you with more focused support.
Download trial reports and support materials
We’ve produced a Chief Examiner Report to give you insight into how students performed across all the papers. For question-level feedback, take a look at the Principal Examiner Reports for each paper.
We also spoke to teachers who participated in the trial, and on the basis of this feedback we’re creating 4 strands of new free support materials:
1. Exemplars
2. Tiering guidance
3. Support in understanding the new AO3 problem-solving requirements
4. Support in understanding the new AO2 mathematical reasoning requirements.
The first batch of materials is ready for you to download now. More materials for strands 3 and 4 will follow shortly.
Find all of these reports and support materials in the zip file below:
Make sure you stay up to date with all the support we have available by signing up to our Maths Emporium emails, or if you’re teaching our new Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Maths let us know here.