Grade 4 Essentials for GCSE Maths: Module 1: Number & Ratio

Do you want to know how to get a Grade 4 in GCSE Maths? This is a great place to start!

The Grade 4 Essentials for GCSE Maths course covers all the topics you need to be comfortable with, in order to be confident of getting a secure Grade 4 – possibly even a Grade 5 – in GCSE Maths. It’s also suitable for anyone doing the Edexcel International GCSE (IGCSE), since there’s very little difference between the two qualifications at Foundation level.

It’s divided into four modules:

• Module 1: Number and Ratio (this module)
  
• Module 2: Geometry and Measure
• Module 3: Algebra and Graphs
• Module 4: Statistics and Probability

It’s ideal for home educators, adult learners, and anyone else who feels they would benefit from a bit of extra support to get that magic Grade 4.

The modules can be completed in any order, but it’s recommended that you start off with Module 1 Section 1, and that you work through the lessons in each module in the order shown – though it’s a good idea to mix up topics and revisit them in between studying different areas (this is called interleaving). You can revisit each lesson as many times as you like.

You can watch the introduction and the first six video lessons – that’s over an hour’s worth – as a free preview of the course. Just click on the Curriculum tab to see it. (If you’re on mobile then it’s the little cube on the middle tab above this box.) I hope you’ll find them useful enough to want to subscribe for the rest of it too!

Each module consists of three sections, and in each section there are:

• multiple video lessons
• supporting handouts that you can print out (though you can manage without most of them if you don’t have access to a printer)
• quizzes for you to check your understanding
• links to free online resources that you can use for additional practice.

The video lessons include lots of opportunities to practise the skills being taught. To make the most of each lesson you should pause the video when prompted, and try to answer any questions that have been set, before you continue watching to see the solutions. If you’re not able to do the questions straight away then don’t worry, but try to reveal the solutions just a bit at a time, then pause again and make some progress on your own before revealing the next bit. So although the running time of each video is usually between 5 and 15 minutes, if you use them properly then they’ll take you considerably longer.

Once you’ve completed all the lessons, you qualify for a completion certificate, which you can download for free. I could have set a pass mark based on quiz scores but, since the aim is to build your confidence and skills rather than to hit an arbitrary number of correct answers, I decided that completion was more appropriate. The quizzes are more of a tool for you to check how well you’ve understood and remembered the material.

There’s nothing to prevent you from marking all the lessons as complete without actually working through them, but if you do that then you’ll only be cheating yourself! If you’re confident that you don’t need some of the lessons then have a go at the relevant quizzes first. If you get the questions for those lessons right then you can probably get away with skipping them (though you may miss out on some useful nuggets of information), but if you don’t then it’s definitely worth working through the lessons.

Of course, you will also need to practise exam questions. This course series focuses more on the underlying skills. There are great – and free – collections of exam questions by topic, with solutions, available from Maths4Everyone, SaveMyExams and JustMaths, as well as complete past papers on various sites. For GCSE you don’t just need to stick to your own exam board; questions from all boards are worth doing.

I’d appreciate constructive feedback (by commenting on the lessons or by private message to B28 Maths Tutor on Facebook)… and if you like the course enough to leave a 5-star review then I’ll give you a code to get the next module FREE!