Every GCSE Maths Topic: The Complete Checklist (Foundation and Higher)
Sir Faraz Hassan
7 Jul 2026
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Revising for GCSE Maths is far easier when you know exactly what you are being tested on. The specification covers a lot, but every topic falls into just six main areas, and once you can see them laid out, revision stops feeling endless and starts feeling like a checklist.
Below is a complete list of GCSE Maths topics for both Foundation and Higher tier, grouped by area. Use it to track what you have covered and, more importantly, to find the gaps you have been avoiding.
How GCSE Maths is organised
Whichever exam board you sit (AQA, Edexcel or OCR), GCSE Maths is built from six main topic areas:
- Number
- Algebra
- Ratio, proportion and rates of change
- Geometry and measures
- Probability
- Statistics
Foundation and Higher cover the same six areas. The difference is depth: Higher includes everything on Foundation, plus harder topics such as advanced algebra, trigonometry beyond the basics, and more demanding proof and reasoning.
Number
The foundation of everything else. Topics include:
- Place value, ordering and rounding
- The four operations, including with decimals and negatives
- Factors, multiples, primes, HCF and LCM
- Fractions, decimals and percentages, and converting between them
- Powers, roots and standard form
- Estimation and bounds
- Surds (Higher)
Algebra
The single most important area for your grade, and for A Level beyond it:
- Simplifying and manipulating expressions
- Expanding brackets and factorising
- Solving linear equations and inequalities
- Rearranging formulae
- Sequences, including the nth term
- Straight line graphs and their equations
- Simultaneous equations
- Quadratic equations, graphs and the quadratic formula
- Functions, iteration and algebraic proof (Higher)
Ratio, proportion and rates of change
Often the difference between a pass and a fail, because it appears everywhere:
- Ratio and sharing in a given ratio
- Direct and inverse proportion
- Percentages, including increase, decrease and reverse percentages
- Compound measures such as speed, density and pressure
- Growth and decay, including compound interest
Geometry and measures
The most visual area, and one many students underrate:
- Properties of shapes and angles
- Angles in parallel lines and polygons
- Area, perimeter and volume
- Circles, including area and circumference
- Pythagoras' theorem
- Trigonometry (basic on Foundation, extended on Higher)
- Transformations and constructions
- Vectors and circle theorems (Higher)
Probability
Usually one of the more approachable areas:
- Basic probability and the probability scale
- Listing outcomes and sample space diagrams
- Frequency trees and tree diagrams
- Venn diagrams and set notation
- Conditional probability (Higher)
Statistics
Data handling and interpretation:
- Types of data and sampling
- Averages and range, including from tables
- Frequency tables and diagrams
- Bar charts, pie charts and pictograms
- Scatter graphs and correlation
- Cumulative frequency and box plots (Higher)
- Histograms with unequal intervals (Higher)
How to use this checklist
Do not try to revise everything at once. A smarter approach:
- Go through the list and mark each topic as confident, shaky, or not covered.
- Ignore the confident ones for now. Your marks are hiding in the shaky and uncovered topics.
- Prioritise Number and Algebra first, because they underpin the other four areas and carry the most marks.
- Turn each shaky topic into a short, focused practice session rather than vague revision.
Most students lose marks in a handful of specific topics, not across the whole subject. Once you know which ones they are, the path to a better grade becomes surprisingly clear. If one or two topics keep tripping you up no matter how much you practise, that is exactly where a one to one GCSE Maths tutor can save you weeks of frustration.
You can also check how your marks translate into a grade using our free GCSE Maths grade boundaries checker.
Frequently asked questions
GCSE Maths is organised into six main areas: Number, Algebra, Ratio and proportion, Geometry and measures, Probability, and Statistics. Each contains many individual topics.
They cover the same six areas, but Higher goes deeper and adds harder topics such as surds, advanced trigonometry, vectors, circle theorems and histograms. Higher includes everything on Foundation.
Number and Algebra are the most important, because they carry a large share of the marks and underpin almost every other topic in the course.
The core content is set nationally, so the topics are very similar across boards. The way questions are worded and structured differs, so always practise with your own board's papers.
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