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9 IGCSE Maths Study Tips to Help You Boost Your Grades

Want to ace your IGCSE Maths exams? These 9 IGCSE Maths study tips will help you prepare effectively, boost your grades.

STUDENTS

Achiever Tandoh

5/29/20258 min read

9 IGCSE Maths Study Tips to Help You Boost Your Grades

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If you’re preparing for the IGCSE Maths exam, you already know it’s not something you can just wing the night before you write. The syllabus is packed with complex concepts, tricky questions, and high expectations. But here’s the good news: with the right strategy, consistent effort, and a handful of focused IGCSE Maths study tips, you can maximize your chances for success.

Every student wishes to get better grades, but what most students don’t know is that you don’t need to study harder to boost your grades. Most of the time, what you really need is a better approach not an extra hour every night.

This guide isn’t just about working harder. It’s about working smarter. Whether you’re aiming for a 95% or just trying to push past a 70%, these study tips are here to help you study with smarter and break through your own records.

Let’s dive in.

Understanding the IGCSE Maths Exam

Before diving into the IGCSE Maths study tips, it's essential to understand what exactly you're preparing for. The IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) Maths exam is designed to assess not only your ability to remember formulas and perform calculations, but also your understanding of mathematical reasoning, interpretation, and application.

Topics covered include:

Algebra: solving equations, factorization, graphing functions.
Geometry and Measurements: angles, area, volume, symmetry.
Number: decimals, percentages, fractions, ratios.
Probability and Statistics: interpreting data, calculating averages, and probability trees.
Trigonometry: sine, cosine, and tangent functions, especially in right-angled triangles.
Vectors and Transformation Geometry: vector notation and geometric transformations.

Each question paper will assess your understanding of methods, application of knowledge, and accuracy. The questions may seem straightforward at first glance, but they require critical thinking, strong foundational knowledge, and clear working out. Often, a seemingly simple question can trip you up if you don’t show working or if you misread the format. This is why mastering exam technique is just as important as knowing the content.

Why IGCSE Maths Requires a Strategic Approach

Cambridge math isn’t a subject you can “cram” the night before the exam. It's a cumulative subject, meaning that each topic builds on the previous one. If you don’t fully grasp the basics of algebra or geometry, it will be significantly harder to understand more advanced topics like functions, or trigonometry.

This means that effective preparation demands:

Consistent revision
Clear topic prioritization based on your strengths and weaknesses
Regular assessment using past papers to measure progress

Unlike memorization-based subjects where you might memorize facts and regurgitate them, Maths tests your ability to apply knowledge to unfamiliar contexts. That’s why using passive study methods like reading notes or rewatching lessons often creates a false sense of understanding. The real test is whether you can solve problems independently.

Now that you understand the ‘why’, let’s look at the ‘how’. Next, we will discuss some actionable IGCSE Maths study tips that have helped countless students excel in their exams, including those we’ve tutored at Chimhanda Tutoring.

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9 IGCSE Maths Study Tips That Actually Work

Tip 1: Know the Syllabus Inside Out

Your IGCSE Maths syllabus isn’t just there for the teacher but for you too. Every topic that could appear in your exam is listed there in the syllabus document. You’ll find not only the headings (like “Trigonometry”) but also the subtopics (like “Using the sine rule”). It details exactly what you need to know for each topic.

Print out the syllabus and highlight each section based on your comfort level:

Green: Confident
Yellow: Needs revision
Red: Unfamiliar or confusing

This visual guide allows you to focus on high-priority areas while ensuring you don’t waste time revising topics you’ve already mastered. Use it to check off topics as you go. Many students don’t do this, and it shows in their results.

Tip 2: Make Past Papers Your Best Friend

Past papers are one of the most effective revision tools, they are a goldmine when preparing for a math exam. They show you the actual phrasing, layout, and structure of exam questions. More importantly, they reveal which question types are frequently repeated and how the mark schemes reward the work out.

Do one full paper each week leading up to your exams. Review your answers against the official marking guide. Focus on two things:

What types of questions do you struggle with?
Are you losing marks for wrong answers, mistakes, skipped steps, or poor time management?

Use your past paper sessions to mimic exam conditions: no distractions, time limits, and only allowed writing materials. This builds your mental stamina and your awareness for test day.

Tip 3: Don’t Just Watch — Practice!

man wearing headphones while sitting on chair in front of MacBook

YouTube is full of great Maths tutorials and watching these tutorials might feel productive but unless you’re actively solving problems immediately after watching, it’s just entertainment, not learning. Think of watching a maths video like watching someone work out at the gym. You won’t get stronger unless you do the exercise yourself. Maths is a skill and like all skills, it’s built by doing.

Try this technique:

Watch a 10-minute explanation of a concept.
Pause the video.
Complete 3–5 related problems without looking at the screen.
Compare your answers and correct mistakes.

Active engagement is what transforms information into understanding. The same applies to studying your textbook. Just looking at textbook examples and moving on doesn’t help you learn the concept. Try the 2nd example and a few exercises to solidify what you’ve learned.

Tip 4: Target Your Weakest Topics First

It’s human nature to avoid things we’re bad at. But in maths, your lowest-performing topics often hurt your overall score the most. Your biggest gains come from improving in the areas where you struggle most. Instead of constantly revising topics you already enjoy, flip your focus. Spend extra time on the topics you struggle with. Whether it’s functions, probability, or trigonometry, consistent focused effort will help you improve.

Here’s what to do:

List your 3 most confusing topics.
Allocate extra revision time to just these.
Revisit them weekly until they no longer feel like weaknesses.
This doesn’t mean you ditch your stronger topics, it just means you avoid spending all your time doing what you already know.

This habit builds resilience, which is essential in exams. At Chimhanda Tutoring, many of our students have dramatically boosted their grades simply by overcoming fear of one or two difficult topics.

Tip 5: Build a Visual Formula Sheet

Cambridge exams provide some formulas, but not all — and certainly not examples of how and when to use them. That’s why it’s crucial to build your own formula sheet.

Make it visual:

Use colour to distinguish formula types
Include “sample questions” where you’ve used the formula correctly.

Stick this near your study space so you see it daily. Familiarity breeds confidence. If you can, it would help to learn as many of the formulas as you can, even the ones that are provided in the exam. This will help you recall formulas faster and apply them more confidently under exam pressure and saves you the time you’d normally waste flipping back and forth to the formula sheet during the exam.

Tip 6: Simulate Exam Conditions Weekly

Students often tell us, “I knew the content — but the exam was so stressful!” That’s why regular simulation of the exam is necessary. Doing past papers is one thing. Doing them under strict timed conditions is another. Get used to managing time, staying focused, and answering under pressure.

Here’s your plan:

Choose one paper.
Set a timer for the official time limit.
Sit in a quiet space. No phone. No music.
Pretend it’s the real deal.
Complete the paper, then mark it honestly.

This teaches you:

Time pacing (when to move on from a question).
Mental focus (how to stay calm under pressure).
Where you consistently lose time or marks.
The more you do this, the less intimidating the real exam becomes.

Tip 7: Focus on Working Out, Not Just Answers

Some students write just the final answer and get zero marks if it’s wrong. Cambridge awards marks for method. If you set up your problem correctly but make a small mistake, you still get partial credit. So even if you can get the answer mentally or by just using your calculator, do yourself a favour and show your work.

Make it a habit to:

Write every calculation step.
Label diagrams and graphs.
Check units and rounding.

This is one of the most overlooked IGCSE Maths study tips that could earn you crucial marks.

Tip 8: Break Revision into Daily Micro-Sessions

Don’t aim for 4-hour cram sessions. Instead, study in short, focused sessions of 30–45 minutes. These sessions are easier to commit to, and they help your brain retain information more effectively. Four 30 minutes sessions with 5 minutes breaks in between each session is much more productive than a single continuous 3 hours session.

Tip 9: Seek Help When You’re Stuck

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Even the best study plan can’t replace the value of clear guidance when you're stuck. One of the most powerful IGCSE Maths study tips is to ask for help early, not later. Struggling silently is one of the biggest mistakes you can make in a subject like Maths, where confusion in one topic (like algebra) can easily affect your understanding in the next (like functions). And having a misunderstanding in the basics will make the rest of the topic several times more difficult to grasp than it should be.

Here’s what you can do:

Ask your teacher for clarification in class or after class.
Form or join a math study group with classmates to discuss challenging problems — just make sure the focus remains productive.
Use online platforms with expert solutions and detailed explanations.
Hire a tutor if you're falling behind, especially one who understands the Cambridge syllabus inside out.

At Chimhanda Tutoring, we’ve worked with students who waited too long to seek support — and others who came early. The difference in outcomes is clear. Those who ask for help sooner build momentum, confidence, and competence much faster.

Remember: Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a strategy for success. Whether it’s one concept or several, you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

If you’re stuck and don’t know where to begin, we offer a free trial session so you can experience the impact of expert support.

Let’s walk the journey with you. You've got this — and we've got your back.