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What each tier can lead to

• Foundation: grades 1 to 5. The highest grade available is a 5.
• Higher: grades 4 to 9. There is also a safety-net grade 3 for students who finish just below a grade 4. Further below that, the result is unclassified (U).

Grades 4 and 5 can be gained on either tier, and the certificate does not show which tier was sat: a grade 5 is a grade 5. A grade 4 is usually called a standard pass and a grade 5 a strong pass.

What is the same

For AQA GCSE Maths, both tiers are three papers, and the first paper does not allow a calculator. Higher covers everything in Foundation and then goes further, so a Higher student meets harder versions of the same topics and some extra ones. Each topic page shows what Foundation requires and what Higher adds.

How the choice is usually made

The school decides the entry, normally during Year 11 and often after mock exams. Roughly:

• A student working securely at grade 5 or above, and aiming higher, is usually entered for Higher.
• A student working around grades 3 to 4 is often safer on Foundation, where a 4 or 5 is within reach without the risk of falling below Higher's safety net.
• The grey area is around grade 4 to 5. That is the conversation worth having with their teacher.

Questions worth asking the school

• Which tier are they likely to be entered for, and when is it decided?
• What grade are they working at now, and on which topics are they losing marks?
• Is there anything specific to practise at home before the mocks?

In England, students who finish Year 11 without at least a grade 4 usually carry on studying maths after 16, so a secure 4 matters more than it might seem.

How to help either way

Find out which topics they are on, use the worked examples to practise the method, and keep revisiting older topics a little at a time. The guide for parents covers the eight mistakes that cost the most marks, and the 12-week revision plan sets out an order to work through.