GCSE Foundation · grades 1–5 · 25% of marks
GCSE Foundation — Number
25% of a GCSE Foundation entry is number, spread across all three papers rather than gathered into one. The DfE lists 16 content statements for number at this tier, and the question bank is organised by them rather than by chapter headings, so you can see exactly which one you are weak on. Expect ordering numbers and inequality symbols, the four operations and place value, inverse operations and priority of operations, factors, multiples, primes, HCF and LCM, systematic listing and the product rule for counting and powers and roots. Everything on this page is Foundation content, which means a Higher student needs it too — Higher is Foundation plus more, not instead of. The assessment objectives split 50% AO1 against 50% AO2 and AO3 combined, which is why so many questions ask you to explain or to justify rather than simply to calculate. Most of this area is natural Paper 1 material, so practise it without a calculator before you practise it with one.
- N1 — Ordering numbers and inequality symbols
- N2 — The four operations and place value
- N3 — Inverse operations and priority of operations
- N4 — Factors, multiples, primes, HCF and LCM
- N5 — Systematic listing and the product rule for counting
- N6 — Powers and roots
- N7 — Calculating with roots and indices
- N8 — Exact calculation: fractions, surds and π
- N9 — Standard form
- N10 — Fractions and decimals, including recurring decimals
- …and 6 more number statements at this tier
Practise
The 16 DfE statements in number at Foundation
Higher-only statements are not listed here; statements with a Higher-only part are marked and the part is quoted.
Related
Questions people ask
How much of the GCSE Foundation paper is number?
25% of the total marks, and the three papers each carry an equal share of the qualification, so it is spread across all of them rather than concentrated in one.
How many topics are there in number at GCSE Foundation?
16 DfE content statements, coded N1 to N16 within this area. Every question in the bank is tagged to one of them.
Is any number content on this page Higher only?
No. Foundation pages only show statements a Foundation entry may be asked. The Higher-only number material is on the GCSE Higher page for this area.
Can I use a calculator for number questions?
Paper 1 is non-calculator; Papers 2 and 3 allow one. Of the 16 statements in this area, 10 are naturally non-calculator and 1 naturally calculator, with the rest workable either way — so practise both.
What kind of marks does number carry?
The GCSE Foundation split is 50% AO1 (use and apply standard techniques), 25% AO2 (reason, interpret and communicate) and 25% AO3 (solve problems in and out of context). Questions in this area are set across all three.
Are these past paper questions?
No. Every question at /gcse-foundation is original, written to the DfE content statements and checked before it is published. We do not host past papers or mark schemes.