20 questions on the grade 4-5 content both tiers share — a fair test of whether a Higher entry is the right call.

⚖️ Foundation to Higher crossover check

Maths · GCSE Foundation · 20 questions · ~35 min

MathsUKwww.geekhero.co.uk

The tier decision is made by the school, but it is made on evidence, and this sheet is designed to produce some. Every question on it sits in the crossover band — the grade 4 to 5 content that appears on both the Foundation and the Higher papers: multiplying out and factorising, solving linear equations and inequalities, straight-line graphs and gradients, ratio and proportion, Pythagoras' theorem, angle reasoning, and averages from a frequency table. A student who works through this comfortably has the foundation a Higher entry needs. A student who is guessing on half of it will almost certainly come away with a better grade from a Foundation paper they can attempt in full. Useful for a parents' evening conversation, and for a department deciding entries.

1.Freya is designing a triangular flower bed. Two of its corners have equal angles, and the angle at the third corner is 40°. Work out the size of one of the two equal corner angles.
(a)70°
(b)140°
(c)50°
(d)20°
2.Write 0.25 as a percentage.
(a)2.5%
(b)0.25%
(c)250%
(d)25%
3.A shop recorded the number of books it sold on five days: 100, 40, 70, 20, 60. Work out the range of the numbers of books sold.
(a)100
(b)58
(c)80
(d)60
4.Work out 25% of 200.
(a)50
(b)100
(c)25
(d)800
5.In a right-angled triangle, the two shorter sides are a and b, and the hypotenuse is c. Write down the correct statement of Pythagoras' theorem.
(a)a² − b² = c²
(b)a² + b² = c
(c)a + b = c
(d)a² + b² = c²
6.Amelia is buying books. Each book costs £5 and she has at most £30 to spend. Write down an inequality for x, the number of books she can buy.
(a)5x ≥ 30
(b)x + 5 ≤ 30
(c)5x < 30
(d)5x ≤ 30
7.Solve the inequality 6.3x + 1.8 ≤ 40. Hence write down the greatest number with exactly one decimal place that satisfies the inequality.
(a)6.6
(b)6.1
(c)6.3
(d)6.0
8.Expand 2(x − 13)
(a)2x + 26
(b)2x − 11
(c)2x − 13
(d)2x − 26
9.Work out the median of these six numbers: 13, 21, 22, 36, 37, 47
(a)22
(b)36
(c)34
(d)29
10.At a point on a straight line, two angles are formed. One of them is 63°. Work out the size of the other angle.
(a)297
(b)117
(c)27
(d)63
11.A regular nonagon has 9 sides. Work out the sum of its interior angles.
(a)1260°
(b)1620°
(c)1440°
(d)140°
12.Solve 5(x + 3) = 40
(a)x = 8
(b)x = 11
(c)x = 7.4
(d)x = 5
13.A vertical line passes through the point (4, 7). Write down the equation of this line.
(a)y = 7
(b)x = 4
(c)x = 7
(d)y = 4x
14.A rectangular garden has its length and width in the ratio 5:3. Given that the perimeter of the garden is 64 m, work out the width of the garden.
(a)8 m
(b)24 m
(c)12 m
(d)20 m
15.The midday temperature in Leeds was recorded on each day of one week: 22 °C, 24 °C, 23 °C, 25 °C, 26 °C, 21 °C, 24 °C. Work out the mean midday temperature, giving your answer to 2 decimal places.
(a)24 °C
(b)5 °C
(c)27.5 °C
(d)23.57 °C
16.A right-angled triangle has a hypotenuse of 8 cm, and one of its shorter sides is 4 cm. Work out the size of the angle between that 4 cm side and the hypotenuse.
(a)90°
(b)45°
(c)30°
(d)60°
17.A straight line has gradient 3 and passes through the point (1, 4). Work out the equation of the line.
(a)y = x + 3
(b)y = 3x − 1
(c)y = 3x + 1
(d)y = 3x + 4
18.In a spelling test the 20 pupils in Group A had a mean mark of 80, and the 30 pupils in Group B had a mean mark of 70. Work out the mean mark of all 50 pupils.
(a)75 marks
(b)74 marks
(c)76 marks
(d)150 marks
19.Harry counted the coins he found on each of six days: 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 30. Write down the outlier.
(a)30
(b)8.5
(c)11
(d)5
20.Work out 50% of 60.
(a)6
(b)3000
(c)120
(d)30

What is on this worksheet?

The sheet holds 20 questions drawn from the MathsUK bank — the content areas covered: Algebra, Ratio, proportion and rates of change, Geometry and measures, Statistics (statements A4, A17, A22, A9, R5, R9, G20, G3, S4). It is pitched at GCSE Foundation and takes about 35 minutes to work through in full. It works as a class handout, a homework, or a warm-up before a test.

How to use the sheet well

Print it or open it on screen — both work. Printing is A4; the screen view fits phones and tablets.
Do all 20 questions before checking — about 35 minutes is the guide, but there is no time pressure.
Check the answers — press “Show answers” or print the answer page separately.
Redo the questions you got wrong — twice as effective as doing 20 fresh ones.
“New questions” — builds a fresh sheet on the same statements, so you can practise again without repeats.

Why this sheet helps

MathsUK worksheets use questions graded by difficulty and a fair spread of correct-answer positions (the answer is not always (a)) — so the student really has to think about each question rather than guess a pattern. Every question is tagged to a DfE content statement and checked before it enters the bank. The answers come with a step-by-step explanation, not just a value — so a wrong answer becomes a lesson.

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