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.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
2.A support strut for a shed roof is in the shape of a right-angled triangle. The two shorter sides of the strut are 5 m and 9 m. Work out the length of the sloping strut (the hypotenuse). Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.
(a)106 m
(b)10.2 m
(c)14 m
(d)10.3 m
3.Solve 3(2x − 1) = 27
(a)4
(b)5
(c)4.5
(d)4 2/3
4.Harry will spend at most £150 on a party. The cake costs £60 and each helium balloon costs £3. Solve an inequality to find all the possible numbers of balloons, x, that he can buy.
(a)x ≥ 30
(b)x ≤ 50
(c)x ≤ 90
(d)x ≤ 30
5.The numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 have a mean of 7 and a median of 7. The value 100 is now added to the list. Which measure is changed more by adding 100, and why?
(a)The median, because the median always jumps when the count of values changes from even to odd.
(b)The mean, because adding 100 to the list raises the mean by 100, from 7 up to 107.
(c)The mean, because every value counts towards it, so 100 pulls it from 7 up to about 20.3.
(d)The median, because 100 becomes the largest value, so the middle value moves from 7 to 12.
6.Work out 25% of 200.
(a)50
(b)100
(c)25
(d)800
7.Two of the angles in a triangle are 50° and 70°. Work out the size of the third angle.
(a)60°
(b)240°
(c)110°
(d)120°
8.A straight line passes through the points (2, 5) and (4, 11). Work out the gradient of the line.
(a)8/3
(b)−3
(c)3
(d)1/3
9.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°
10.Four books have 120, 200, 160 and 80 pages. Work out the mean number of pages.
(a)120
(b)560
(c)140
(d)280
11.A right-angled triangle has a hypotenuse of 10 cm and one of its other angles is 45°. Work out the length of one of the two shorter sides. Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
(a)10.0 cm
(b)5.0 cm
(c)7.1 cm
(d)14.1 cm
12.The solution set of an inequality is x ≥ 7. Write down the value that does NOT satisfy this inequality.
(a)8
(b)100
(c)7
(d)6
13.A sum of £150 is divided between Ben and Chloe in the ratio 2:3. Work out Chloe's share.
(a)£60
(b)£75
(c)£90
(d)£30
14.The mean of the four numbers 10, 15, 20 and x is 18. Work out the value of x.
(a)27
(b)72
(c)45
(d)18
15.Three angles lie on a straight line. They measure 38°, 95° and x°. Work out the value of x.
(a)133
(b)47
(c)227
(d)142
16.A zip wire is fixed at an angle of 50° to the horizontal, running from a high platform down to the ground. The zip wire itself, from the platform to the ground, is 12 m long. Work out the horizontal distance covered by the zip wire. Give your answer correct to 1 decimal place.
(a)15.7 m
(b)9.2 m
(c)12.0 m
(d)7.7 m
17.Solve the inequality 2(3x − 1) ≥ 4x + 8.
(a)x ≥ 4.5
(b)x ≥ 5
(c)x ≥ 1
(d)x ≥ 20
18.Which of these equations describes a vertical line?
(a)y = 5x
(b)x = y
(c)x = 5
(d)y = 5
19.A roof truss has two horizontal parallel rafters, one above the other. A straight strut crosses both rafters. Where the strut crosses the lower rafter, the angle above the rafter and to the left of the strut is 65°. Work out the size of the angle above the upper rafter and to the right of the strut, where the strut crosses it.
(a)65
(b)25
(c)115
(d)245
20.A right-angled triangle has two sides of length 5 cm and 12 cm, and the angle between those two sides is 90°. Work out the length of the hypotenuse.
(a)7 cm
(b)17 cm
(c)13 cm
(d)60 cm

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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