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.Work out the median of these five numbers: 2, 4, 7, 12, 26
(a)24
(b)14
(c)7
(d)10.2
2.Which of these equations describes a vertical line?
(a)y = 5x
(b)x = y
(c)x = 5
(d)y = 5
3.A recipe for pastry uses flour and butter in the ratio 3:2. A baker has 180 g of butter and wants to make pastry using all of it. Work out the total mass of pastry the baker can make.
(a)300 g
(b)540 g
(c)450 g
(d)270 g
4.Solve 3x − 5 = 4.
(a)9
(b)−1/3
(c)6
(d)3
5.To solve 5x − 4 = 2x + 8, Chloe's working is shown. Line 1: 5x − 4 = 2x + 8. Line 2: 3x − 4 = 8. Line 3: 3x = 4. Line 4: x = 4/3. Chloe has made a mistake in her working. Which line contains the mistake?
(a)Line 1
(b)Line 2
(c)Line 4
(d)Line 3
6.A plumber charges a £35 call-out fee plus £20 for each hour worked, h. On a certain job the total charge was £115. Work out how many hours the plumber worked.
(a)4
(b)7.5
(c)5.75
(d)2.71
7.Priya says that x = 6 is the solution of the equation 4x + 8 = 24. Priya is wrong. Work out the correct value of x.
(a)12
(b)4
(c)8
(d)16
8.A charity collects donations from adults and children in the ratio 5:2. Altogether, £238 is collected. Work out how much more the adults donate than the children.
(a)£102
(b)£68
(c)£136
(d)£170
9.Factorise fully 5x + 5y − 5
(a)5(xy − 1)
(b)5(x + y + 1)
(c)5(x + y − 1)
(d)5(x + y − 5)
10.The price of a games console is reduced by 10%. In a later sale the reduced price is reduced by 10% again. Work out the overall percentage decrease.
(a)21%
(b)81%
(c)20%
(d)19%
11.A taxi company charges a £2.50 booking fee plus £1.80 per mile. A journey costs £15.10 in total. Work out the number of miles travelled.
(a)9.78
(b)8.39
(c)5.32
(d)7
12.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
13.A company's turnover this year is £180,000. Last year's turnover was £120,000. Write down this year's turnover as a percentage of last year's turnover.
(a)50%
(b)180%
(c)150%
(d)66.7%
14.A sofa costs £800. Its price is increased by 25%. Work out the new price of the sofa.
(a)£1,000
(b)£600
(c)£825
(d)£200
15.Solve the inequality 5x − 3 > 2x + 9.
(a)x > 4
(b)x > 2
(c)x < 4
(d)x > 36
16.A straight line crosses two parallel lines. One of the angles formed is (2x + 10)°, and the angle alternate to it is 74°. Work out the value of x.
(a)−32
(b)48
(c)32
(d)37
17.Two vertical masts stand on level ground, 40 m apart. One mast is 30 m tall and the other is 50 m tall. Work out the straight-line distance between the tops of the two masts. Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
(a)44.7 m
(b)34.6 m
(c)50.0 m
(d)60.0 m
18.Work out the equation of the straight line that passes through (−2, 3) and (4, −9).
(a)y = −2x − 1
(b)y = −2x + 1
(c)y = −(1/2)x + 2
(d)y = 2x + 7
19.Simplify 2b − 1 + 2b − 4 + 2b
(a)6b − 5
(b)6b − 3
(c)6b + 5
(d)8b − 5
20.An angle measures 108°. Write down the name given to an angle of this size.
(a)An acute angle
(b)A right angle
(c)A reflex angle
(d)An obtuse angle

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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