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 car park charges a £4 fixed fee plus £3 for each hour. Kofi has exactly £25 to spend on parking. Using the inequality 4 + 3h ≤ 25, work out the greatest number of whole hours, h, he can park for.
(a)7
(b)8
(c)6
(d)9
2.Two straight lines cross at a point. Which statement about a pair of vertically opposite angles is always true?
(a)They are always equal to 90° each
(b)They always add up to 360°
(c)They always add up to 180°
(d)They are always equal to each other
3.Solve x − 4 = −9
(a)x = 13
(b)x = −13
(c)x = −5
(d)x = 5
4.Write 1/5 as a percentage.
(a)20%
(b)5%
(c)50%
(d)25%
5.At a youth club the ratio of juniors to seniors is 3:5. There are 40 members altogether. Work out how many seniors there are.
(a)24
(b)15
(c)5
(d)25
6.Factorise fully 5x + 5y − 5
(a)5(xy − 1)
(b)5(x + y + 1)
(c)5(x + y − 1)
(d)5(x + y − 5)
7.Solve 7x − 5 = 3x + 11
(a)−4
(b)1.5
(c)0.6
(d)4
8.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
9.Solve 2x + 1 = 9
(a)x = 8
(b)x = 16
(c)x = 4
(d)x = 5
10.An amount of money is shared in the ratio 1:2:3. The largest share is £90 more than the smallest share. Work out the total amount that was shared.
(a)£180
(b)£540
(c)£135
(d)£270
11.A straight line crosses two parallel lines. An angle of 65° is formed at one crossing. At the other crossing, the angle that lies between the two parallel lines on the opposite side of the crossing line is also 65°. Write down the angle fact that explains why these two angles are equal.
(a)Co-interior angles add up to 180°
(b)Angles on a straight line add up to 180°
(c)Corresponding angles are equal
(d)Alternate angles are equal
12.40% of a number is 12 more than 25% of the same number. Work out the number.
(a)48
(b)80
(c)15
(d)30
13.A café sold 10 sandwiches on each of four days: 10, 10, 10, 10. Work out the range of the numbers sold.
(a)20
(b)40
(c)10
(d)0
14.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
15.A shop sold seven pairs of shoes in these sizes: 4, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6, 9. Write down the modal size.
(a)3
(b)9
(c)4
(d)6
16.Expand and simplify (x − 3)²
(a)x² + 6x + 9
(b)x² − 9
(c)x² − 3x + 9
(d)x² − 6x + 9
17.The equation 3(2x − 1) = 4x + 9 is rearranged by expanding the brackets. Which of these is the correctly expanded equation?
(a)5x − 3 = 4x + 9
(b)6x − 3 = 4x + 9
(c)6x − 1 = 4x + 9
(d)6x − 4 = 4x + 9
18.Priya has a budget of £50 for a school trip. The coach costs £14 and each student ticket costs £4. Using the inequality 14 + 4s ≤ 50, work out the greatest number of student tickets, s, she can buy.
(a)16
(b)9
(c)8
(d)12
19.A cycle route is 84 km long. Freya sets off along it at a steady 14 km/h. Write down the function for the distance y, in kilometres, that is still to be cycled after x hours.
(a)y = 84 + 14x
(b)y = 84 − 14x
(c)y = 14 − 84x
(d)y = 14x − 84
20.Expand 4(2x − 3).
(a)2x + 1
(b)8x + 12
(c)8x − 12
(d)8x − 3

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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