Year 10 Learning

As with Key Stage 3, students are expected to progress through the curriculum when they are ready. This means that there is no formal end to Key Stage 3 or beginning to Key Stage 4.

GCSE Mathematics has a Foundation tier (grades 1 – 5) and a Higher tier (grades 4 – 9). The course is assessed through three terminal papers at the end of Year 11. Content from any part of the specification may be assessed in any paper.

Typically, students in Year 10 will be working through the topics listed below.

Topic	Key Content
Dimensions	Area of rectilinear shapes Areas of circles and sectors Properties of 3D shapes Volume and surface area Prisms and Pyramids Cones and spheres
Units	Metric and Imperial units Conversion between units of area and volume Compound units, e.g. Speed, Pressure and Density Upper and lower bounds
Congruence and Similarity	Congruence Congruent triangles Similarity Similar solids
Pythagoras Theorem and Trigonometry	Pythagoras theorem in 2 and 3 dimensions Trigonometry for right-triangles in 2 and 3 dimensions Exact values of trigonometric functions
Representing and Analysing Data	Averages Frequency tables Charts and graphs, including bar charts, pictograms, pie charts, scatter diagrams, frequency polygons Histograms Cumulative Frequency and box plots
Quadratics	Expressions, equations, identities, formulae Expanding the product of two and three binomials Factorisation Solving quadratic equations The quadratic formula Completing the square Roots and turning points
Real Life Graphs	Rates of change Proportionality Speed, distance, time graphs Velocity time graphs Comparing distributions
Simultaneous Equations	Solving linear equations Solving simultaneous equations: - using a graphical method - by elimination - by substitution Solving simultaneous equations where one function is linear and the other quadratic
Inequalities	Inequality notation Solving linear inequalities Solving quadratic inequalities
Direct and Inverse Proportion	The unitary method Direct proportion Inverse proportion Graphs of proportionality
Bounds	Rounding using decimal places and significant figures Upper and lower bounds Error intervals
Powers and Roots	Squares, cubes, powers and roots Laws of Indices Negative and fractional indices
Sine and Cosine Rule	Trigonometry in right-angled triangles The Sine Rule The Cosine Rule

Year 10 Knowledge

M	T	W	T	F	WE
					1
3	4	5	6	7	8
10	11	12	13	14	15
17	18	19	20	21	22
24	25	26	27	28	29
31

Year 10 Learning

Mathematics

March 2025