Free on-demand GCSE Maths Lessons
To help manage the ongoing disruption of Covid-19, and support GCSE teaching and learning, we are offering a series of free on-demand Maths lessons.
The lessons are suitable for all awarding bodies and can be viewed on our Pearson UK Learning YouTube channel.
About our live lessons
To help all GCSE-level students continue to engage with maths learning, our lessons have been designed in collaboration with LGfL (London Grid for Learning) to fully focus on building key problem-solving and reasoning skills and bringing maths to life in new ways. The lessons are grounded in using maths to explore and solve real-life problems.
The 45-minute lessons are ideal for individual students and classes alike and are hosted by our maths team and subject expert, Grahame Smart. There is one Year 10 lesson and one Year 11 lesson each week to choose from: both focus on problem-solving and reasoning but are tailored to the different stages of maths learning.
These sessions focused on applying maths to real-word scenarios such as creating an impressive arena space for a large-scale music or sporting event or helping rescue passengers from a stranded vessel.
| Lesson | After the lesson, students should be able to... |
Areas and perimeters of simple and compound shapes
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- convert between units of measure within one system, including time and metric units to metric units of length, area - find the perimeter of rectangles; parallelograms and trapezia; compound shapes - recall and use the formulae for the area of a rectangle - find the area of a trapezium and recall the formula - find the area of a parallelogram - calculate areas and perimeters of compound shapes made from rectangles. |
Volume of cubes, cuboids and right prisms
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- recall and use the formulae for the area of a triangle - calculate volumes of right prisms and shapes made from cubes and cuboids. |
Surface areas of cuboids and prisms
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- sketch nets of cuboids and prisms - find the surface area of a prism - find surface area using rectangles and triangles. |
Circumferences and areas of circles and volumes and surface areas of cylinders
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- recall and use formulae for the circumference of a circle and the area enclosed by a circle circumference of a circle = 2πr = πd, area of a circle = πr^2 - use π ≈ 3.142 or use the π button on a calculator - give an answer to a question involving the circumference or area of a circle in terms of π - find the surface area and volume of a cylinder. |
Plans and elevations
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- draw sketches of 3D solids - understand and draw front and side elevations and plans of shapes made from simple solids - given the front and side elevations and the plan of a solid, draw a sketch of the 3D solid. |
Forming and solving linear equations
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- write expressions and set up simple equations including forming an equation from a word problem - solve simple equations including those: - solve angle or perimeter problems using algebra. |
Forming and solving linear inequalities
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- solve an inequality such as −3 < 2x +1 < 7 and show the solution set on a number line - solve two inequalities in x, find the solution sets and compare them to see which value of x - use the correct notation to show inclusive and exclusive inequalities - construct inequalities to represent a set shown on a number line. |
Forming and solving quadratic equations
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- multiply together two algebraic expressions with brackets - square a linear expression, e.g. (x + 1)^2 - factorise quadratic expressions of the form x^2 + bx + c - solve quadratic equations by factorising. |
Pythagoras’ Theorem in 2D
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- understand, recall and use Pythagoras’ Theorem in 2D, including leaving answers in surd form and being able to justify if a triangle is right-angled or not. |
Trigonometric ratios in 2D
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- understand, use and recall the trigonometric ratios sine, cosine and tan, and apply them to find angles and lengths in general triangles in 2D figures - use the trigonometric ratios to solve 2D problems including angles of elevation and depression. |
Substitution, forming and solving linear equations and simultaneous equations
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- write expressions and set up simple equations including forming an equation from a word problem - solve simple equations including those: - write simultaneous equations to represent a situation - solve simultaneous equations (linear/linear) algebraically and graphically - solve simultaneous equations. representing a real-life situation, graphically and algebraically, and interpret the solution in the context of the problem. |
Speed, distance and time and converting units
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- Calculate average speed, distance, time – in miles per hour as well as metric measures - Change d/t in m/s to a formula in km/h, i.e. d/t × (60 × 60)/1000 – with support. |
These will focus on applying maths to real-word scenarios such as planning a round-the-world trip, choosing a smartphone to buy or exploring digital wellbeing and screen time.
| Lesson | After the lesson, students should be able to... |
Co-ordinates, mid-points of a line, and column vectors We’ll be exploring how co-ordinates, mid-points of a line, and column vectors can help you plan a round-the-world trip. |
- identify points with given coordinates and coordinates of a given point in all four quadrants - find the coordinates of points identified by geometrical information in 2D (all four quadrants) - find the coordinates of the midpoint of a line segment. - Read values from straight-line graphs for real-life situations - Understand and use column notation in relation to vectors - Be able to represent information graphically given column vectors - Calculate using column vectors, and represent graphically, the sum of two vectors, the difference of two vectors and a scalar multiple of a vector. |
Column vectors and Pythagoras’ Theorem We’ll be exploring how column vectors and Pythagoras’ Theorem can help you with planning a round-the-world trip. |
- calculate the length of a line segment AB given pairs of points - use the trigonometric ratios to solve 2D problems - calculate the length of hypotenuse from a column vector. |
Collecting data, cumulative frequency We’ll be exploring how collecting and using data and cumulative frequency can help you dig deeper into average screen times. |
- specify the problem and plan: - construct and interpret cumulative frequency tables, cumulative frequency graphs/diagrams and from the graph: estimate frequency greater/less than a given value; |
Comparing data, box plots
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- compare the mean and range of two distributions, or median and interquartile range, as appropriate - interpret box plots to find median, quartiles, range and interquartile range and draw conclusions - produce box plots from raw data and when given quartiles, median and identify any outliers. |
Smartphone Challenge – using data to make real life decisions We’ll be exploring how maths can help you choose which phone to buy and why. |
- interpret and discuss any data (from tables, charts and graphs) - solve word problems involving direct and inverse proportion - understand inverse proportion: as x increases, y decreases (inverse graphs done in later unit). |
Using maths for team success We’ll be exploring how experimental probability can help you pick your best team.
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- interpret and discuss any data (from tables, charts and graphs) - find the probability of an event happening using relative frequency. |
Stock Market Challenge (part 1) Explore how you can apply your knowledge of percentages increases and decreases to share prices.
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- calculate percentage profit or loss - make calculations involving repeated percentage change, not using the formula - use compound interest. |
Stock Market Challenge (part 2) We’ll be exploring how you can apply your knowledge of percentages increases and decreases to share prices.
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- calculate percentage profit or loss - make calculations involving repeated percentage change, not using the formula - use compound interest. |
Using maths to crack the codes We’ll be exploring how maths influences codes – from the most basic sequence to a sophisticated encryption. |
- substitute numbers into expressions involving brackets and powers - recognise odd, even and prime (two digit) numbers - find the LCM and HCF of two numbers, by listing, Venn diagrams and using prime factors: include finding LCM and HCF given the prime factorisation of two numbers - understand that the prime factor decomposition of a positive integer is unique – whichever factor pair you start with – and that every number can be written as a product of two factors - solve simple problems using HCF, LCM and prime numbers. |
Lights. Camera. Action. – Areas and perimeters of simple and compound shapes
We’ll be exploring how using areas and perimeters of simple and compound shapes can help with planning out a stage or arena for your large-scale event. |
- convert between units of measure within one system, including time and metric units to metric units of length, area - find the perimeter of rectangles; parallelograms and trapezia; compound shapes - recall and use the formulae for the area of a rectangle - find the area of a trapezium and recall the formula - find the area of a parallelogram - calculate areas and perimeters of compound shapes made from rectangles. |
Lights. Camera. Action. – Volumes of cubes, cuboids and right prisms We’ll be exploring how using volumes of cubes, cuboids and right prisms will help you to plan out a stage or arena for your large-scale event
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- recall and use the formulae for the area of a triangle - calculate volumes of right prisms and shapes made from cubes and cuboids. |
Lights. Camera. Action. – Surface areas of cuboids and prisms We’ll be exploring how calculating surface areas and performance areas of cuboids and prisms can help you ensure that a stage or arena space can work best for your large-scale event.
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- sketch nets of cuboids and prisms - find the surface area of a prism - find surface area using rectangles and triangles. |
FAQs
The lessons are for everyone studying GCSE-level maths, whether you’re taking the course at school, college or remotely. The sessions are described as ‘Year 10’ or ‘Year 11’ just to highlight that they’re for different stages of learning – whether you’re partway through the course or close to completing it
Do I need to take the Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics course to join the lessons?
While the online lessons have been developed as free qualification support by the Pearson Edexcel Maths Team in collaboration London Grid for Learning (LGfL), the content is not specific to any exam board so anyone studying GCSE Maths can join and learn about maths at work in the real world.
Who are LGfL (London Grid for Learning)?
LGfL (London Grid for Learning) is a community of schools and local authorities committed to using technology to enhance teaching & learning. Our Pearson Edexcel Maths Team have worked in collaboration with London Grid for Learning to develop their ‘Maths in the Real World’ content for use in these free on-demand GCSE Maths lessons; the resource was shortlisted for a Bett Award in 2020.
I'm a teacher/parent; how can I get my students/child(ren) to join the lessons?
The easiest way to watch the recordings of the lessons is to visit Pearson UK Learning on YouTube
Can I use the lessons as part of homeschooling my child(ren)?
The on-demand lessons are one of many excellent ways to motivate and engage students with GCSE-level maths while schools are facing disruption due to COVID-19. While parents may find the lessons a useful way to include maths into their child(ren)’s studying, they should follow the advice of their child(ren)’s school.
Why are some of the lessons divided into parts?
The sessions are described as ‘Year 10’ or ‘Year 11’ just to highlight that they’re for different stages of learning – whether you’re partway through the course or close to completing it.
Some of the lessons are divided into multiple parts to ensure that there’s enough time to cover each concept and make the most of the 45-minute session without cramming in too much information.