Mathematics

Year 10 is the first of the two-year GCSE course, and content moves quickly into genuinely GCSE-level material: quadratic expressions and equations, simultaneous equations, and a proper treatment of trigonometry (SOHCAHTOA) and circle theorems. Direct and inverse proportion, compound measures, and vectors are introduced or extended, depending on the school's chosen sequencing.

This is typically the year Foundation and Higher tier pathways become fixed based on performance, so it's an important year to address any remaining gaps from Key Stage 3 rather than letting them carry into the exam year.

Probability extends into tree diagrams and conditional probability, and statistics work builds toward cumulative frequency, box plots and scatter graphs — all regular features of the final GCSE papers.