OCR FSMQ Additional Maths — Past Papers, Mark Schemes, Grade Boundaries & Other Resources
Every current syllabus FSMQ paper, mark scheme, answer booklet and grade boundaries, the specification and other resources — collected and kept up to date by Kevin Holdstock, who has privately tutored maths, one to one, for 14 years.
Starting the FSMQ this September? Here's how I'd approach the year →
Starting the FSMQ in Year 11 this September?
If your school has put you forward for this, it's because you're one of the stronger mathematicians in your year — most students starting it are already working at grade 7 or 8, some at 9, before Year 11 has even begun. That's a good position to be in. It also means that for your GCSE or iGCSE maths the year ahead is less about learning and more about improving, polishing and not letting anything slip, while nine or ten other subjects compete for your time.
Start working well from September, not January!
Practice the FSMQ content as you go, whilst also polishing the GCSE from the start of September, so that both are finished before the spring. Starting well in September means work divides manageably across the year. Starting after Christmas means compressing it into the months when every other subject is also demanding revision — a squeeze you should try to avoid.
Get ahead on the harder FSMQ topics
There are topics that take longer and need a bit more practice to get comfortable with. With 1-1 tuition started in September, we can get ahead on trickier topics before your teacher gets to them. The hardest one — combinatorics — I will teach from scratch regardless, giving you a deeper understanding, and more time to practice it. Getting ahead on certain topics in the first term makes for a more comfortable year, with no need to spend as much time on them during the last few months' revision scramble.
Ask about a September placeWhat weekly tuition looks like alongside the FSMQ
I'm Kevin. I've been a full time private maths tutor, teaching students one to one, for 14 years — the first seven travelling house to house, and every year since 2019 entirely online. Lessons are usually one hour a week, always one to one, online and £120 an hour.
Why the FSMQ is worth more than the grade on it
The certificate itself won't change much on a CV — your A-Level grades will do that job. What the FSMQ actually gives you is a head start, and it's a substantial one. The content covers nearly all of the first-year A-Level pure maths syllabus, plus numerical methods from the second year A-Level syllabus, binomial distribution from AS statistics, and kinematics and the constant acceleration formulae from AS mechanics, with an introduction to variable acceleration.
So a student who has done the FSMQ properly walks into Year 12 having already met most of what the first year will cover. That matters for anyone taking A-Level Maths, and it matters enormously for anyone taking Maths and Further Maths together — where you have to finish the Maths A-Level inside a year, start Further Maths by the end of Year 12, and then push both to A or A* by the end of Year 13. The head start studying the FSMQ syllabus gives, can be the difference between feeling comfortable at A-Level and feeling behind.
Which is also why it's worth studying the course even if your school doesn't enter you for the exam.
How I work with FSMQ students
Teaching ahead on the hard topics
Some topics land far better if you've met them once before your teacher gets there. I'll take those early so the school lesson becomes consolidation rather than first contact. Combinatorics I teach from scratch regardless — it's taught badly almost everywhere, and I give students my own teaching notes for it, which set out every question type the course can ask.
Weekly checking, not weekly re-teaching
Most weeks the job is confirming that what you covered at school actually went in, and fixing the bits that didn't. Where something needs more work I set extra practice on it. I use the official FSMQ textbook, so if your school hasn't given you a copy it's worth having one — that's where the homework comes from.
Polishing the GCSE at the same time
Every FSMQ student I take also works through the CGP grade 8–9 targeted practice book for their GCSE syllabus. We divide it into a set number of pages a week from the day we start through to the end of February, and we use some of our session time to go through anything that came up. The FSMQ stays on track and the GCSE quietly moves toward a 9 in parallel.
Why the February deadline matters
Finishing the practice book by the end of February leaves March and April clear for past papers — which, by then, is an enjoyable job rather than a frightening one, because the syllabus is already revised. That's the point. In the spring of Year 11 you have nine or ten other subjects demanding attention: revising history dates and science facts, completing art coursework and English essays. Good mathematicians end up with very little time for maths at exactly the moment they need it least.
The students who struggle in that window are the ones still trying to learn FSMQ content they never kept on top of. Keeping pace all year is what stops the spring being stressful.
Testimonials
"Kevin has been a responsible and fun teacher who knows the content inside out. He is also a great explainer who teaches by breaking down the underlying principles behind each theory. By following Kevin's revision method, I was able to create a much more effective revision schedule, which was definitely one of the most important things that helped me achieve A*s in both Maths and Further Maths at A-level."
Grade 9 Edexcel IGCSE · A OCR FSMQ, home schooled · A* OCR-MEI A-Level Maths & Further Maths
OCR FSMQ Current Syllabus - Past Papers
Papers run oldest to newest on purpose — work through the earlier years first and save the most recent papers for timed practice close to your exam.
Starting A-Level Maths in September? See what to do next →
Marking a paper? The grade boundaries for every year are further down this page — worth checking what your score actually meant that year before you judge it. Jump to grade boundaries ↓
Struggling to understand past paper questions and mark schemes?
Enquire about 1-1 tuition with KevinOCR FSMQ Additional Mathematics grade boundaries
Single paper, out of 100, with the percentage in brackets. The FSMQ has no A* — grade A is the top grade.
Starting A-Level Maths in September? See what to do next →
| Year | A | B | C | D | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 81 (81%) | 74 (74%) | 67 (67%) | 60 (60%) | 54 (54%) |
| 2025 | 67 (67%) | 60 (60%) | 53 (53%) | 47 (47%) | 41 (41%) |
| 2024 | 76 (76%) | 68 (68%) | 60 (60%) | 53 (53%) | 46 (46%) |
| 2023 | 75 (75%) | 67 (67%) | 59 (59%) | 52 (52%) | 45 (45%) |
| 2022 | 74 (74%) | 65 (65%) | 56 (56%) | 47 (47%) | 39 (39%) |
| 2019 | 71 (71%) | 63 (63%) | 55 (55%) | 48 (48%) | 41 (41%) |
| 2018 | 56 (56%) | 50 (50%) | 44 (44%) | 38 (38%) | 33 (33%) |
| 2017 | 72 (72%) | 63 (63%) | 55 (55%) | 47 (47%) | 39 (39%) |
| 2016 | 59 (59%) | 51 (51%) | 44 (44%) | 37 (37%) | 30 (30%) |
| 2015 | Boundary not found in OCR's archive — the paper is still hosted above, but no verified figure is shown for this series | ||||
| 2014 | 67 (67%) | 58 (58%) | 49 (49%) | 40 (40%) | 31 (31%) |
Due to the Covid pandemic, 2020 and 2021 had no entries. Boundaries as published by OCR. Official OCR grade boundaries →
What these numbers tell you
This boundary swings more than any other qualification on this site. Across the years shown it has ranged from 56% for a grade A in 2018 to 81% in 2026 — a twenty-five point spread. That makes single-year targets unreliable, and it's the main reason I push students well past the boundary rather than towards it.
2026 is the highest A boundary on record here, and it came immediately after 2025's 67%, one of the lowest recent years. Two consecutive series at opposite ends of the range is a useful reminder that the paper's difficulty, not your ability, sets where the line falls — so aim for something comfortably above 81% and the year you happen to sit becomes irrelevant.
One hour a week. One to one. Ahead of the curve.
Weekly online lessons that keep the FSMQ and your GCSE maths improving together — teaching ahead on the hard topics, consolidating what school covered, and making sure neither qualification gets left behind while the rest of Year 11 competes for your time.
£120 per hour