Agnes Davies Online Maths Tutoring

Top Tip 5 (GCSE Maths Students)

Here’s the next tip in my series to help GCSE students avoid losing easy marks. With the year 10 mock exams around the corner, this could be particularly useful.😊

Today: Area vs Perimeter

❌ Common mistake: Students use area calculations when the perimeter is required, and the other way round.

Example:
Perimeter of the rectangle = 6 × 2 = 12 cm ✗
👉 This is incorrect because length × width is the formula for area, not perimeter.

✅ Instead, add up all the side lengths around the outside of the shape.
🎯 So the answer is:
6 + 2 + 6 + 2 = 16 cm

If you’re new here, follow my page (Agnes Davies Online Maths Tutoring) for more tips:
https://www.facebook.com/agnesdaviesmathstutoring/

If you found these tips helpful, feel free to share this post with someone who could benefit from them 😊

I’ll be sharing three tips a week for the next two weeks!

Top Tip 4 (GCSE Maths Students)

Here’s the next tip in my series to help GCSE students avoid losing easy marks. With the year 10 mock exams around the corner, this could be particularly useful.😊

Today: Simplifying Algebraic Fractions

❌ Common mistake: Trying to cancel terms when there is addition.

In this example, students often try to cross out the 2x on the top and bottom.

🚫 This is not allowed. You cannot cancel part of a term when it’s being added.

✅ Instead, the only thing you can do here is:
Factorise the top first.
4 + 2x = 2(2 + x)
Then the fraction becomes:
2(2 + x) ÷ 2x

🎯 Now you can cancel the 2s
✅ Final answer:
(2 + x) ÷ x

If you’re new here, follow my page (Agnes Davies Online Maths Tutoring) for more tips:
https://www.facebook.com/agnesdaviesmathstutoring/

If you found these tips helpful, feel free to share this post with someone who could benefit from them 😊

I’ll be sharing three tips a week for the next two weeks!

Top Tip 3 (GCSE Maths Students)

Here’s the next tip in my series to help GCSE students avoid losing easy marks. With the year 10 mock exams around the corner, this could be particularly useful.

📌 Today: Adding Fractions

❌ Common mistake:
Students add the numerators and add the denominators
Example:
1/2 + 1/3 = 2/5 x

✅ Instead, ask yourself:
Do the fractions have the same denominator? If not, you need to make them the same
• The denominators are 2 and 3
• The lowest common denominator is 6

Rewrite the fractions:
1/2=3/6
1/3=2/6

Now add:
3/6 + 2/6 = 5/6

✅ Final answer: 5/6

🎯 Remember: You can only add or subtract fractions when the denominators are the same!

If you’re new here, follow my page (Agnes Davies Online Maths Tutoring) for more tips:
https://www.facebook.com/agnesdaviesmathstutoring/

If you found this helpful, feel free to share with someone who might benefit 😊

I’ll be sharing three tips a week for the next two weeks!

Top Tip 2 (GCSE Maths Students)
Here’s the next tip in my series to help GCSE students avoid losing easy marks.

Today: Multiplying Decimals

❌ Common mistake: Students aren’t sure how many decimal places their answer should have.

Example:
0.3 × 0.2 = 0.6 ✗

✅ Instead, ask yourself:
How many decimal places are there altogether in the question?
• 0.3 has 1 decimal place
• 0.2 has 1 decimal place
➡️ That’s 2 decimal places in total, so your answer must have 2 decimal places

Start by multiplying as if there are no decimals:
3 × 2 = 6

Now place the decimal point so your answer has 2 decimal places:0.06
✅ Final answer: 0.06


If you’re new here, follow my page (Agnes Davies Online Maths Tutoring) for more tips:
https://www.facebook.com/agnesdaviesmathstutoring/

I’ll be sharing three tips a week for the next three weeks!

Saying goodbye to another Year 11 cohort is never easy.

After more than 25 years of teaching, from Switzerland to South America and now England, I’ve been fortunate to work with so many fantastic students.

For quite a few years now, I’ve been preparing two GCSE groups each summer in a local Cambridgeshire school, working with students of all abilities and helping them get ready for the exams.

Of course, I’m always pleased to see strong results. But what matters far more to me is seeing students achieve more than they thought they could. Those moments when a student realises they’ve done better than they ever expected are what makes this job so special. Seeing confidence grow is worth far more than any number on a results sheet.

I also want to say how proud I am of all the students I’ve worked with through tutoring this year, who finished their final maths exam this week. Starting my tutoring journey last year has been incredibly rewarding, and it has been a real privilege to support you along the way. Feedback like this truly means a lot to me. It was a privilege to be part of your journey.

Thank you to all the students for your effort and determination, and to parents for the trust you’ve placed in me.

It is always sad to say goodbye, but also exciting to see what comes next. I have no doubt you will go on to do great things. Wishing you all the very best. You have got this 🌟

Hi everyone 👋

I hope this is okay to share – I’m not selling anything, just offering something free to help GCSE Maths students.

I’m a teacher and tutor, and over the next 3 weeks I’ll be sharing simple, actionable tips based on the most common ways students lose marks in GCSE Maths, three times per week.

These tips are:
✔️ Easy to implement
✔️ Suitable for any ability

If you’d like your child (or students) to benefit, you can simply follow my page – no email address or sign-up needed. The tips will just appear in your feed (hopefully, if the algorithm behaves!).

You can follow my page (Agnes Davies Online Maths Tutoring) here: https://www.facebook.com/agnesdaviesmathstutoring/

Feel free to share with anyone who has a child preparing for GCSE Maths 😊

Top Tip 1 (GCSE Maths Students)
Welcome to my series where I’ll be sharing quick tips to help GCSE students avoid losing easy marks.

Today: Adding Terms in Algebra

❌ Common mistake: Students often think that when you add terms, you also add the powers.

Example:
3x² + 2x² = 5x⁴ ✗

✅ Instead, ask yourself: how many lots of x² do I have altogether?

You start with three lots of x² and add two more lots of x².

🎯 So the answer is:
5x²

If you’re new here, follow my page (Agnes Davies Online Maths Tutoring) for more tips:
https://www.facebook.com/agnesdaviesmathstutoring/

If you found these tips helpful, feel free to share this post with someone who could benefit from them 😊

I’ll be sharing three tips a week for the next three weeks!