Tricia Barnett - Maths Tutor

31/01/2026

Newly published N5 maths practice papers from the excellent Zeta Maths people. A worthwhile investment for N5 maths revision. ☺️

Prepare for exam success with five brand-new, unseen National 5 Mathematics examination papers, carefully written to reflect the style and standard of the final SQA examination. Each paper includes fully worked solutions, with every mark clearly identified using colour coding for easy reference. All...

02/12/2025

As we are entering prelim exam season, I just thought I’d share this handy booklet from the SQA about 25/26 assessments and qualifications.
Note the short section about prelims and please put prelims into their proper perspective.

Valuable? Yes.
Life or death? No.

Try not to fret about prelims. Do work for them, do prepare for them, do your best. But their biggest value is in what you learn from the experience. Do I need to change anything? Am I on the right track? Did I prepare properly?

They are not a stick to beat you with. They provide information so you can consider your next steps. They are not a pre-requisite for sitting the final exam. It’s all good and you have got this. 😊

13/11/2025

Technology has its advantages- it cannot be denied.

But sometimes we forget that there are lessons from the old ways that are relevant even today.

Take this section from the ZetaMaths Higher mathematics text book for example - a superb text book and developed so that schools can share the material electronically with the pupils saving paper, expense, costly re-editions and updates - fantastic. I use it all the time - I have both a physical copy and the e-book.

But most pupils, when assigned work from the shared drives at school, do not or cannot print out the work and therefore have a view of the screen which is either phone size or tablet/laptop size, so they zoom in on the questions - like in exercise 12.1A and off they go.

If they are stuck on what to do - what next? Ask the teacher, riffle through your notes, look up you-tube (a particular favourite pastime for many students), ……. It doesn’t seem to occur to anyone that the text book might actually show them what to do.

But just above exercise 12.1A on the exact same page, just one small swipe up, and there we have worked examples in all their glory. Examples which would have been easy to find with a real physical text book, but invisible when we zoom in.. We spend so much time looking at the world through the lens of a small screen, that we forget to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

I don’t know what the answer is, but I do think that young people are missing out on something when they are so far removed physically from what they are learning. The senses of touch and smell actively contribute to memory and learning, and this is why I encourage all of my students to write everything down.

05/11/2025

This extremely simple little graphic that is doing the social media rounds reminds me of regular conversations I have with my students. This mirrors the idea of how leaving a question blank guarantees zero marks. But it has equal relevance in every day life. If you want to win, to be successful, to progress, the only pathway to that goal is through trying.

04/11/2025

Applications of Maths is really all about the every day maths that we need to progress in our modern world.

I often hear people say, or read in social media posts, “if only schools did wages, taxes, savings, decision making, budgets and bills”. When in fact all of those skills are taught in our maths classes at an appropriate level for young people to understand. And these financial skills are fundamentally important to the applications of maths qualifications at N4, N5 and Higher levels.

Underlying it all is numeracy skills. These aren’t just being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide (although taking time to practice these really makes life easier), but it’s the skill of knowing what the “sum” actually is that needs to be done.

If your child dislikes or feels stressed about pure mathematics, but wishes to attend university after school, then there is a pathway through N5 and Higher applications of maths qualifications that is accepted for a vast number of courses. Indeed I often liken the Applications of Maths Higher course to a Project Management course due to its practical and hands on approach to finance, statistics, risk, task planning, and modelling. It’s a great course and ideal for those who really see no place for trigonometry and algebra in their life but who want to get ahead. Brilliant for getting into the practical world of work and a demonstration of problem solving skills and real world interpretation of what the problem actually is.

I have attached the link to the higher course specification on the SQA website.

03/11/2025

Hi all,

Long time no see. I have been neglecting my FB page and intend to change that and start posting regular helpful tips and links for parents and young people who are in various stages of their learning journey.

I am currently fully booked for this academic year but I hope to remind everyone that a little bit of regular practice goes a loooooong way.

If your child wants or need practice on some of the numeracy basics then look no further than the maths is fun website. It is cheerful, colourful, positive and full of easy and quick practice exercises and drills that will literally take 10 mins a day to do. And even better - it is free…… 😁

Math explained in easy language, plus puzzles, games, worksheets and an illustrated dictionary. For K-12 kids, teachers and parents.

07/04/2025

Brilliant first sessions today. Thanks to those who attended and asked brilliant questions. (And checked my calculations too 😉).
Looking forward to the Higher sessions tomorrow. Still spaces if you want to book.

31/03/2025

Organising admin for these sessions over the next few days. Still time to book. £10 per session.

Still spaces available for these past paper sessions where I will take you through how to answer the bleeding questions and what they are looking for. I hope to show you the exam skills that are often the missing link between knowing the maths and communicating it properly. £10 per session. Zoom meeting, you just drop in with your own copy of the past paper and write the stuff down that I show you. Drop me a message if you are interested!!

20/03/2025

Still spaces available for these past paper sessions where I will take you through how to answer the bleeding questions and what they are looking for. I hope to show you the exam skills that are often the missing link between knowing the maths and communicating it properly. £10 per session. Zoom meeting, you just drop in with your own copy of the past paper and write the stuff down that I show you. Drop me a message if you are interested!!

17/02/2025

Timetable for past paper workshops over Easter holidays. £10 per attendee, practical advice and help on providing model solutions.
message here or e-mail [email protected]

17/02/2025

Nothing defeats or outshines the power of practice.
Get the practice habit now. Watch things improve.

14/02/2025

Advertising past paper workshops over Zoom during the Easter Holidays. I can show you how to do it right. Including how to read the questions, how to find the clues, mark up the diagrams, and lay those answers out efficiently and for full marks. All for £10 a session.
Interested? Drop me a line here or e-mail me.