Comparison
Edexcel vs AQA GCSE Maths: 1MA1 and 8300 Compared
Both are three papers of 1h30 and 80 marks with Paper 1 non-calculator. The real differences are question style and the formulae each board prints in the exam.
The short answer
Structurally these are the same qualification: three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, Paper 1 non-calculator, Foundation 1–5 and Higher 4–9, 240 marks in total. The real differences are question wording, AQA's published per-paper objective ranges, and which formulae each board provides.
At a glance
| Aspect | Edexcel (1MA1) | AQA (8300) |
|---|---|---|
| Specification code | 1MA1, awarded by Pearson Edexcel. Component codes run 1MA1/1F–3F at Foundation and 1MA1/1H–3H at Higher. | 8300, awarded by AQA, with qualification number 601/4608/4. |
| Paper structure | Three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks each, equally weighted — 240 marks over 4 hours 30 minutes. All three must be sat at the same tier in the same series. | Identical: three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks. Marks are scaled so each component carries its third, and grade boundaries are set on the scaled total. |
| Calculator split | Paper 1 non-calculator; Papers 2 and 3 permit a calculator. | The same split — Paper 1 non-calculator, Papers 2 and 3 with a calculator. This is not true of every board: Cambridge OCR's J560 puts the non-calculator paper second at Foundation and fifth at Higher. |
| Question style | Edexcel describes a range of question types set in both mathematical and non-mathematical contexts, spread across the three papers. | AQA describes a mix from short single-mark questions to multi-step problems, with demand increasing through each paper — which makes pacing a scoreable skill in its own right. |
| Formulae given in the exam | Four, printed within the relevant examination questions: curved surface area of a cone, surface area of a sphere, volume of a sphere and volume of a cone. | The same four, plus three kinematics formulae: v = u + at, s = ut + ½at² and v² = u² + 2as. Everything else — the quadratic formula, circle formulae, Pythagoras and the trigonometric rules — must be memorised on both boards. |
| Grade boundaries | Set fresh for each series after the papers are marked and published on results day. Previous-series boundaries are calibration, not a target. | The same process. Boundaries are not comparable across boards — a different mark on a different paper can carry the same grade, so quoting an AQA boundary at an Edexcel candidate is meaningless. |
| Best for | Whichever board the student is entered for. Neither is easier: the topic weightings for GCSE Mathematics are prescribed nationally, and AQA states in its own specification that they are common to all exam boards. | The same answer. If a student has changed school or is revising from material written for another board, the thing to fix is not the board but the practice papers — the content is common, the wording is not. |
The structures are the same, and that is the point
Families ask which board is easier because the two look like competing products. They are not: GCSE Mathematics is a regulated qualification whose topic weightings are prescribed nationally, and AQA says so plainly in its own specification. Three papers, an hour and a half each, eighty marks each, Paper 1 without a calculator, Foundation 1–5 and Higher 4–9 — that is both boards.
It follows that a student cannot improve their grade by wishing they were entered for the other one. What they can do is stop practising the wrong board's papers, which is a real and common problem after a change of school.
The formulae difference is small but real
This is the one place where the two specifications genuinely diverge in what a student is handed on the day. Edexcel lists four formulae that will be provided within the relevant examination questions: the curved surface area of a cone, the surface area of a sphere, the volume of a sphere and the volume of a cone.
AQA provides those four and also gives the three kinematics formulae — v = u + at, s = ut + ½at² and v² = u² + 2as. Everything else is memorisation on both boards, including the quadratic formula, the circle formulae, Pythagoras' theorem and the sine and cosine rules.
It is a difference of three formulae, not a difference of difficulty. The direction that matters is AQA to Edexcel: a student who has revised expecting the kinematics formulae to be printed will not find them on an Edexcel paper, and needs them memorised. The other direction costs nothing but three formulae learned unnecessarily.
Where the boards do feel different
AQA's specification is explicit that demand increases through each paper, moving from short single-mark questions to multi-step problems. Edexcel describes a range of question types set in both mathematical and non-mathematical contexts. In practice this means AQA candidates benefit more from rehearsing pacing across a whole paper, and Edexcel candidates from rehearsing unfamiliar contexts.
Neither of those is a claim that one board is harder. They are claims about what practice is worth doing, which is the only version of this question that changes anything.
How we teach a board-specific course
We ask for the entry code before the first session. Everything after that — which past series we work through, which formulae get drilled, whether we rehearse escalating demand or unfamiliar contexts — follows from whether it is 1MA1 or 8300.
Sessions run 90 minutes in groups of at most four, because above a grade 5 the majority of available marks are for reasoning and problem solving rather than executing a taught method, and reasoning has to be read to be corrected.
- Total marks on both specifications
- 240Total marks on both specifications[1]
- Extra formulae AQA prints in the exam that Edexcel does not
- 3Extra formulae AQA prints in the exam that Edexcel does not[3]
- The non-calculator paper on both boards
- Paper 1The non-calculator paper on both boards[1]
Common questions
Is AQA GCSE Maths easier than Edexcel?
No. Both are three papers of 1 hour 30 minutes and 80 marks, with Paper 1 non-calculator and the same tier grade ranges. Topic weightings for GCSE Mathematics are prescribed nationally and common to all exam boards, as AQA states in its specification. The differences are in wording and in which formulae are printed, not in standard.
Which formulae are given in the exam?
Edexcel provides four within the relevant questions: curved surface area of a cone, surface area of a sphere, volume of a sphere and volume of a cone. AQA provides those four plus three kinematics formulae — v = u + at, s = ut + ½at² and v² = u² + 2as. Everything else must be memorised on both boards.
Can a student choose their board?
Almost never — the school makes the entry, usually for the whole cohort. A private candidate entering through an examination centre may have a choice, but there is no grade advantage in it, so the sensible basis for choosing is which past papers and resources are easiest to obtain.
Do Edexcel and AQA grade boundaries match?
No, and they are not meant to. Each board sets boundaries for its own papers after each series. A grade 7 may sit at different raw marks on 1MA1 and 8300 without either being a softer award, so comparing boundaries between boards tells a student nothing useful.
Sources
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