Free lesson notebooks, AQA 8300 Foundation

AQA Foundation Maths lesson notebooks by unit

62 teach-from-scratch lessons across six free PDF notebooks, one for each AQA Foundation content area. Every lesson explains the idea first, models the method step by step, then moves through guided practice with hints, independent questions and reasoning tasks, with answers at the back of every unit.

These are lesson books, not question banks. They teach the method before testing it, so they work on their own for first-time learning and alongside our free practice books for exam-style drilling.

Free to download. No sign up, no email required. Independent resources aligned to AQA Mathematics 8300, not endorsed by or affiliated with AQA.

Downloads

Which units can I study?

All six AQA Foundation content areas: Number, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Geometry and Measures, Probability, and Statistics. Download each notebook free as a PDF, work through it on screen or print the lessons you need.

Unit 1: Number

8 lessonsN1 to N16Full answers

Place value and directed number, written methods and BIDMAS, factors and primes, powers and roots, fractions, decimals and percentages, standard form, units and estimation, rounding, error intervals and bounds. Answers in this unit are fully explained, line by line.

Download the Number notebook

Unit 2: Algebra

8 lessonsA1 to A25Answers included

Notation and substitution, simplifying, expanding and factorising, straight line, quadratic and real-life graphs, linear and quadratic equations, simultaneous equations, inequalities, and sequences with nth terms. Graph chapters include a visual graph laboratory.

Download the Algebra notebook

Unit 3: Ratio, Proportion and Rates

12 lessonsR1 to R14, R16Answers included

Units and conversion chains, scales and maps, ratio and sharing, best buys, percentages and reverse percentages, direct and inverse proportion, speed, density and pressure, and compound growth and decay. Opens with a formula and multiplier bank.

Download the Ratio notebook

Unit 4: Geometry and Measures

15 lessonsG1 to G25Answers included

Constructions and loci, angle facts and polygons, congruence and similarity, transformations and vectors, circles, arcs and sectors, area, volume and surface area, Pythagoras, right-angled trigonometry and similarity scale factors. The largest unit in the set.

Download the Geometry notebook

Unit 5: Probability

9 lessonsP1 to P8Answers included

The probability scale, experiments and frequency trees, fairness and expected outcomes, mutually exclusive events and complements, relative frequency, Venn diagrams, sample spaces, tree diagrams, and dependent events without replacement.

Download the Probability notebook

Unit 6: Statistics

10 lessonsS1, S2, S4 to S6Answers included

Types of data, sampling and bias, frequency tables, bar charts and pictograms, pie charts, time series, averages and modal class, range and comparing distributions, scatter graphs and lines of best fit, and how to criticise a statistical claim.

Download the Statistics notebook

Every notebook is independently written and is not endorsed by AQA or any other examination board. Explanations, examples and diagrams are original. Each unit links the official AQA specification section it covers, so you can check coverage at source.

Structure

How does each lesson work?

Every lesson teaches the idea before the method, then builds from guided practice to unaided questions and reasoning. AQA Foundation papers are roughly 50 percent AO1 accuracy, 25 percent AO2 reasoning and 25 percent AO3 problem solving, and the lesson stages mirror that split.

The five stages in every lesson

  1. Understand the idea: each concept is explained from first principles and connected to a diagram, model or real context, not stated as a rule to memorise
  2. Worked examples: step by step solutions that show the reasoning behind each move, not only the calculation
  3. Guided practice: questions with a strategic hint to attempt before checking anything
  4. Independent practice: unaided questions mixing fluency, exam-style wording and context
  5. Reasoning tasks: AO2 and AO3 prompts that ask students to explain a method, spot a common error and create a problem of their own

What else is inside

  • An AQA specification map at the front of every unit, listing each lesson against its references
  • Answers at the back of every unit, with the Number notebook giving fully explained line by line solutions
  • A mastery record in every unit: a tick list of AQA references for tracking which lessons are secure
  • Formula and method banks in most units, from number facts to the geometry formula bank
  • Tier boundary notes that name the Higher-only content deliberately excluded, so nothing here is beyond the Foundation exam
  • A link to the official AQA 8300 specification section each unit covers
Unit map

What do the six units cover?

62 lessons in specification order across the six notebooks. Every lesson states its AQA references, so coverage can be cross-checked against the syllabus or a school scheme of work.

Unit Lessons AQA specification references
Number 8 N1 to N16
Algebra 8 A1 to A25, Foundation content
Ratio, Proportion and Rates 12 R1 to R14 and R16
Geometry and Measures 15 G1 to G25, Foundation content
Probability 9 P1 to P8
Statistics 10 S1, S2, S4 to S6

Each unit names the Higher-only content it excludes: instantaneous rates of change, formal conditional probability, histograms and cumulative frequency, circle theorems, and the sine and cosine rules all sit outside these notebooks because they sit outside the Foundation exam.

Using the notebooks

How should a student use these?

Work one lesson at a time in the five-stage order, cover each worked solution and try to reproduce every step, then mark honestly against the answers. Return to a lesson's retrieval questions after a few days rather than straight away.

Learning a topic for the first time

Read the key ideas and worked examples slowly, saying why each step is valid rather than only what was done. Attempt the guided questions using the hint only if needed, then finish the independent set without notes.

Relearning a weak topic

Go straight to the lesson's worked examples and rebuild the method, then test it on the independent practice. If the same lesson still scores low after two honest attempts, the method needs reteaching rather than more repetition.

Pairing with the practice books

The notebook teaches the method; the matching module in our free Foundation practice books then tests it with exam-style questions, mark allocations and marking guidance. Together they cover teach, practise and retrieve.

Free: Foundation exam questions

1,440 original AQA Foundation practice questions across 32 modules, in six free PDF practice books with full answers.

Get the practice books

Guide: revising GCSE Maths

How to structure Maths revision so practice actually moves the grade, rather than re-reading notes.

Read the revision guide

Guide: passing at grade 4

What a grade 4 actually requires on Foundation papers and where the easiest marks sit.

Read the grade 4 guide
Common questions

Lesson notebook questions

The short version: the notebooks are free, they teach each topic from scratch with answers included, and they are written for the AQA Foundation tier only.

Are these textbooks or question banks?

They are teach-from-scratch lesson books, closer to a textbook than a question bank. Every lesson explains the idea first, models the method in worked steps, then moves through guided practice, independent questions and reasoning tasks. For pure exam-style drilling, use them alongside our free Foundation practice books, which hold 1,440 original questions with mark allocations.

Do the notebooks include answers?

Yes. Every unit ends with an answer section covering each independent practice question, and the Number notebook gives fully explained solutions with the reasoning written out line by line. Each unit also closes with a mastery record, a tick list of AQA references for tracking which lessons are secure.

Are they matched to the AQA specification?

Yes. Each unit opens with a specification map listing every lesson against its AQA 8300 references, from N1 to S6, and links the official AQA specification section it covers so you can check at source. They are independent resources and are not endorsed by or affiliated with AQA.

Are they free?

Yes. All six notebooks are free to download as PDFs from this page, with no sign up and no email required. They are independently produced and are not endorsed by AQA or any other examination board.

Do they work for Higher tier or other exam boards?

They are written for AQA 8300 Foundation, grades 1 to 5, and each unit names the Higher-only content it deliberately excludes. A separate set of Higher lesson notebooks covers the full Higher pathway including surds, circle theorems and conditional probability. Much of the material overlaps with Edexcel and OCR Foundation because the national curriculum content is shared, but the structure and references follow AQA.

My child reads the lesson but the method still will not stick. What next?

Reading a method and being able to reproduce it are different skills, which is why every lesson asks students to cover the worked solution and rebuild it. If a lesson still scores low after two honest attempts at the independent questions, that is the point to get the method retaught, whether by a teacher at school or a tutor. Fifteen of our tutors teach GCSE Maths and the first 30 minutes are free.

Stuck on a method?

Notebooks teach the method. A tutor makes it stick

Fifteen of our tutors teach GCSE Maths, including three qualified teachers. Lessons are one to one on Zoom, £30 each, and the first 30 minutes are free with no card details. If a lesson keeps scoring low after two attempts, that is usually the sign to get the method retaught rather than reread.

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