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Free practice books, AQA 8300 Foundation
AQA Foundation Maths exam questions by topic
1,440 original practice questions across 32 modules, written by our maths tutors and organised into six free PDF practice books, one for each AQA content area. Every book includes GCSE-style mark allocations, formula and method banks, and full answers with marking guidance.
These are not past papers. Every question is independently written, so you can use them alongside real past papers without repeating questions you have already seen.
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 topics can I practise?
All six AQA Foundation content areas: Number, Ratio and Proportion, Algebra, Geometry and Measures, Probability, and Statistics. Download each book free as a PDF and print what you need.
Number
Place value, four operations, factors and primes, powers and roots, fractions, decimals and percentages, standard form, estimation and rounding.
Ratio, Proportion and Rates
Simplifying and sharing ratios, scale and recipes, direct and inverse proportion, speed, density and pressure, percentage change, growth and decay.
Algebra
Notation and substitution, expanding and factorising, equations and formulae, inequalities and simultaneous equations, sequences, straight line and quadratic graphs.
Geometry and Measures
Angles and polygons, constructions and bearings, transformations, perimeter, area and circles, volume and surface area, Pythagoras and trigonometry, vectors.
Probability
The probability scale, relative and expected frequency, mutually exclusive and independent events, possibility spaces, Venn diagrams and tree diagrams.
Statistics
Sampling and bias, charts and tables, averages and spread, comparing distributions, scatter graphs, correlation and lines of best fit.
Free Website Edition, for personal and household educational use. Tutors and schools need permission before copying for learners. These are independent resources aligned to AQA Mathematics 8300 and are not endorsed by or affiliated with AQA.
Structure
How is each book organised?
Every module follows the same four-stage sequence, moving from fluency to exam conditions to retrieval. Answers with concise marking guidance sit at the end of each book, so students can mark their own work the way an examiner would.
The four stages in every module
- Core Skills: 15 fluency questions to build accuracy in the essential procedures first
- Exam Practice: 15 original questions using GCSE-style wording, contexts and mark allocations
- Grade 4 to 5 Challenge: 10 multi-step problems targeting the marks that separate a pass from a strong pass
- Mixed Retrieval: 5 short questions revisiting earlier topics, best attempted after a gap of about a week
What else is inside
- formula and method banks stating when to use each method
- full answers with mark-by-mark guidance, method marks and accuracy marks, mirroring how real papers are marked
- AQA specification references on every module, from N1 to S6
- score boxes and a study plan page to track which modules need a second attempt
- Higher-only content deliberately excluded, so nothing here is beyond the Foundation exam
Module map
What do the 32 modules cover?
The modules run in specification order across the six books, and every module states its AQA specification references, so you can cross-check coverage against the syllabus or a school scheme of work.
| Book | Modules | Questions | AQA specification references |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 1 to 8 | 360 | N1 to N16 |
| Ratio, Proportion and Rates | 9 to 12 | 180 | R1 to R11, R16 |
| Algebra | 13 to 20 | 360 | A1 to A12, A14, A17 to A19, A21 to A25 |
| Geometry and Measures | 21 to 27 | 315 | G1 to G7, G9, G11 to G21, G24 to G25 |
| Probability | 28 to 29 | 90 | P1 to P8 |
| Statistics | 30 to 32 | 135 | S1, S2, S4 to S6 |
The questions were written against the AQA 8300 Foundation specification and the recurring structures in the publicly available summer papers from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023, without copying wording or values. Summer exams were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
Using the books
How should a student use these?
Work one module at a time in the four-stage order, mark honestly against the answer tables, and record any module scoring under about 70 percent for a retry a week later. Paper 1 is non-calculator, so practise some modules without one.
If the exam is months away
Follow the books in order, one or two modules a week. The Mixed Retrieval sections are designed for spaced practice, so return to them after a gap rather than straight after the module.
If the exam is weeks away
Skip to the Exam Practice and Grade 4 to 5 Challenge sections of your weakest topics. Number and Ratio carry heavy weight on Foundation papers, so prioritise Modules 1 to 12 if time is short.
If you are resitting
Start with the Grade 4 to 5 Challenge sections to find gaps fast, then drop back to Core Skills only where you lose marks. Our resit tutoring page covers November entry and one to one support.
Guide: revising GCSE Maths
How to structure Maths revision so practice actually moves the grade, rather than re-reading notes.
Read the revision guideGuide: passing at grade 4
What a grade 4 actually requires on Foundation papers and where the easiest marks sit.
Read the grade 4 guideGuide: official past papers
Where to find the real AQA past papers and mark schemes to sit alongside these books.
Find past papersCommon questions
Practice book questions
The short version: the books are free for personal use, they include full answers, and they are written for the AQA Foundation tier only.
Are these real AQA past paper questions?
No. Every question is original and independently written. The authors reviewed the AQA 8300 Foundation specification and the publicly available summer papers from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023 to match the recurring question structures, contexts and mark demands, without copying wording or values. That means you can use these books and official past papers together without overlap.
Do the books include answers?
Yes. Every book ends with full answers and concise marking guidance for each question, including method and accuracy marks, so students can see where partial credit would be earned even when the final answer is wrong.
Are they free? What is the licence?
The Free Website Edition is free for personal and household educational use. Tutors and schools must obtain permission before copying for learners, and resale, paid redistribution and uploading to third-party websites are prohibited.
Do they work for Higher tier or other exam boards?
They are written for AQA 8300 Foundation, grades 1 to 5, and Higher-only specification content is excluded. Much of the material overlaps with Edexcel and OCR Foundation because the national curriculum content is shared, but the module structure and specification references follow AQA. Higher tier and other board resources are planned.
Is there a Foundation calculator restriction I should practise for?
Yes. AQA Foundation is assessed by three papers of equal weight, and paper 1 is non-calculator. Practise at least some of each module without a calculator, especially Number and Ratio.
My child keeps scoring low on the same module. What next?
Repeating the same questions rarely fixes it, because the problem is usually the method rather than the practice. If a module scores low after two honest attempts, 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 topic?
Practice finds the gaps. A tutor closes them
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 module keeps scoring low after two attempts, that is usually the sign to get help with the method rather than repeat the questions.
Enquiries answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We usually reply within minutes.