OCR GCSE Maths (J560): papers, calculator rules and grade boundaries

OCR GCSE Maths at a glance

OCR GCSE (9-1) Mathematics is J560. It is linear, so all the exams are sat at the end of the course, and you are entered for Foundation or Higher tier, not both. There is one main series each May and June, and a November series for students aged 16 or over on 31 August of that year, which is the usual resit route.

Foundation covers grades 5 to 1 and Higher covers grades 9 to 4. A Higher student who falls a few marks short of a 4 can be given an allowed grade 3. All three papers must be taken at the same tier, and together they are worth 300 marks.

What the papers test

Every paper can test any topic: number, algebra, ratio and proportion, geometry and measures, probability and statistics. Nothing is saved for a particular paper, so the calculator and non-calculator papers have the same content. The difference is the method. OCR says that if the specification does not mention a calculator, you are expected to manage both calculator and non-calculator methods.

So Higher papers have a higher share of reasoning and problem solving.

Formulae: what you must know

The J560 assessments do not include a formula sheet. OCR lists the formulae you are required to know in the specification, and any other formula you need is given to you in the question. That means you must memorise the standard ones, such as the quadratic formula, the area of a circle and Pythagoras’ theorem, and not wait for them to appear on the paper.

Worked examples in OCR style

Percentages (calculator paper)

A coat is sold for £80 after a 20% reduction. Work out the original price. The sale price is 80% of the original, so divide by 0.8:

The original price was £100. The common mistake is to add 20% of £80, which gives £96. Percentage changes are always a percentage of the starting amount.

Algebra: solving a quadratic

Solve 3x² − 7x − 6 = 0. Multiply the 3 and the −6 to get −18, then find two numbers that multiply to −18 and add to −7: those are −9 and 2.

So x = 3 or x = −2/3. Check one: 3 × 9 − 21 − 6 = 0. Practise factorising in our Algebra course:

Geometry: finding an angle

In a right-angled triangle the side opposite angle θ is 7 cm and the hypotenuse is 12 cm. Opposite and hypotenuse mean the sine ratio:

Non-calculator paper: fractions

Work out 2/3 + 3/8. Use a common denominator of 24: 16/24 + 9/24 = 25/24 = 1 1/24. Show the common denominator, since the method mark is for that step.

Grades and June 2026 grade boundaries

OCR adds your three paper marks into a total out of 300 and compares it with the boundaries for your tier. These tables are from OCR’s document published on 25 September 2026 for the June 2026 series. They change every year, so use them as a guide to the size of the target.

Higher tier boundaries

Foundation tier boundaries

Worked through: a Higher student with 80, 70 and 75 marks has 225 out of 300, which is above the grade 8 boundary of 217 and below the grade 9 boundary of 264, so it is a grade 8. On the Foundation tier, 133 marks is exactly the grade 4 boundary.

Using the daily paper as a short timed mock

Uni-Sine publishes a free daily paper on both the Maths Foundation and Maths Higher tracks, with a new one every day. Each is a short timed paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, marked instantly with worked answers. It is not an OCR paper and it is not a full 100 mark paper, so treat it as a quick mock and keep a full OCR past paper for each calculator type.

• Foundation covers: probability, area and perimeter, fractions, decimals and percentages, angles, ratio, sequences, coordinates and straight line graphs, averages and charts, expressions and equations, money and units.
• Higher covers: circle theorems, histograms and cumulative frequency, vectors, similarity, tree diagrams, quadratic equations, Pythagoras and trigonometry, proportion, indices and surds, graphs, inequalities and simultaneous equations.
• To mimic Paper 2 or 5, put the calculator away for a daily paper and show every step.

For more on mocks, see our GCSE Maths mocks guide, plus the Foundation and Higher guides and the wider GCSE Maths guide.

Taking the WJEC Eduqas course instead? Read our Eduqas GCSE Maths guide, which has its own papers and boundaries.

Exam answers

Uni-Sine does not publish official answers or mark schemes for OCR GCSE Maths papers. The answers and a worked mark scheme for each question come with today’s paper once you have submitted it and it has been marked, so you can see where every mark was won or lost.

Common mistakes in OCR GCSE Maths

• Using a calculator on the non-calculator paper habitually. Practise fractions, surds, percentages and standard form by hand.
• Rounding too soon. Keep the full calculator value until the final line.
• Not showing working. Method marks are given even if the final answer is wrong.
• Forgetting units or the context in problem solving questions.
• Choosing the wrong tier by default. Ask your teacher which tier gives you the best chance of your target grade.

Read next

UK · GCSEOCR GCSE Maths formula sheet (J560): what is givenThe OCR GCSE Maths J560 formulae sheet for June and November 2027: what the Foundation and Higher sheets give, what they leave out, and worked examples.