The May/June series is the main IGCSE sitting for most Year 11 students — the one their whole school year builds toward. With a fixed date in late spring, the smartest approach is to work backwards from it. Here’s how a strong countdown breaks down.
Six Months Out: Build the Foundations
This is the time for understanding, not cramming. Work through the syllabus topic by topic, making sure the high-weight areas — algebra, trigonometry, mensuration, and functions — are genuinely solid. Gaps left now become panic later.
Three Months Out: Switch to Past Papers
By the spring, the focus should shift to past papers under timed conditions. Mark them honestly against the mark scheme, keep an error log, and feed every recurring mistake back into targeted revision. This is where most grade improvements actually happen.
The Final Month: Exam Technique
In the closing weeks, refine rather than relearn. Practise showing full working for method marks, rehearse non-calculator technique for Paper 1/3, and drill the question types that still cost marks. Sleep and steady routine matter more than late-night cramming now.
A Note for the Main Cohort
Because the whole cohort sits together, school mocks and predicted grades cluster around this series — use them as diagnostics, not verdicts. There’s usually still time to move a grade if you act on what the mocks reveal.
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