How to get an A in maths
IN CLASS.
Ask questions in class about stuff you don't understand, the teacher may have made a mistake (this happens frequently (especially at a level) and even if they have not then if you do not understand the chances are very high that others don't understand either.
Also just by listening whilst the teacher is teaching, then doing some of the work in class you will notice huge improvements.
No one is perfect and everyone will have days when they just chat in class, but also try and have ones where you knuckle down and work.
HOW TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND SPEND TIME DOING MATHS WORK
Building a habit of doing maths for just 25 mins a day can change the game, for GCSEs with this much time allocated to maths I guarantee you will finish all your homework and improve your grades. The only reason for not doing this is that...
Maths can be boring.
The reason:
to "get good" at an area we have to do a lot of practice questions - often set as homework. Frequently these don't actually take up all of our mental space, we can do most of the questions too easily, and therefore miss out on the crucial lessons from doing questions on a topic in all the formats they might come up (aka by finishing the homework)
The easy questions are boring because our brain isn't working at full capacity but wants to be, and so the experience of doing maths work isn't as fun as it could be.
For repetitious practice I find I can listen to music or even audiobooks and podcasts, making the experience a lot more enjoyable, whilst still doing the work. Turning it off when the questions get tough.
Whilst this does only work sometimes for me it is a useful trick to consider trying, especially if sitting down to work feels difficult.
REVISION
Practice questions are by far the most important aspect of revising for maths, as knowing the tricks and repeatable process that are in the questions is vital. (Hence why doing homework is important(see earlier)).
At the start of revision I used practice questions for a different purpose. Which was initially only to find out what I didn't understand.
If you already know what you don't know then in my opinion the best thing you can do is try to learn that.
Now I have friends that can learn from a textbook, but I can't. If you can (and you should try) that is great.
I cannot. At least, not well. It takes me hours to finish chapters of textbooks. The best way I found was to get a good tutor to help you go through anything. For me this was my mum, but for you it could be a teacher, or if possible a good tutor you actually pay.
This is the number one priority - understand all the content. Most people never get to that point and may waste time doing questions when instead they should be learning about an area they are weak on. (learning does still include doing questions, just with help until you fully understand)
However once you get to the stage of not knowing where you are weakest (a stage I am not sure I have ever reached in maths) that is where you can go crazy on practice tests to hone your skills to perfection. If you reach this stage I am pretty sure you must be in at the very least the top 5%.
MEMORISATION
anything you need to remember (such as forumla etc) use anki or a similar app everyday. This app allows you to make flashcards on stuff you need to remember and then tests you on the flashcards only right before you are going to forget (so no wasted time), initially you will get asked the question everyday but then the interval between tests will go up as the memory becomes stronger - which is when you really save time, but still do not forget!
These techniques helped me get an 8 in GCSE and an A in a-levels whilst my attendance at secondary school and sixth form was only around 50% (and trust me I am not one of those maths geniuses that just instantly can do further maths a level - i did only maths A level, and was not considered by my teachers to be 'top of the class' )
These are the things I learned and thought might be useful to share, if you disagree I would love to hear from you and learn.