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CCEA GCSE Maths

Northern Ireland’s GCSE Maths works differently from England’s – different grades, different structure, and a route choice that caps what a student can be awarded.

CCEA GCSE Maths is Northern Ireland’s own GCSE, graded A* to G – including a C* grade that does not exist in England – rather than on the 9 to 1 scale. It is unitised: one assessment unit (M1 to M4, worth 45%) pairs with a matching Completion Test (M5 to M8, worth 55%), and the four routes carry four different grade ceilings, from D–G on M1+M5 up to A*–D on M4+M8. Math Wizard teaches it in person in Belfast or online, at £60–£80 per hour.

How Is CCEA GCSE Maths Graded?

England moved GCSEs to a 9–1 scale. Northern Ireland did not. CCEA awards nine grades:

A*  ·  A  ·  B  ·  C*  ·  C  ·  D  ·  E  ·  F  ·  G

That C* is unique to CCEA. It exists nowhere else in the UK. It is also the single clearest sign of whether a tutoring service actually knows the Northern Irish system or is quietly assuming everyone sits the English one.

How Do the CCEA Units and Routes Work?

CCEA GCSE Maths is unitised. Every candidate takes two units: one assessment unit (M1–M4) worth 45%, and its matching Completion Test (M5–M8) worth 55%. There are four permitted combinations, and each reaches a different range of grades.

Route Tier Grades available
M1 + M5 Foundation D to G
M2 + M6 Foundation C* to G
M3 + M7 Higher B to E
M4 + M8 Higher A* to D

So “Higher tier” is not one thing. A student on M3 + M7 cannot be awarded above a B, no matter how well the exams go. Only M4 + M8 reaches A*.

Worth asking the school which route your child is entered for. It is the single decision that most affects the grade, and it is rarely something parents are told explicitly.

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Everything on this page is free and always will be. If a topic isn’t going in, we also teach CCEA GCSE Maths one-to-one and in small groups – the first lesson is half price, with no contract.

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Can You Use a Calculator in CCEA GCSE Maths?

Assessment units (M1–M4)

A single written exam. Foundation units M1 and M2 are 1 hour 45 minutes; Higher units M3 and M4 are 2 hours. A calculator is used in all four.

Completion Tests (M5–M8)

Two papers each. Foundation M5 and M6: one hour per paper. Higher M7 and M8: 1 hour 15 minutes per paper. Paper 1 is non-calculator; Paper 2 permits one.

In March 2026 CCEA welcomed the Minister’s decision on qualifications reform and said it would begin developing new qualifications. Nothing maths-specific has been published yet, so the structure above is the one currently in force.

Free CCEA GCSE Maths Worksheets

Practice questions with full worked solutions, written for the CCEA specification rather than borrowed from an English board. Free, with no account and no email address.

Browse CCEA GCSE worksheets

CCEA GCSE Maths – Common Questions

No. CCEA awards GCSEs on a nine-grade scale of A*, A, B, C*, C, D, E, F and G, with A* the highest. The C* grade is unique to CCEA and exists nowhere else in the UK. England moved to 9-1; Northern Ireland did not.
It is unitised. Every candidate takes two units: one assessment unit from M1 to M4, worth 45%, and the matching Completion Test from M5 to M8, worth 55%. There are four permitted routes, and each one can reach a different range of grades.
Only M4 plus M8, on Higher tier. M3 plus M7 tops out at a B, M2 plus M6 at a C*, and M1 plus M5 at a D. The route a student is entered for sets a hard ceiling on the grade, so it is worth knowing which one it is.
Calculators are used in the assessment units M1, M2, M3 and M4, and in Paper 2 of each Completion Test. They are not permitted in Paper 1 of any Completion Test.
Possibly. In March 2026 CCEA welcomed the Minister's decision on qualifications reform, aimed at reducing content and assessment burden, and said it will shortly begin developing new qualifications. No maths-specific structure or timeline has been published yet, so anything beyond that is speculation.
Partly, and that is the trap. The underlying maths overlaps heavily, so the topic content is usable. The exam structure, grade scale, tiering and paper format are all different, so timing practice, grade targets and past papers from AQA or Edexcel will mislead a CCEA student.

Structure, routes, grade ranges and calculator rules verified against the CCEA GCSE Mathematics (2017) specification and CCEA Teacher Guidance.

Where these facts come from

Every paper structure, mark total, timing and grade scale on this page was checked against the awarding body’s own published specification. Those documents are free, and they are the only source that is definitive – if anything here ever disagrees with one of them, the specification is right and this page is wrong.

Specifications are revised from time to time. Where a course has changed – the 2023 revision to National 5 and Higher, for example – this site follows the current version, which a good deal of older revision material still does not.