GCSE Maths Formula Sheet 2027: AQA, Edexcel and OCR

Updated October 2026 for the June 2027 exams. The AQA and OCR formulae below have been checked against their official 2027 sheets. For Pearson Edexcel, the latest public Exam Aid available when this guide was checked was the official 2026 version; the article explains that clearly below and links to the source documents.

The short answer: Yes, students sitting GCSE Maths in 2027 with AQA, Pearson Edexcel or OCR will be given a formulae sheet with every paper, on both Foundation and Higher tier. The three boards' sheets list the same formulae for each tier. The Higher sheet includes the quadratic formula, the sine and cosine rules, the area of a triangle using 1⁄2ab sin C, compound interest and two probability rules.

But the sheet is not the whole course. Plenty of formulae and facts that Higher students regularly need are not on it, including the volume of a pyramid, arc length and sector area, y = mx + c, the equation of a circle, and speed, density and pressure. Those still have to be learned. This guide sets out what the sheet gives, board by board, and what your child still needs to know.

Why is there a formula sheet at all?

In a normal year, GCSE Maths students in England would have to memorise these formulae. The Department for Education's GCSE Mathematics subject content says the quadratic formula, the circle formulae, Pythagoras' theorem and the trigonometry formulae are ones students "are expected to know" and that "must not be given in the assessment". It treats the trapezium, prism, compound interest and probability formulae the same way.

That rule has been relaxed for several years. Ofqual's decision for exams in 2025, 2026 and 2027 requires exam boards to give students sheets setting out the formulae they "must memorise in a normal year", matching the sheets provided in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

In May 2026, Ofqual confirmed that the sheets will continue for exams from 2028 onwards, for the rest of the life of the current GCSE specifications, including resits. Exam boards must publish each year's sheet by 1 September of the year before the exams and give students a clean copy with every paper. So for families with a child in Year 10 or Year 11 now, the formula sheet is a settled part of the exam.

Where to download the official sheets

Always use the sheet from your child's own exam board and tier. These are the official documents, checked on 15 October 2026:

A note on Edexcel. When this guide was checked on 15 October 2026, a 2027 version of Pearson's Exam Aid could not be found on Pearson's public website. The most recent public version is the one labelled for the 2026 assessment window, so that is the version used and linked here. Pearson said in its April 2026 maths update that the 2026 Exam Aid had no changes to content or format from 2025, and the AQA and OCR 2027 sheets list exactly the same formulae. Even so, ask your child's school for the 2027 Edexcel version and use it once it is available.

Sources for the arrangements: AQA's 2027 announcement and OCR's 2027 announcement, both dated 1 September 2026.

What is on the sheet: AQA, Edexcel and OCR side by side

Line by line, the AQA 2027, OCR 2027 and Pearson 2026 documents list the same formulae for each tier. The Higher sheet contains everything on the Foundation sheet plus five more.

The differences between boards are in presentation, not content. Pearson calls its document an "Exam Aid", while AQA and OCR call theirs a "Formulae Sheet", and the layouts differ slightly. If your child practises with past papers from another board, the formulae will look the same.

Formulae given inside the question

A few formulae are on none of the sheets, but students still do not need to memorise them:

• curved surface area of a cone, πrl
• surface area of a sphere, 4πr2
• volume of a sphere, 4⁄3πr3
• volume of a cone, 1⁄3πr2h
• the kinematics formulae v = u + at, s = ut + 1⁄2at2 and v2 = u2 + 2as

The DfE subject content lists these as formulae students "should be able to use, but need not memorise", which can be given in the relevant question. AQA's specification says they "will be given in the exam in the relevant question", and OCR has confirmed it will keep printing them in questions in 2027. The skill being tested is using them correctly, for example telling the slant height of a cone (l) apart from its perpendicular height (h).

What is not on the sheet and still has to be learned (Higher tier)

The sheet covers only a small part of the formulae a Higher student uses. The list below is drawn from the DfE GCSE Mathematics subject content, which all three boards follow. It is a practical guide, not an official or complete exam-board list.

Area, volume and angles

• Area of a rectangle, of a triangle (1⁄2 × base × height) and of a parallelogram (base × perpendicular height).
• Volume of a cuboid and of a cylinder (πr2h). The prism formula is on the sheet, but students still have to work out the area of the cross section.
• Volume of a pyramid: 1⁄3 × area of base × height. It is not on any sheet, and it is not in the DfE list of formulae that may be given in the question.
• Arc length and sector area: (θ/360) × 2πr and (θ/360) × πr2.
• Angles in a triangle add up to 180°; the interior angles of an n-sided polygon add up to (n − 2) × 180°; the exterior angles of any polygon add up to 360°.
• Similar shapes: if lengths are multiplied by k, areas are multiplied by k2 and volumes by k3.
• Exact trigonometric values: sin and cos of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°, and tan of 0°, 30°, 45° and 60°.
• The circle theorems. These are facts to learn and apply rather than formulae, and none of them is on the sheet.

Algebra and graphs

• Straight lines: y = mx + c, gradient = change in y ÷ change in x, parallel lines have equal gradients, and the gradients of perpendicular lines multiply to −1.
• The equation of a circle with centre at the origin: x2 + y2 = r2.
• The laws of indices, for example am × an = am+n, (am)n = amn, a0 = 1 and a−n = 1/an.
• The difference of two squares: a2 − b2 = (a + b)(a − b).

Ratio, rates and percentages

• Speed = distance ÷ time, density = mass ÷ volume, and pressure = force ÷ area.
• Percentage change = (change ÷ original amount) × 100, reverse percentages and simple interest.
• Depreciation and decay. The compound interest formula on the sheet is written for growth, with (1 + r/100). For a decrease, the multiplier becomes (1 − r/100).
• Direct and inverse proportion: y = kx and y = k/x, and versions with powers, such as y = kx2.

Probability and statistics

• The probabilities of all possible outcomes add up to 1.
• For independent events, P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B). The sheet gives the general rule using "A given B", so students need to know when it simplifies.
• The mean from a frequency table, the interquartile range (upper quartile − lower quartile), and frequency density = frequency ÷ class width for histograms.

The sheet does not choose the formula for you

A formulae sheet removes the need to recall a formula. It does not show which formula fits a question, how to label a diagram to match it, or how to rearrange it.

Take the cosine rule. The sheet gives a2 = b2 + c2 − 2bc cos A, but the student still has to recognise that it is the right tool (typically when three sides are known, or two sides and the angle between them), match a, b, c and A to the triangle in front of them, and rearrange it if the question asks for an angle. The same applies to the quadratic formula: students must first get the equation into the form ax2 + bx + c = 0 and identify a, b and c, including their signs.

There is also time to think about. A reasonable inference is that a student who has to look up Pythagoras' theorem in every question will be slower than one who knows it. A sensible approach is to know the sheet's formulae well enough to rarely need it, and to use it as a check.

Mocks, Year 10 and the 2027 exam dates

• Practise with the real sheet. OCR says teachers can use the 2027 sheets now in teaching and mock exams. A simple habit is to keep your board's official sheet beside every past paper, so the exam layout feels familiar.
• Ask the school about mocks. Schools run their own mocks, so check whether the sheet will be provided and which version.
• Year 10 families. Students sitting GCSE Maths in 2028 will also get a sheet, under Ofqual's May 2026 decision. The 2028 sheets must be published by 1 September 2027.
• The 2027 exam dates. For AQA, Edexcel and OCR, the three maths papers are on Friday 14 May, Thursday 27 May and Monday 14 June 2027, all in the morning. See Mathinar's GCSE Maths Exam Dates 2027 guide for the full AQA, Edexcel and OCR timetable, morning-session timing and calculator/non-calculator differences. Results day is Thursday 19 August 2027. On OCR, the non-calculator paper is the middle one, on 27 May.

If you want to turn a mock mark into a rough grade, Mathinar's guides to the AQA GCSE maths grade boundaries 2026 and the Edexcel GCSE maths grade boundaries 2026 show how many marks were needed last summer. Boundaries change every year, so treat any conversion as a guide, not a promise.

A short parent checklist

1. Confirm the exam board and tier with the school (AQA, Edexcel or OCR; Higher or Foundation).
2. Download and print the official sheet for that board and tier from the table above.
3. Keep it beside every past paper your child does at home.
4. Go through the "not on the sheet" list above and check which items your child can recall confidently.
5. Ask how mocks will run, including whether the sheet is provided.
6. Use recent grade boundaries only as a guide when you read mock results.

How Mathinar fits

Mathinar is UK online maths tuition for ambitious secondary students. GCSE group classes are for Years 10 and 11, with a Higher Tier focus, and Anish teaches both AQA and Edexcel GCSE students. He teaches every group session himself. Groups are online with a maximum of ten students, and each week includes 60 minutes of live teaching plus a 30-minute homework class (£97 per month). A free trial is available for group classes.

None of that guarantees a grade. The formula sheet is set by the exam boards, and your child's result depends on their work across the whole course.

If you would like to see whether a group class suits your child, you can get in touch or read more about GCSE maths tuition at Mathinar.

Frequently asked questions

1. Do you get a formula sheet in GCSE Maths in 2027? Yes. AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR all provide a formulae sheet with every GCSE Maths paper in 2027, on both Foundation and Higher tier, in June and in the November resits.

2. Is the formula sheet the same for AQA, Edexcel and OCR? The formulae are the same for each tier. The AQA 2027, OCR 2027 and Pearson 2026 documents list identical formulae; only the name and layout differ (Pearson calls it an "Exam Aid").

3. What does the Higher sheet have that the Foundation sheet does not? Five extra formulae: the quadratic formula, the sine rule, the cosine rule, the area of a triangle using 1⁄2ab sin C, and P(A and B) = P(A given B) × P(B).

4. Are the volume of a cone and the volume of a sphere on the sheet? No. They are on none of the three sheets. Under the DfE rules they are formulae students need not memorise, and they are given in the question when needed, along with the cone and sphere surface area formulae and the kinematics formulae.

5. Does my child still need to learn formulae? Yes. Many formulae and facts are not on the sheet, including the volume of a pyramid, arc length and sector area, y = mx + c, the equation of a circle, speed, density and pressure, the laws of indices and exact trigonometric values.

6. Will there be a formula sheet in 2028? Yes. In May 2026 Ofqual confirmed that formulae sheets will continue for exams from 2028 onwards, for the life of the current GCSE specifications. The 2028 sheets must be published by 1 September 2027.

7. Can my child practise with the 2026 sheet? For AQA, yes: AQA says its 2027 sheet is the same as 2026. For Edexcel, the 2026 Exam Aid is the latest version on Pearson's public website (checked 15 October 2026). Wherever possible, use the current official sheet for your child's board and tier.

Anish Patel teaches every Mathinar lesson himself. He has taught maths for more than 20 years and is a GCSE examiner. Mathinar offers online group tuition for GCSE (Years 10–11) and A-Level students, with one-to-one available as a flexible add-on when specific gaps have been identified.