How to ACE the CSSE Maths Exam and pass in style!

1. Before the Exam — Build a Sense of “Time Feel”

• Know your question rate:

  For example; if you have 60 minutes for the whole paper.

  If there are around 60 marks, that’s roughly 1 minute per mark.

  Some questions are quick (20–30 seconds), others multi-step (2–3 minutes), so balance them.

  
  

• Practise with a timer:

  Use past CSSE papers in small chunks — for example, do 10 marks in 10 minutes.

  This trains your brain to feel when 1 minute per mark is nearly up.

  
  

2. During the Exam — The 3-Pass System

Think of your paper as three sweeps:

Pass 1: Quick Wins

• Answer everything you know straight away.

• Skip anything that makes you hesitate for more than ~15 seconds.

• Put a small mark (like a dot) next to it so you can return later.

Pass 2: Medium Problems

• Go back to the ones that looked doable but needed a bit more thinking.

• If you can’t solve it in a minute, move on again.

Pass 3: The Tricky Ones

• Use your remaining time on the hardest problems.

• If you can’t finish, write down any useful working (it can get method marks).

  
  

3. Smart Question Management

• Don’t get “glued” to one difficult problem early — it’s better to collect easy marks first.

• Mark and Move: leave a clear symbol in the margin so you can spot skipped questions instantly.

  
  

4. Mental Shortcuts

• Estimate when options are far apart — you can eliminate wrong ones without full working.

• Look for patterns: number sequences, symmetry, simple fraction conversions.

• Highlight or underline numbers and keywords so you don’t waste time re-reading. 

• Don’t forget your RUCSAC – Read/Understand/Choose/Solve/Answer/Check

  
  

5. Staying Calm

• Mini check-ins: every 10 minutes, glance at your watch/timer and see if your question number matches your time (around 1 Q per minute on average).

• If behind schedule, skip more aggressively and only tackle the absolutely certain ones first.

• Remember: a partially done question with clear working is better than leaving it blank.

  
  

6. Practise “Exam Pace” Weekly

• Alternate between accuracy drills (slow, perfect accuracy) and speed drills (fast, aiming for 80–90% accuracy).

• Over time, your “fast” accuracy will rise and pacing will feel natural and you'll have a great head start in passing the CSSE maths exam.

You can do it!