These Topics Come Up Every Year. Are You Ready?
- Mr Smyth
- Feb 18
- 2 min read
Students waste time revising everything. Smart students revise the things that always come up first.
These are your banker topics.The ones that appear year after year.The ones that build your marks quickly.
Key Problems
You revise everything. Which means you master nothing.
You treat all topics as equal. They’re not. Some are far more likely to appear.
You ignore the “bankers”. So you drop easy marks that should be guaranteed.
Foundation – Top 10 Most Common Topics
These are your pass-builders:
Percentages
Fractions (of amounts, simplifying, adding/subtracting)
Ratio
Area and perimeter
Averages (mean, median, mode, range)
Basic algebra (simplifying, solving one-step equations)
Negative numbers
Angles (including parallel lines)
Coordinates and graphs
Probability (simple probability)
If you master these, you give yourself a serious chance of passing.
Higher – Top 10 Most Common Topics
These are your grade-builders:
Algebraic manipulation (expanding, factorising, solving)
Quadratic equations
Percentages (including reverse and compound)
Ratio and proportion
Trigonometry
Graphs (linear, quadratic, reciprocal)
Probability (including tree diagrams)
Area and volume (including circles and cylinders)
Surds and indices
Simultaneous equations
These appear constantly in some form.
Action 1: Make These Your Priority List
Write: “Banker Topics”
Then list the 10 that apply to you.
These are what you revise first. Before anything else.
Action 2: Master Before You Move On
For each topic:
Watch the explanation
Do practice questions
Mark them
Fix mistakes
Repeat until confident
Only then move to the next banker topic. Only move on when you can get 10 questions right in a row
Action 3: Track Your Confidence
Next to each topic write:
❌ = weak
⚠️ = improving
✅ = strong
Your aim:
Turn all ❌ into ⚠️
Then all ⚠️ into ✅
That’s how marks stack.
Action 4: Revise “Extra” Topics Once Bankers Are Secure
After the bankers:Then you explore:
Harder
Rarer
Stretch topics
Never before.
Action 5: Revisit Bankers Weekly
These are not one-and-done topics.
Each week:
20 minutes recap
Mixed questions
Keep them sharp
Final Thought
Not all topics are equal.Some are worth far more than others.
Revise what always comes up first. Bank the marks.Then build higher.
Want more help? Book a free revision class
How about a free week?
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