OCR A is the one board that finishes with a comprehension paper: an unseen mathematical article your child has to read, interpret and answer on under time pressure. Drilling past-paper technique alone does not prepare for it. We match your child with a tutor who knows the H240 papers cold.
A 40-minute consultation about OCR A-Level Maths. Joe calls you back within one working day, then sends two or three tutors with free trial calls.
OCR A (H240) is fully linear: three papers at the end of Year 13, each two hours and 100 marks, no coursework and nothing banked from Year 12. What sets OCR apart is Paper 3. Alongside pure, it carries a comprehension section, an unfamiliar mathematical article with questions that test whether your child can read, interpret and apply maths laid out in a way they have not seen before. It rewards understanding over memorised method.
Paper 1: Pure Mathematics and Statistics
Two hours, 100 marks. Pure content plus a statistics section, including work on the pre-released large data set. Pure and applied sit together from the very first paper.
Paper 2: Pure Mathematics and Mechanics
Two hours, 100 marks. More pure, plus mechanics: kinematics, forces and Newton's laws. Your child moves from pure technique to modelling a moving object in the same exam.
Paper 3: Pure Mathematics and Comprehension
Two hours, 100 marks. Pure, then the distinctive comprehension: an unseen mathematical article to read and answer questions on. It tests interpretation, not just recall, and it catches students who only ever drilled past-paper technique.
Where the marks are
OCR's Paper 3 comprehension is unlike anything at GCSE. Tutors work through past comprehension articles so your child learns to pull the maths out of unfamiliar writing and answer the way OCR rewards, rather than freezing at an article they have never met.
Pure runs through every OCR paper, so a shaky foundation shows up everywhere. Tutors go back to the algebra and functions the mocks keep exposing, then build through the harder Year 13 pure until the method marks hold.
OCR puts statistics with Paper 1 and mechanics with Paper 2, each next to pure. Tutors drill both, plus the large data set the statistics leans on, so neither applied strand is left to the week before the exam.
From enquiry to first session
When you enquire, Joe calls you back to find a time that suits. You talk through your child's OCR Maths, the predicted grade and whether it is the pure, the applied or the comprehension pulling the mark down. From there he starts working out which tutors would genuinely fit.
Joe sends a shortlist of tutors he thinks could work, and each offers a free trial call. You watch how they explain a proof or talk through a comprehension article, and see who your child actually clicks with. No commitment, no card details, no pressure.
You choose the tutor that feels right, and weekly sessions start on Lessonspace, our shared online whiteboard. You pay per session, there are no contracts, and if at any point it is not working, you stop.
Verified Google reviews
Real reviews from real Degree Gap families, all verified on Google. We chose ones that speak to A-Level and the step up that catches Maths students out.
My son gained almost two grades higher than his year 13 mock paper. His tutor was excellent.
Cannot recommend The Degree Gap highly enough. Quick and helpful responses. I was immediately matched with a very competent tutor who was a massive help in helping me exceed my target grade and achieve a first class degree at university.
Before joining The Degree Gap, I found it hard to follow the curriculum. The sessions helped everything click. Lessons were calm, focused, and easy to understand. Highly recommend.
Joe calls you back within one working day. He will ask which paper is slipping, the predicted grade and what you have already tried, then send two or three tutors with free trial calls so you can pick the one your child clicks with. No sales pitch.
Three, all at the end of Year 13. Paper 1 is Pure and Statistics, Paper 2 is Pure and Mechanics, and Paper 3 is Pure and Comprehension. Each is two hours and 100 marks, it is fully linear, and there is no coursework. The comprehension in Paper 3 is what makes OCR A stand out from the other boards.
In Paper 3, alongside pure, OCR gives students an unseen mathematical article and asks questions on it. It tests whether your child can read maths they have not been taught in that form, make sense of it and apply it. Students who have only drilled standard past papers can freeze. A tutor works through past comprehension articles so the format is familiar and the marks are there to be taken.
The comprehension paper is the headline difference. OCR also splits the applied content, putting statistics with Paper 1 and mechanics with Paper 2, where Edexcel bolts all the applied into one paper. Same maths, different shape. It is why we match your child to a tutor who knows the exact board, not just the subject. Note OCR also offers a separate MEI specification (OCR B), and we match to whichever your school teaches.
Very. OCR's papers assume the GCSE algebra is automatic, then stack proof, heavier functions and calculus on top. Plenty of students who walked out of GCSE Maths grinning hit a wall in the first term. It is the single biggest step in the curriculum, and it is fixable. We start with a diagnostic to find exactly which bit of the pure is leaking marks.
Yes. OCR provides a formula booklet and students can use a graphical or scientific calculator. But the booklet is large, and knowing where things are, plus which formulae are not in it and have to be memorised, is its own skill. Tutors make sure your child is not hunting through pages under time pressure.
Yes. Every session runs on Lessonspace, our shared online whiteboard, so the tutor can work through a proof or a comprehension article line by line and you keep the recording. Most students focus better one-to-one online than in a full class. We do not do in-person.
One free 40-minute call with Joe. Trial two or three tutors before you pay a penny.
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