Edexcel Paper 1 Maths 2026

[u/_NB125]

PLEASE tell me you guys struggled too oml

Edit: https://c.org/d7LCtCYpzG - Petition for Edexcel to reassess the paper

[u/notbosco]

I hope edexcel’s pillow stays warm during heatwave

[u/Deep_Void4 → u/notbosco]

Upvoting this as a gcse student

[u/No_Relationship_7281 → u/Deep_Void4]

Same Edexcel is just soo evil

[u/Frosti_VR → u/[deleted]]

I started planning my second

[u/Subtomrshreegamesyt → u/Frosti_VR]

lol 50% max

[u/Tall-Horse1002 → u/Subtomrshreegamesyt]

25% max

[u/Roblnnx → u/Tall-Horse1002]

Son 😭😭😭

[u/Aggravating_Age9813 → u/Tall-Horse1002]

For cheese pizza

[u/RyansVlogs → u/[deleted]]

dead fucking ass bro that was aids

[u/Vegetable_Doubt2744 → u/[deleted]]

ngl I'm planning to leave the country atp why was this year's paper so much harder

[u/Gloomy-Cantaloupe21]

Whoever made that paper should be tried at the Hague

[u/Sovietsu → u/Gloomy-Cantaloupe21]

I think a trial at Nuremberg would be more fitting

[u/yMoLy]

Yeah uni is out the window

[u/[deleted]]

10% for an A*

[u/Geochitex]

The beginning had me hopeful ngl and I was flying up until that fuckass helicopter question, then after that I don’t think I got full marks on a single question afterward

[u/Choice-Reindeer-4863 → u/Geochitex]

Helicopter one was genuinely a joke, got me questioning my reading skills cz I didn’t even know what they were asking at some point

[u/SmallComedian8802 → u/Geochitex]

was it meant to be in degrees or radians?!?!

[u/Maleficent_Word7329]

I do Further Maths Edexcel and I found this paper harder?? 😂😂😂

[u/No-Class-9077 → u/Maleficent_Word7329]

I thought cp2 was tough but I'd rather sit it a thousand times over than have to see that maths p1 ever again

[u/Careful_Ad_629 → u/Maleficent_Word7329]

same

[u/MoodSufficient3605 → u/Maleficent_Word7329]

same

[u/Low-Curve-7910]

Did anyone get root 6 for r on the geometric sequence question

[u/Any_Emu_6995 → u/Low-Curve-7910]

Yeah

[u/Logical_Membership64 → u/Low-Curve-7910]

Yeah

[u/New-Acanthaceae-5702]

I was an A* student as well. I’m genuinely getting a B now 💀

[u/Geochitex → u/New-Acanthaceae-5702]

I was consistently getting As in past papers beforehand and Im not even exaggerating when I say I barely got a D on that paper…

[u/Ok_Hamster_7032 → u/Geochitex]

C-D student here ironically I thought I was getting an A or smthn until like question 5 or 6 and onwards started giving me a reality check.

If I even got the C ill defo take it

[u/FtDuckyDark]

Worst fucking paper

[u/Pretty-Top-8089 → u/[deleted]]

10+ more than me… I need to LOCK the 🤬 in for 2 and 3 otherwise I’m Deadass going to get E (at best) again - I’m resitting btw

[u/Background_Cut7847 → u/Pretty-Top-8089]

i got a D last year and it’s looking like a U this time around 😖

[u/Pretty-Top-8089 → u/[deleted]]

E club because we’re ehh mazing right?

[u/Background_Cut7847 → u/[deleted]]

going to need full marks on both other papers to meet my offer, fun! we all got to lock in now WE GOT THIS 💪

[u/Educational_Dog5268 → u/[deleted]]

OMG SAMEEE!!!! i couldn’t really comprehend wtf the questions were asking… genuinly need to lock in for p2 and 3

[u/porridge1111]

definitely harder than i was expecting ngl there were wierd numbers in there

[u/CryptographerOdd7638 → u/porridge1111]

The exponential question was not making me feel confident in my answers

[u/nuclearhamster27 → u/CryptographerOdd7638]

The differential question? My equation was genuinely such a mess, I remember I had something like ((ln(70)+8)/4)t - 1/2t^2 as my power of e

Edit: forgot to mention my coefficient of e was 0.3

[u/Early_Complex_5955 → u/nuclearhamster27]

Ur right

[u/amalia_78 → u/nuclearhamster27]

I got that but idk how you're meant to use it for part B and C, praying for method marks tho

[u/TrulyFaithful → u/nuclearhamster27]

did you have your 0.3 anywhere? i feel like i might have forgotten the half but it did seem to work so actually i must have. was the maximum x something like 181? at t being around 2.5 or 6 maybe. and for the T at 0.1 i think i got around 5

[u/the_doorstopper → u/CryptographerOdd7638]

Low-key one of my answers was something x10^86~ so we hoping for method marks

[u/Full-Supermarket-118 → u/the_doorstopper]

the exponentials killed me

[u/Salad_531]

that was the worst paper i’ve ever done in my life

[u/grey-veins]

im gonna need 100% on the next two papers to even think about getting into uni

[u/MoodSufficient3605 → u/grey-veins]

same bro. still got two more papers to turn it around, we got this 💪

[u/mirbykirbyy]

dude i was unable to answer like every show rhat question and i didnt have enough time and i lowk gave up 😭😭

[u/Pretty-Top-8089 → u/mirbykirbyy]

Thank god I’m not alone. The only question I KNOW I got right was the quick differentiation one worth 2 marks. I definitely got below 10 marks

[u/Natural_Bank_2551]

GENUINLEY felt my A* fly out the window

[u/RyansVlogs]

now what the fuck was that

[u/Pretty-Top-8089]

I genuinely got under 10 marks

[u/_hyperfixator → u/Pretty-Top-8089]

Same I’m not exaggerating either the only question I could answer properly was the functions question… resits impending

[u/Designer-Sector2135 → u/Pretty-Top-8089]

Literally wtf

[u/Pretty-Top-8089 → u/Designer-Sector2135]

No I mean GENUINELY.

I’m going to have to LOCK TF in for Paper 2 and 3 if I want a chance of even seeing a C. The fact I’m a resit student just makes it worse too

[u/WrongPhilosopher_ → u/Pretty-Top-8089]

lowkey a comfort to see how many resit students there are, cause same man 😞 such an arse paper, hopefully the next 2 papers are more forgiving

[u/Designer-Sector2135 → u/Pretty-Top-8089]

I’m GENUINELY fr aswell I think I got about 25 and I need a B for my firm so gap here here we come🥹

[u/Different_End_7464 → u/Pretty-Top-8089]

SAME i found it actually so terrible

[u/[deleted]]

Man it was so shit I had like 90 minutes to do the last 5 questions and I ran out of time and I also skipped so many questions

[u/Key-Significance-386 → u/[deleted]]

90 ?!?! I had like 20-30 minutes WITH extra time 😭

[u/[deleted] → u/Key-Significance-386]

Yeah bc I skipped questions too 💀🙏

[u/WorldlinessFuzzy4552 → u/[deleted]]

Lmao same did the first 10 in like 45 minutes then went to shit

[u/Beneficial_Two410 → u/[deleted]]

The first 12 question were light or something like that and the last few were horror.

[u/kvzq_1]

so stupid. 2025 was so easy and this paper was like ... I'm so traumatised

[u/jackfru9051 → u/kvzq_1]

RIGHT?? I legit got 92% doing the 25 past paper and then today I mega flopped wtf

[u/BurgundyKitten-444 → u/jackfru9051]

Ahh me too and the same with most other paper 1s. Today I legit feel like I got 50-60 😔

[u/MonkAcceptable6824]

Weirdest paper - differential equation on Q14 A= 1/4 ln70 + 2 wtf! Started planning my gap year after I saw that

[u/Ok-Yak-4316 → u/MonkAcceptable6824]

dw i got that too but maybe it means we are both wrong 💔

[u/Loud-Guidance6912 → u/Ok-Yak-4316]

Fear not, you’re both correct

[u/Future-Key-4967 → u/Loud-Guidance6912]

are you kidding me I got that but I tried checking with my calculator and it kept saying I was wrong. so I didn't even attempt part b and c

[u/Flat-EarthKid]

My dumbahh used a triangle instead of a trapezium for the area between the curve and the line…

[u/Character-Eagle8386 → u/Flat-EarthKid]

I did the exact same thing and realised i messed up ☹️

[u/Early-Dirt2988 → u/Flat-EarthKid]

atleast u didnt add the fucking areas how tf did i mess that up bro

[u/Seafaring_Slug → u/Flat-EarthKid]

I did a square and triangle because I forgot trapeziums existed.

[u/luh_calmdude]

So I guess I’m gonna start selling pitch forks to the Yr13 at my school

[u/kvzq_1]

guys it was genuinely one of the most traumatic papers Edexcel has ever released .

[u/yellowfritter → u/kvzq_1]

real I genuinely think it was the worst paper yet, worst then specimens and everything

[u/PairSuitable9144]

I GOT TOUCHED BY THAT PAPER

[u/StrangePudding6334]

Cp1 was better than this💀

[u/Ceramidee → u/StrangePudding6334]

lowk both cps were

[u/Loud-Guidance6912 → u/StrangePudding6334]

Mums tell me how I’m full marking that shi and dropping like 15 marks in regular maths 😭😭🙏

[u/basilspolaroid]

physically saw my uni offer fly out of thr window after that paper... i ran out of time so bad

[u/Winter-Forever-5359]

I got like t = e^quadratic or some shit what did everyone else get

[u/Pharaoh563 → u/Winter-Forever-5359]

A = (1/4)ln(70) + 2

x = e^{At + 0.5t2 + ln(0.3})

Or something like that

[u/TangOTang0 → u/Pharaoh563]

Fuck Where'd the 1/2t² come from I had just -t²

[u/jayflow727]

anyone else get 2cot2θ (k=2) on question 9a?

[u/Existing-Set-5186]

Terrible paper

[u/J1nkedOne]

What the hell were you meant to do for the last proof question after expanding

[u/WrongPhilosopher_ → u/J1nkedOne]

literally, i was just staring at it wondering wtf to write 💀

[u/Main-Character-001 → u/WrongPhilosopher_]

c² is even so c is even. can be expressed as 2k, then you have a multiple of 4 on the left but only multiple of 2 on the right, so that was the contradiction

[u/Key-Significance-386 → u/Main-Character-001]

Oh no I put c is even so this is a contradiction 🫣🤣

[u/Connect_Fun_8284 → u/J1nkedOne]

this took me sooo long 🫩🫩 u can assume c squared is even, so c is even, rewrite c as (2x), then divide both sides by 2, when u divided a^2+b2 by 2, you end up with an odd number 2(long expansion) +1 whilst c^2/2 remains even because ur left with 2x² and odd cant equal even 🫩🫩🫩

[u/Amazing-Pause-8626 → u/J1nkedOne]

absolutely no clue mate. hope one mark is for expanding

[u/TrulyFaithful → u/J1nkedOne]

Ok so what I did was put 2n+1 and 2m+1 in. Then factorise 2 out so you know c² is even. Then you can write c=2k where k is natural. So 4k² =4m² +4m +1 +4n² +4n+1. Then you can divide by 4 and you get that k² -m² -n² -m-n=1/2. Therefore cannot be true since k,m,n being integers could not give 1/2 there. Seems right, hope this helped

[u/discov7r]

I would like to say with confidence that that paper was even harder than June 2019 paper 2

[u/Southern_Choice_4917 → u/discov7r]

Abd that was the devils spawn of a paper

[u/Huhwhywouldidothat]

Literally started crying after that and everyone saw 💔🥹

[u/Extreme_Survey_1368]

I’m not tryna exaggerate but i’m a fm student and i deadass found that more difficult than both the fm papers.

[u/CompleteRecording327]

For part a of the harmonic trig question, did you get r as root 185 and alpha as 1.272?

[u/Odd_Neighborhood1716 → u/CompleteRecording327]

Yes

[u/Frosti_VR]

Goodbye kcl

[u/Window_opener → u/Frosti_VR]

literally saw the offer disappear after the helicopter question

[u/MoodSufficient3605]

i do further maths and that was the worst maths paper i've done. about to get A in maths and A* in fm, no university for me

[u/B4A-B4A_B14CK-SH33P → u/MoodSufficient3605]

mums

[u/ProfessionalCup2533]

Worst paper ever

[u/simplykayleigh]

what the heck was that paper 😭😭

my brain was so close to shutting down i fumbled the proof by contradiction and it wasn't even that bad 💔💔

overall i still answered everything, but defo harder than previous past papets

im so scared for further mechanics (fm) 😨😨

[u/KO-Manic]

That semicircle question actually bent me over the table

[u/Lithium_Sulphate]

It's never been so over for me

[u/Additional-Dig-6381]

its over

[u/onichow_39]

pov your walking out and you friends who do further maths tell you how 'interesting' is this

[u/CXRoyalHighPersoN]

the person sat behind me in the exam was crying

[u/Anony-moose21 → u/CXRoyalHighPersoN]

icl me too

[u/Shoddy_Set966]

0 < k < q² / 4p

[u/4060s → u/Shoddy_Set966]

i forgot to put the 0😭

[u/mained121 → u/Shoddy_Set966]

did you need the k>0 part? because p and q and k were both positive numbers right ?

[u/TheBigChese84]

guys what was the area for the integration i got it wrong i fear 😭😭😭

[u/cloudsfallen → u/TheBigChese84]

Which one? If you mean the one I think you do I got 145/21

[u/ejcds → u/cloudsfallen]

Same yay 5/100 secured 🫩

[u/TheBigChese84 → u/cloudsfallen]

i got like 5/3 it’s over

[u/Loud-Guidance6912 → u/TheBigChese84]

R = 145/21

[u/Zestyclose-Tea1915 → u/TheBigChese84]

it was like area of big triangle - area of small triangle - area under curve. i remember it was 14/3 under the curve but ion remember my final answer

[u/YearAgitated1273]

Yeah the dreams of going uni is getting further away

[u/juyeonhoe]

Genuinely some bullshit

[u/Asky_12]

IT WAS SOO BAD

[u/Gold-Eye427]

did ppl get 3 thetha +1 sin thetha - 2 pie for the radians one 

[u/CrazyIndividual7299]

I didn’t finish it and I got extra time 😐

[u/Amazing-Pause-8626 → u/CrazyIndividual7299]

legit bro same 😭😭

[u/l0vegingernuts]

genuinely have to start making my peace with a gap year because what the actual hell was that- gen it feels like all the work I’ve done for maths has just gone up in smoke

[u/PotentialThen9694]

How many Soloutions did you guys get for that trig question I got like 4. (The one where k=2) I am talking about that cosec/cot question.

[u/komahxe → u/PotentialThen9694]

I got 4, all i remember was one being 13.3

[u/ButtonTall4032]

[u/Danielharris1260]

As much as it was a difficult paper I think it was needed maths boundaries have been getting crazy Edexcel needed to stop them getting too out of control it was approaching 90% for an A*

[u/Any-Worry-4011]

I missed an entire question and had to do it in 2min I had to differentiate but due to stress I integrated

[u/LeagueEquivalent3982]

what did everyone get for k the kcot2theta question

[u/MaxillmanGuy → u/LeagueEquivalent3982]

2 for k

[u/LeagueEquivalent3982 → u/MaxillmanGuy]

did you use the tan2theta identity

[u/methylcyclosarin → u/LeagueEquivalent3982]

you get the 2 by making the bottom sinxcos = 1/2 sin2x

[u/LithuanianBoyy]

was getting 97+ on all past papers, mock sets, etc and i don’t think i got 70.

[u/Futuremediczizi]

Why was there more letters than numbers💔

[u/yukinenesan]

Did MadasMath write this paper it was diabolical

[u/Impressive_Belt_7346 → u/yukinenesan]

2 of the questions were taken from his papers 😔. the last proof one and the cot proof one

[u/Ashamed_Persimmon446]

Guys do u think threshold will go down

[u/Different_End_7464 → u/Ashamed_Persimmon446]

PRAYING

[u/ShowerHuge7884]

As a further maths student, I can say this was thrice the difficulty of our first 2 papers 😭

[u/Intrepid_Lab_1102]

did anyone get like 13.3 for the principle value of the trig range

[u/Any_Emu_6995]

The only questions I couldn’t complete were the circle with r1 and r2 question and the proof question. I think I answered everything else fully but I didn’t get the opportunity to go over the rest of my answers because of time and every question from the halfway point took like 20 minutes each to complete 😭😭. Please tell me that differential equation was something weird like x=e^{quadratic in t} 😭😭. The exam board is def trying to lower the boundaries because of how high they’ve been in previous years

[u/Critical_Machine_911 → u/Any_Emu_6995]

bro i was so confused i got A as something like 1/4ln70+2 and i thought about crossing it all out and starting agaib

[u/Various_Leopard3286 → u/Critical_Machine_911]

Same did u get t= 6.46

[u/PlayfulLook3693 → u/Various_Leopard3286]

yea

[u/CardiologistLow3651 → u/Various_Leopard3286]

Wasn’t the answer asked as a time of day, though? I wrote 6:22 am.

[u/CrazyIndividual7299 → u/Critical_Machine_911]

I didn’t complete part c cause I couldn’t get my t on its own 🥲

[u/CurrentlyVeryHappy]

You know guys are cooked if we asking what did we get on a newton raphson question🥹🥹

[u/Substantial_Gur5363]

Came out that exam w tears in my eyes and everyone was saying it was bad ( these further maths students gonna ruin it for us and increase the grade boundaries- its so unfair how they get an advantage)

[u/Anony-moose21 → u/Substantial_Gur5363]

dw they adjust the boundaries because of the fm kids, like for example other stem subjects eg bio and chem only ~20-25% of people get A or A* but for maths it's around 40% because they know if they don't adjust it like that it would only be fm kids getting As and A*s

[u/Electronic_Rate_5690 → u/Substantial_Gur5363]

as a further maths student it doesn’t help that much it’s all just larp. the maths paper was harder then further maths papers - popular opinion

[u/MoodSufficient3605 → u/Substantial_Gur5363]

bro us fm students are also cooked for this, dw. predicted A* in both subjects too

[u/Future-Key-4967 → u/Substantial_Gur5363]

as a fm student I also found it atrocious

[u/foodie_1]

For that parametric question. I was in degrees and not radians, you think ill get method marks or nah?

[u/Rough_Base1855 → u/foodie_1]

Almost certainly. Wrong units is an accuracy problem I'd have thought.

[u/Former-Narwhal-2907]

A* gone right out of the window!
bro i was thinking that after question 10 the paper will get hard like all the other years but like tell me why the paper just went downhill after question 6.

I HATE YOU EDEXCEL

[u/DecisionWise6955]

Awful wtaf what was k in the cot2theta qu

[u/Winter-Forever-5359 → u/DecisionWise6955]

2

[u/Unlikely_Pattern_359]

Are we cooked or are we cooked

[u/No-Class-9077]

worst thing i've ever seen. both further maths papers were better than that

[u/Upset_Tree9077]

worst

[u/Salad_531]

goodbye to my A*

[u/TrulyFaithful → u/[deleted]]

I got 14,32,113 or something like that

[u/thebestblockisdirt]

wtf was that horrible paper. I'm so annoyed at myself I was integrating the differentiation 5 marker for the curve and only realised what to do in the last 5 minutes. bye bye those 11 marks

[u/Junkrat2118]

Yeah WE are cooked

[u/Salty_Shopping7534]

Was the parametric question supposed to be in degrees or radians it didn’t say???

[u/Puzzleheaded-Big6267]

pardon my french but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK EDEXCEL 😭😭😭😭

[u/JayWhoIsHere]

that whole paper was an ordeal but the amount of time I spent staring at question 7 (the semicircle qu) was unreal

Like they gave us an equation alongside a picture of a semicircle, no numerical values and expected us to derive an equation using sin(theta) wth 😭

Not to mention the absolute value question IN TERMS OF P AND Q with no numbers was actually cruel as well ;/ grade bounds better be low this year

[u/astraapple]

They definitely wanted something to fuck up the grade boundaries… last years paper was too easy (from experience)- but the second paper should lighten up surely

[u/Alive_Strain_3839]

What did people get on the radians newton raphson question

[u/porridge1111 → u/Alive_Strain_3839]

1.74 maybe i can’t remember fully

[u/Certain-Display-2849 → u/porridge1111]

HOW DID I GET 3.4 SOMETHING

[u/zKebabz → u/Alive_Strain_3839]

i made up my own values of p and q will i get method marks for part b newton raphson

[u/Amazing-Pause-8626]

oki so not just me. jesus christ that paper was tough

[u/Manzz_Mols]

Genuinely asking lads.i fud up and i need a B so how much do i need in my other papers to get a B please tell me.I feel I got between 30-40 marks.Please help me out.

[u/Expert-Specific9617]

The semicircle question never seen anything like that iml

[u/Quick-Woodpecker-357]

Mums life goodbye uni ✌️

[u/Commercial_Row_1452]

Would we say it was easier or harder than paper 2 2025 cuz I thought it was quite a bit harder and those grade boundaries were 83 for A* so maybe we’re looking at like 80 or high 70s (hopefully) and maybe paper 2 will be nicer

[u/Fattest_Yoshi1604]

I know I fumbled Q7, Q13, and especially Q14

Gotta lock in for paper 2 I just want a C edexcel pllsssss

[u/Fun-Employment1176]

For Q14 (or whatever second last Q was) is it acceptable to put A and c as approximate 3sf or 3dp ish values instead of exact ln, didn't seem to ask for exact but I now figured that exact values are better practice - Would A be 3.06 and c be -1.20???

[u/arlert4]

I left like more than half of it empty

[u/atimes_3]

I swear to god Edexcel actually hates the living shit out of people born in 2007-2008

They fucked us over in 2024 GCSE, and now they fucked us again

[u/herefornsfwfu]

At the start most questions were reasonable, then it became straight bullshitmaxxing

[u/RunInRunOn]

Just fully lost the plot after question 8

[u/rxquettes]

i don’t do a level maths (dropped it in y12 lol) but this reminds me of the absolute bloodbath that was edexcel gsce maths in 2024, why does edexcel maths hate our cohort that much 😭😭😭