Calculating with percentages (8300 - Higher - Ratio, proportion and rates of change)

Topic:Calculating with percentages

Specification references (in recommended teaching order)

Specification content Specification notes
R9
  • Solve problems involving percentage change, including:
    • percentage increase / decrease problems
    • original value problems
    • simple interest, including in financial mathematics

  • problems may be set in context
  • using a multiplier


The subject content (above) matches that set out in the Department for Education’s Mathematics GCSE subject content and assessment objectives document.

The expectation is that:

  • All students will develop confidence and competence with the content identified by standard type
  • All students will be assessed on the content identified by the standard and the underlined type; more highly attaining students will develop confidence and competence with all of this content
  • Only the more highly attaining students will be assessed on the content identified by bold type. The highest attaining students will develop confidence and competence with the bold content.

Teaching resources

Teaching resources - see below
Downloadable resource in format. 29/08/2014

Diagnostic Questions - calculating with percentages 1
AQA have teamed up with Craig Barton's Diagnostic Questions website to share free diagnostic questions assessment for our new 2017 GCSE Maths specification.21/07/2017
Diagnostic Questions - calculating with percentages 2
AQA have teamed up with Craig Barton's Diagnostic Questions website to share free diagnostic questions assessment for our new 2017 GCSE Maths specification.21/07/2017
Diagnostic Questions - calculating with percentages 3
AQA have teamed up with Craig Barton's Diagnostic Questions website to share free diagnostic questions assessment for our new 2017 GCSE Maths specification.21/07/2017

A Change in Code
A fairly demanding investigational activity involving determining the percentage change in given sets of values. 24/07/2015
Maths is Fun Percentage Change
An overview of percentage changes and associated methods, followed by ten online questions.24/07/2015
Nuffield Foundation: Working with percentages
A range of resources involving percentages including reverse percentages and the use of multipliers.24/07/2015
Percentage Change Chain
Students link amounts of money with percentage increase and decrease arrows to create a chain. The final arrow is blank for pupils to calculate the percentage change needed to return to the starting amount. You will need to register for a TES account to access this resource, this is free of charge. 24/07/2015
Percentage Increase and Decrease
Activities involving increasing or decreasing the price of shop items and household bills. You will need to register for a TES account to access this resource, this is free of charge. 24/07/2015
Reverse percentage change using multipliers
Lesson plan and resources which considers multipliers and reverse percentages. You will need to register for a TES account to access this resource, this is free of charge. 24/07/2015
Simple and Compound Interest Cards
This activity involves using simple and compound interest to determine which bank offers the best deal (note that compound interest also occurs under R16 in the 'Growth and decay' topic). You will need to register for a TES account to access this resource, this is free of charge. 24/07/2015
Transum Percentage Change
Six levels of online exercises relating to percentage increase/decrease.24/07/2015
Treasure Hunt
Each card has an easy, medium and hard question which involve finding a percentage increase/decrease (medium) or reverse percentage (hard). You will need to register for a TES account to access this resource, this is free of charge. 24/07/2015
Using percentages to increase quantities
In these activities students use multipliers to represent percentage increases and decreases and determine the reverse percentage to return to the starting value. You will need to register for an account to access this resource, this is free of charge. 24/07/2015

Percentages - Homework Sheet and Mark Scheme
Downloadable resource in doc format. 08/08/2010
Percentages - Repeated Percentage Change - Lesson Plan
Downloadable resource in doc format. 12/08/2010
Percentages - Repeated Percentage Change - Problem Sheet
Repeated percentage change in share values10/08/2010
Percentages - Repeated Percentage Change - Worksheet
Downloadable resource in doc format. 11/08/2010

Topic Tests

8300 GCSE Higher Compound Interest Mark Scheme
Downloadable resource in pdf format. 09/09/2022
8300 GCSE Higher Compound Interest Topic Test
Downloadable resource in pdf format. 09/09/2022

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