From Passing to Top Marks: How to Truly Improve in Maths

In short: Getting better at maths is rarely a question of talent. It is about understanding relationships rather than memorising procedures, learning deliberately from your own mistakes, practising regularly instead of in rare long sessions, and closing old gaps before new material is built on top of them.

Few subjects cause as much frustration as maths. Yet this is rarely down to a lack of ability. Far more often it is down to how the studying is done. A child who finds the right approach can often improve markedly, even from a bare pass to top marks.

Why maths works differently

Maths builds on itself like a tower. A child who has not securely mastered fractions will struggle with equations, no matter how often the new material is repeated. Unlike subjects where topics can be learned separately, in maths every old gap takes its revenge later. That is the bad news. The good news: those gaps can be closed at any time.

Understand, do not memorise

The most common mistake is learning procedures blindly. A child memorises which steps to work through without understanding why. As long as the task looks exactly like the one practised, that works. The moment it is phrased slightly differently, everything collapses. A child who understands why a procedure works can transfer it to new tasks. That is precisely what demanding exams like the Zurich entrance exam test.

Learn from mistakes instead of skipping past them

In maths, mistakes are the most valuable source of information. A child who gets a task wrong and simply moves on wastes that information. It is more effective to understand every mistake: was it carelessness, a calculation slip, or a genuine gap in understanding? A small error notebook, recording recurring mistakes, quickly reveals patterns. Often it turns out that many wrong answers stem from the same single gap.

Regularly, not in bulk

Four hours at the weekend achieve less than four sessions of twenty minutes spread across the week. The brain consolidates what it has learned in the breaks in between. Short, regular practice clearly beats rare long sessions. This spaced practice is one of the best-supported learning methods there is.

Active solving, not passive watching

Many children “study” maths by reading through worked examples and feeling that they have understood. That feeling is deceptive. Understanding only shows when you solve a task yourself, without help. The advice is therefore: close the textbook and solve. Only when you get stuck on your own do you find out where your understanding actually ends.

Close gaps before new material arrives

When a child makes no progress despite practice, the cause often lies not in the current topic but further down the tower. Then re-explaining the new material does not help. You have to go back, find the actual gap, and close it. Children rarely spot these gaps themselves, because they do not know what they are missing.

The role of a tutor

This is where a good one-to-one tutor is most valuable. An experienced tutor sees where understanding really breaks down, often at a point no one had thought of. Instead of practising “maths” in general, the decisive gap gets closed specifically. That saves time and turns frustration into progress. You can read how this looks in practice on our maths tutoring page.

Frequently asked questions

Are you simply good at maths or not? Talent plays a smaller role than often assumed. Most improvement comes from the right method, not innate ability.

Why don’t I understand new material even though I practise a lot? The cause often lies in an older, unclosed gap further down the material, which has to be closed first.

What is the best way to practise maths? Regularly in short sessions, actively solving rather than passively reading, and with a careful analysis of your own mistakes.

Is there any point in reading through worked examples? Only a little. Understanding shows only when you solve a task yourself, without help.