Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics 0580 Past Papers 2020–2025 – All Question Papers & Answers
- Jack Wilson
- Feb 22
- 15 min read
Updated: Mar 19
This page gives you the complete collection of Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) past papers from 2020–2025, including all variants, question papers, mark schemes and answers to help you revise effectively.
Before downloading the papers, it's important to know whether you are entered for the Core or Extended tier, as this determines which papers you sit. If you are entered for Core, you will sit Paper 1 (labelled 11, 12, or 13) and Paper 3 (labelled 31, 32, or 33) — these papers focus on basic skills, and the highest grade you can achieve is a C. If you are entered for Extended, you will sit Paper 2 (labelled 21, 22, or 23) and Paper 4 (labelled 41, 42, or 43) — this tier is the route most IGCSE students will be entered for. Before attempting these papers, please also read the expert guidance from Cambridge examiners and experienced teachers by clicking here - it will be very helpful.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) October November 2025 Past Papers – Question Papers & Mark Schemes
2025 Cambridge IGCSE Maths | Downloads | |
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 11 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 12 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 13 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 21 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 22 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 23 (Variant 3) | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 31 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 32 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 33 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 41 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 42 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2025 Paper 43 | ||
What marks did students need for an A*, A and B in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) Extended variants in November 2025?
For the Extended tier in the November 2025 session (total 200 marks), the grade thresholds were relatively high across all variants. In Variant BX (Papers 21 and 41), students needed 172 for an A*, 144 for an A, and 114 for a B. In Variant BY (Papers 22 and 42), the boundaries were slightly lower, with 169 for an A*, 140 for an A, and 111 for a B. The highest thresholds were again in Variant BZ (Papers 23 and 43), where candidates needed 177 for an A*, 155 for an A, and 122 for a B. Overall, this shows that in the November 2025 session, students aiming for top grades in Extended Mathematics generally needed around 85–90% for an A*, 70–80% for an A, and about 55–65% for a B.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) June 2025 Past Papers – Question Papers & Mark Schemes
2025 Cambridge IGCSE Maths | Downloads | |
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 11 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 12 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 13 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 21 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 22 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 23 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 31 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 32 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 33 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 41 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 42 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2025 Paper 43 | ||
What marks did students need for an A*, A and B in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) Extended variants in June 2025?
For the Extended tier across all variants in the June 2025 session (total 200 marks), the grade thresholds varied slightly depending on the paper combination. In Variant BX (Papers 21 and 41), students needed 156 for an A*, 131 for an A, and 106 for a B. In Variant BY (Papers 22 and 42), the boundaries were higher, with 176 for an A*, 152 for an A, and 119 for a B. The highest thresholds were in Variant BZ (Papers 23 and 43), where students needed 178 for an A*, 157 for an A, and 127 for a B. Overall, this shows that for Extended Mathematics, candidates generally need around 80–90% for an A*, 65–80% for an A, and about 55–65% for a B.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) March 2025 Past Papers – Question Papers & Mark Schemes
2025 Cambridge IGCSE Maths | Downloads | |
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2025 Paper 12 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2025 Paper 22 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2025 Paper 32 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2025 Paper 42 | ||
What marks did students need for an A*, A and B in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) Extended in March 2025?
For the Extended tier in the March 2025 session (Variant BY: Papers 22 and 42, total 200 marks), the grade thresholds were particularly high. Students needed 180 marks for an A*, 161 marks for an A, and 128 marks for a B. This indicates that this session was relatively accessible. Overall, this reflects the typical pattern in Extended Mathematics, where an A* usually requires around 85–90% while an A around 70–80%.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) October November 2024 Past Papers – Question Papers & Mark Schemes
2024 Cambridge IGCSE Maths | Downloads | |
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 11 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 12 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 13 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 21 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 22 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 23 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 31 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 32 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 33 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 41 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 42 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2024 Paper 43 | ||
What marks did students need for an A*, A and B in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) Extended variants in November 2024?
For the Extended tier in the November 2024 session (total 200 marks), the grade thresholds were quite high. In Variant BX (Papers 21 and 41), students needed 168 for an A*, 140 for an A, and 112 for a B. In Variant BY (Papers 22 and 42), the boundaries were the highest, with 180 for an A*, 160 for an A, and 130 for a B. In Variant BZ (Papers 23 and 43), candidates needed 174 for an A*, 149 for an A, and 115 for a B. Overall, this shows that in November 2024, students aiming for an A* in Extended Mathematics generally needed around 85–90%, an A about 70–80%, and a B around 55–65%.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) June 2024 Past Papers – Question Papers & Mark Schemes
2024 Cambridge IGCSE Maths | Downloads | |
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 11 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 12 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 13 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 21 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 22 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 23 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 31 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 32 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 33 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 41 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 42 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 June 2024 Paper 43 | ||
What marks did students need for an A*, A and B in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) Extended variants in June 2024?
For the Extended tier in the June 2024 session (total 200 marks), the grade thresholds varied between the three variants. In Variant BX (Papers 21 and 41), students needed 152 for an A*, 125 for an A, and 98 for a B. In Variant BY (Papers 22 and 42), the boundaries were significantly higher, with 175 for an A*, 150 for an A, and 117 for a B, showing stronger overall performance or slightly easier papers. In Variant BZ (Papers 23 and 43), candidates needed 172 for an A*, 144 for an A, and 114 for a B. Overall, this session suggests that for Extended Mathematics, students typically needed around 75–90% for an A*, 60–75% for an A, and about 50–65% for a B.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) March 2024 Past Papers – Question Papers & Mark Schemes
2024 Cambridge IGCSE Maths | Downloads | |
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2024 Paper 12 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2024 Paper 22 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2024 Paper 32 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 March 2025 Paper 42 | ||
What marks did students need for an A*, A and B in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) Extended in March 2024?
For the Extended tier in the March 2024 session (Variant BY: Papers 22 and 42, total 200 marks), the grade thresholds were very high. Students needed 181 marks for an A*, 162 marks for an A, and 132 marks for a B. This suggests that the papers were relatively accessible or that overall student performance was strong, meaning candidates aiming for top grades needed extremely high accuracy and consistency across both papers. Overall, this session reflects the typical pattern in Extended Mathematics, where an A* often requires close to 90%, an A around 75–80%, and a B roughly 60–65%.
Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) October November 2023 Past Papers – Question Papers & Mark Schemes
2023 Cambridge IGCSE Maths | Downloads | |
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 11 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 12 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 13 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 21 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 22 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 23 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 31 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 32 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 33 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 41 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 42 | ||
Cambridge IGCSE Maths 0580 October November 2023 Paper 43 | ||
What marks did students need for an A*, A and B in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) Extended variants in November 2023?
For the Extended tier in the November 2023 session (total 200 marks), the grade thresholds were fairly similar across all variants. In Variant BX (Papers 21 and 41), students needed 173 for an A*, 146 for an A, and 118 for a B. Variant BY (Papers 22 and 42) had identical thresholds, also requiring 173 for an A*, 146 for an A, and 118 for a B. In Variant BZ (Papers 23 and 43), the boundaries were slightly lower, with 171 for an A*, 143 for an A, and 112 for a B. Overall, this session shows that students aiming for an A* in Extended Mathematics typically needed around 85–90%, an A about 70–75%, and a B around 55–60%.
The Kingsbridge Examiner Guide: The 10 IGCSE Maths Mistakes That Separate Grades 6–9, According To Official Cambridge Examiners
After reviewing thousands of scripts across multiple exam series, examiners keep coming back to the same recurring mistakes. Not from students who don't understand the material — but from capable students who lose marks they didn't need to lose. Our teachers have distilled them into the 10 following areas most worth your attention before you sit the Cambridge IGCSE Maths exam.
1. Rounding Too Early
This is one of the most frustrating ways to lose marks — because the method is completely right, but the answer just falls outside the acceptable range. It happens when students round or trim numbers at intermediate stages of a calculation rather than waiting until the very end.
The fix is simple: trust your calculator. Let it hold the full number between steps, and only round your final answer to whatever precision the question asks for (typically 3 significant figures, or 1 decimal place for angles). If you need to write down a working value, aim for at least 4–5 significant figures to stay safe.
2. Mixing Up Scale Factors for Length, Area and Volume
Similar shapes trip a lot of students up here. It's tempting to think that if a length doubles, everything doubles — but that's only true for lengths. Areas and volumes play by different rules.
The key relationships to burn into memory are: the area scale factor is the linear scale factor squared, and the volumescale factor is the linear scale factor cubed. So if two similar shapes have a length ratio of 3, their areas are in the ratio 9, and their volumes in the ratio 27. Once that clicks, these questions become much more straightforward.
3. Getting Tripped Up by Negative Numbers
Negative numbers cause more dropped marks than almost anything else — and the errors tend to follow the same patterns. The biggest culprit is a minus sign sitting in front of a bracket. Many students only apply it to the first term, leaving the rest unchanged, when it actually needs to distribute across every term inside. The other classic slip is something like −8y − y: it's easy to instinctively write −7y, when the correct answer is −9y.
A helpful mindset shift is to stop seeing the minus sign as just a sign, and start treating it as a multiplier of −1. Every single term in the bracket gets multiplied by it — no exceptions. For students who find negative arithmetic particularly slippery, a number line is a genuinely useful tool, not a crutch. It makes the direction of the calculation visible and reduces careless reversals.
4. Forgetting Brackets at Critical Moments
Brackets might seem like a minor detail, but leaving them out at the wrong moment can completely change the meaning of an expression. A common example is expanding −(x + 1)². Students will often square the bracket correctly to get x² + 2x + 1, then forget that the negative applies to the whole result — not just the first term — giving −x² − 2x − 1, not −x² + 2x + 1. The same issue crops up when substituting negative values into formulas. There's a meaningful difference between (−5)² and −5², and confusing the two leads to a sign error that costs marks unnecessarily.
The habit to build is simple: when in doubt, add the brackets. Use them automatically when substituting any negative number into a formula, and during the first stage of any expansion or algebraic fraction. They take a second to write and can save an entire mark.
5. Treating Time Like Ordinary Arithmetic
This one catches students out more often than you'd expect. Because we're so used to working in base 10, it feels natural to subtract times the same way you'd subtract any other numbers. But time doesn't work that way — there are 60 minutes in an hour, not 100. So something like 11:17 minus 10:30 isn't 87 minutes; it's 47 minutes. The error is understandable, but it's also entirely avoidable.
Rather than trying to subtract times directly, use a counting-on approach. From 10:30, count forward to 11:00 — that's 30 minutes. Then from 11:00 to 11:17 is another 17 minutes. Add them together and you get 47 minutes. It takes an extra line of working, but it keeps you grounded in how time actually behaves and sidesteps the base-10 trap entirely.
6. Stopping One Step Too Early When Factorising
Partial factorisation is a quiet mark-loser. The working looks right, the method is right, but the answer isn't fully simplified — and in a two-mark question, that often means walking away with just one of them.
The most common version of this is pulling out a common factor correctly, then not noticing that what's left inside the bracket can be factorised further. This is especially true when a difference of two squares is lurking — expressions of the form a² − b², which factor neatly into (a − b)(a + b). It's easy to miss if you're not actively looking for it.
The habit to develop is treating your first factorisation as a checkpoint, not a finishing line. Once you've taken out the common factor, look at what remains with fresh eyes and ask: is there anything else here? Does this fit a known pattern? That extra few seconds of checking is often the difference between one mark and two.
7. Not Showing Your Working
It's a straightforward rule that's easy to overlook under exam pressure: examiners can only mark what they can see. If a final answer is wrong and there's no working on the page, there's nothing to award method marks on — and those marks exist precisely to reward correct thinking, even when the final answer goes astray. Scattering calculations randomly across the page causes the same problem; if the logical thread isn't clear, the examiner can't follow it.
The solution is to write mathematics the way you'd explain it to someone else — step by step, in order. Show the formula you're using, show the substitution, show the intermediate result. It doesn't need to be verbose, but it does need to be followable. "Show that" questions deserve particular care here: the working needs to be rigorous enough to arrive at a value more precise than the one given in the question, otherwise it reads as though you've reverse-engineered the answer rather than derived it.
8. Woolly Geometric Reasoning
Geometry mark schemes are less forgiving than students often expect. Phrases like "z-angles" or "it's a straight line" feel like they're in the right ballpark — and mathematically, the instinct behind them usually is — but they don't meet the standard required for a mark. Reasons need to be complete, precise, and drawn from proper geometric language.
The difference between a mark and no mark often comes down to a single word or phrase. "Angles on a straight line" becomes credit-worthy when you add "add to 180°". A quadrilateral isn't just opposite angles — it's a cyclic quadrilateral, and that word is doing essential work in the reason. The fix is to practise stating reasons in full during revision, so that the complete phrasing becomes automatic rather than something you have to reconstruct under pressure.
9. Not Reading the Question Carefully Enough
This is perhaps the most avoidable way to lose marks on the list — because the mathematics is often completely correct, and the only problem is that the answer isn't in the form the question asked for. Standard form when the question wanted an ordinary number. Two transformations described when the question specifically said single. Rounded to one decimal place when the instruction was to the nearest 10. The working tells the full story of a student who understood the topic, but the final answer doesn't match what was asked.
The habit to build is a quick re-read of the question after you've written your answer, not just before. Check that what you've produced actually responds to the specific wording. It takes ten seconds and it's one of the highest-value checks you can make.
10. Calculator Errors and Results That Don't Make Sense
Calculators are powerful tools, but they do exactly what you tell them to — which means a wrong input produces a wrong answer with complete confidence. Two errors come up again and again: the calculator being in radians or grads mode instead of degrees during trigonometry questions, and misreading the cube root function as a multiplication by 3. Both produce answers that are wrong in ways that aren't always obvious at a glance.
The defence against this is a habit of sense-checking results rather than accepting them automatically. A calculated mean that sits outside the range of the data is impossible — if that's what the calculator gives you, something has gone wrong. A trigonometric answer that seems wildly off is often a mode issue. Before starting any trigonometry question, check the mode. And after any calculation, pause for a moment and ask whether the answer is in the right ballpark. Developing that instinct is what separates students who catch their own mistakes from those who don't.
What Changed in IGCSE Maths 2026 That You Should Take Note Of When Attempting Past Papers?
Changes in Structure You Have to Take Note
Four main changes were made. First, Papers 1 and 2 are now non-calculator exams, so older past papers that allowed a calculator will feel different. Second, the marks and duration were rebalanced — Papers 1 and 2 had their marks increased (to 80 and 100 respectively) while Papers 3 and 4 had theirs decreased, with all papers now carrying equal 50% weighting and running for either 1 hour 30 minutes or 2 hours. Third, all papers now include a List of Formulas on page 2, which older papers did not have. Fourth, papers now contain a mix of structured and unstructured questions rather than following the previous format.
Topic Changes You Have To Take Note
Several topics were added and removed for both Core and Extended. For Core, inequalities and the recall of specific squares, cubes, and roots were added, while adding/subtracting vectors, multiplying a vector by a scalar, and formal data collection were removed. For Extended, new topics include surds (with rationalising the denominator), domain and range for functions, exact trigonometric values for 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°, recall of certain squares, cubes and roots, and graphs of the form axⁿ now extending to n = −½ and ½. Removed from Extended are proper subsets, linear programming, congruence criteria (though congruence as a concept remains), box-and-whisker plots, and formal data collection. This means past papers may contain questions on removed topics that are no longer assessed, and will not contain questions on the newly added topics.
Clarifications Specifically Made By Your Examiners
Three clarifications were made. First, the definition of a prism has been broadened to include any solid with a uniform cross-section, such as a cylindrical sector, so older papers may use the term more narrowly. Second, the word "random"has been added to the probability and statistics guidance, reflecting a more precise expectation in how sampling and data are discussed. Third, the expectations for drawing reciprocal and exponential graphs have been more clearly defined, meaning older past papers may not have tested these to the same level of precision now expected.