How to Practise IGCSE Maths 0580 Past Papers by Topic (Paper 2 and Paper 4)

The best way to practise IGCSE Maths 0580 Paper 4 by topic is to work through real past-paper questions one syllabus topic at a time, mark every part against the official mark scheme straight away, and log each lost mark by its cause. Switch to full timed papers only once each topic scores reliably.

What Paper 4 looks like now

Cambridge changed the 0580 papers for first examination in 2025. Each tier now sits one non-calculator paper and one calculator paper, and the two carry equal weight. The figures below come from the Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics 0580 syllabus for 2025, 2026 and 2027.

Extended candidates (Papers 2 and 4) can be awarded grades A* to E. Core candidates (Papers 1 and 3) can be awarded C to G. On the older syllabus, for example the 2020 to 2022 version, Paper 4 was 2 hours 30 minutes for 130 marks and worth 65%, and every paper allowed a calculator. That older Paper 4 is still a large store of good topic questions; just expect longer questions than the current paper sets.

Two rules from the syllabus decide a surprising number of accuracy marks. Non-exact answers go to 3 significant figures, or 1 decimal place for angles in degrees, unless the question says otherwise. Cambridge also tells candidates to avoid rounding until the final answer and to use the unrounded value in later parts. Most students know both rules and still lose marks to them under time pressure, which is why they belong in topic practice and not only in mock exams.

Why topic practice beats starting with full papers

A full Paper 4 mixes nine topic areas in one sitting: number, algebra and graphs, coordinate geometry, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry, transformations and vectors, probability, and statistics. When you score 61 out of 100 on a full paper, the score does not tell you which topic cost you the missing 39 marks. Ten questions on circle theorems in a row will tell you exactly that.

Topic practice also gives you repetition on the question styles Cambridge reuses. Questions on bounds, similar volumes or cumulative frequency tend to follow recognisable patterns across years, and you only see those patterns when the questions sit side by side. Full papers still matter for timing and stamina, so they come at the end of the method, after the topics are secure.

The method, step by step

1. List the nine topics and rank them honestly
   Score each topic from your last mock or test. Start with the one costing you the most marks, not the one you enjoy. Our most-tested 0580 topics report shows which areas Cambridge asks about most often, which helps when two topics look equally weak.
2. Do 10 to 15 real questions from one topic
   Use real past-paper questions sorted by topic, newest papers first, so the style matches the current exam. Write full working on paper even when you could do it in your head; method marks depend on it.
3. Mark each part before moving on
   Check your answer against the official mark scheme line for that part, not a friend's answer or a video. Award M, A and B marks exactly as written. Our guide on how to self-mark IGCSE past papers covers the rules that trip students up, such as "dep" and follow-through.
4. Log every lost mark by cause
   Use four columns: method (didn't know how), accuracy (rounded early, sign slip, wrong units), reading (answered a different question), and time. After two or three sessions one column usually dominates. That column is your real topic.
5. Redo the questions you dropped, two days later
   Redo them without looking at the solution. If you get full marks on the redo, move on. If not, read the worked solution line by line and find the first line where yours differs.
6. Mix topics, then go to full timed papers
   Once each topic scores 80% or more on its own, do mixed sets and then full Paper 4s in 2 hours. That is 1.2 minutes per mark. Our Paper 4 techniques guide covers the exam-day habits that protect marks at that stage.

Where to get 0580 questions sorted by topic

You can build topic sets yourself by cutting up past papers from the 0580 past papers library, where 487 of the 502 papers have their mark scheme and both are free to read. That works, but cutting and filing takes hours that could go into practice. Free topic-sorted PDFs exist on several sites, and we compare them in where to find IGCSE past paper questions sorted by topic.

PapaMarks also has a Topical Questions section for 0580 built for this method. Each question is a crop of the printed paper, filed under its syllabus topic and subtopic, with the official mark scheme crop attached to every part. You type your answer and it is checked straight away. A worked solution shows the running mark total line by line, so you can see which line earned which mark.

Inside a topic you can filter by subtopic, paper number and year, show only questions you haven't finished, and sort by marks so you can start with short questions and build up to the 6-mark ones.

How the options compare

Some parts can't be checked automatically, such as drawing a graph or a construction. For those PapaMarks shows the worked answer and the scheme, and you award your own mark, which is the same job you would do with a PDF.

A four-week topic plan for Paper 4

For a student sitting the Extended tier who has around 45 minutes a day:

• Week 1: your two weakest topics, 12 questions each, marked and logged.
• Week 2: the next three topics, plus a redo of every question you dropped in week 1.
• Week 3: the remaining four topics, then one mixed set of 20 questions.
• Week 4: two full Paper 4s and one full Paper 2 under timed conditions, each followed by a topic session on whatever cost the most marks.

If your exam is the November series, check the dates in our November 2026 timetable and count back from your Paper 4 date. The full content list sits in our 0580 syllabus map, and the A* view is in how to get an A* in IGCSE Maths 0580.

FAQ

Sources

• Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics 0580 syllabus for 2025, 2026 and 2027, version 3 (May 2024): assessment overview, accuracy rules and changes to the syllabus. cambridgeinternational.org
• Cambridge International, Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics 0580 syllabus for 2020, 2021 and 2022: the previous paper structure.
• Cambridge IGCSE 0580/42 mark scheme, May/June 2025: mark types and abbreviations.
• PapaMarks production database, read 10 November 2026: Topical Questions counts.