When Should You Buy a Calculator for IGCSE Maths Exam?

Spoiler: Definitely not in the last week before the exam

Many parents only start thinking about buying a “proper” calculator shortly before GCSE or IGCSE exams.On paper it sounds logical: “We’ll get a good one when the exams are close.”

In real life? That’s often a recipe for stress.

“But they’ve managed without one so far…”

While students are still in school, most of them don’t worry about calculators at all:

• In class they borrow one from the teacher or use whatever is lying around.

• Some have a tiny £2 supermarket calculator that just about does the job.

• At home they happily use the calculator on their phone.

So it feels like everything is fine… until exam season appears on the horizon.

The “proper calculator” moment… and the shock

Then comes the big day:You finally buy the right calculator – maybe the one recommended by the teacher or the exam board (for example a standard scientific Casio).

Everyone feels prepared and organised.

Until your child takes it to school.

Suddenly:

• The buttons are in different places.

• The fractions look weird on screen.

• They can’t immediately find π (pi), the square root, or the power buttons.

• There are new keys: SHIFT, MODE, ALPHA – and no one explained what to press and when.

Instead of focusing on the maths, your child is now fighting with the device.

In the worst case, this is exactly what happens in the exam:

• time is wasted,

• panic builds up,

• and they lose marks not because they “don’t know maths”,but because they don’t know where their own calculator keeps things.

A calculator is not just an object – it’s a tool

We often treat a calculator like a pen: just buy one and use it.But in reality, a scientific calculator is more like a musical instrument or a car:

You don’t want your first driving experience to be on a motorway in the rain.You don’t want to touch a piano for the first time on stage at a concert.

Exactly the same with calculators:you don’t want the first real practice with a new model to be in the exam hall.

So when should you buy a calculator?

Realistically: At least one year before the exam.

That gives your child time to:

• use the same calculator in every maths lesson,

• use it for homework instead of the phone,

• get used to where every key is, almost on autopilot,

• learn how to:

  • enter fractions

  • switch between improper fractions and mixed numbers

  • use π, powers and roots

  • work with standard form

  • check and correct input without erasing everything

After a year of regular use, the calculator stops being scary and becomes… boring.And “boring” is exactly what you want from a tool in an exam.

Practical advice for parents

If your child is heading towards GCSE or IGCSE, especially from Year 9 or 10:

1. Buy the exam-appropriate calculator now, not later.

2. Ask the teacher which models are accepted or recommended by the school or exam board.

3. Encourage your child to:

   • bring their own calculator to every lesson,

   • stop relying on the class set or a £2 emergency calculator,

   • use the same calculator at home instead of the phone.

The goal is simple: by the time the exam comes, the calculator should feel familiar, predictable and boringly reliable.

Final takeaway: Calculators For IGCSE Maths Exam

Calculators for IGCSE Maths bought one week before the exam is a brand new problem, not a solution.

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A calculator bought a year before the exam, used in lessons and at home, is:

• one less thing to worry about,

• a confidence booster,

• and a quiet way to protect those precious marks.

Don’t leave the calculator to the last minute. Buy early, use often, and let the exam be about maths – not about hunting for the π button.

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