Most exam boards teach the Quadratic Formula. OCR teaches that too, but they also worship (the "trial and error" method).
Consider (that nasty topic with √2 and √3). Most syllabi teach you to simplify them. OCR, however, loves to hide surds inside the Pythagoras theorem questions about phone screens.
Because OCR is teaching you that phone manufacturers, architects, and engineers love irrational numbers. Without surds, your screen would be a square. OCR is the exam board that admits maths is rarely a "nice, round number." Gcse Maths Ocr
Here is the OCR secret: They don't actually care about the number. Edexcel often asks for "3.14". OCR asks for "in terms of π" or "as a simplified surd."
You probably think your OCR GCSE Maths exam is just about passing. You think “AQA is for poets, Edexcel is for suits, but OCR? OCR is just... maths.” Most exam boards teach the Quadratic Formula
They know that √2 is exactly 1.41421356... but they keep it as √2 just to be safe.
If you calculate the volume of a sphere as 113.1 cm³ (using 3.14 for π), OCR might give you 0 marks. Why? Because the true answer is 36π cm³ . By rounding, you introduced an error. OCR wants the truth , not the decimal. Most syllabi teach you to simplify them
Why is this interesting? ChatGPT, self-driving cars, and weather forecasts don't solve equations perfectly—they iterate. They guess, check, and refine. OCR is teaching you machine learning in disguise.