For GCSE Maths, you will need a scientific calculator, but just about any model will do; see AQA’s guidance below for a list of the functions you need. Schools should be telling you to get the CW now since that’s the current model, but some haven’t caught up yet and are still telling students to buy the GTX – which is now hard to get hold of new at a reasonable price. The same thing happened when the GTX replaced the GT Plus. All of the models mentioned above are allowed in any exam where calculators are permitted *; there is no distinction between a calculator for GCSE and one for A-level as far as JCQ (who make the exam regulations) are concerned. You can find the JCQ regulations in section 10 of this document. From the comments I’ve seen on social media from other Maths teachers, I’m far from alone in having a strong preference for the older Classwiz fx-83/85GT X and 991EX models over these new CW calculators. Casio doesn’t appear to have done much field testing of the new models before launching them on the world!

There’s no S-D button for simple conversion of results between fractions and decimals. The answer always defaults to a fraction, and to get it into decimal format you have to either (a) press FORMAT, use the arrow keys to select the preferred format and press OK or EXE, or (b) press Shift then EXE to get a decimal approximation (i.e. rounded decimal form) – but the latter option will only work correctly if pressing EXE doesn’t prompt the calculator to carry out another calculation. Texas Instruments also produces a range of scientific calculators. Any of these – most of which start with TX-30 – are suitable for GCSE, though if you like to be able to enter your fractions as fractions then you’ll need one of the Multiview models. However, Casio pretty much has a stranglehold on the UK market and not many institutions promote the use of TI models. That’s EIGHT key presses instead of two – not to mention having to remember which menus to go into. The standard GCSE model in the UK for the past seven or eight years has been the Casio Classwiz fx-83/85GT X (centre in the image), though in early 2023 Casio brought out the fx-83/85GT CW, which is very different and which has replaced the GT X (despite a poor reception from UK Maths teachers). More on that in this blog post. In short, the new CW calculators are a lot more complicated to use than the older X models, and don’t offer any significant improvements that I can see.

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If you require any further information relating to the Delivery service used, please call us at +44 (0)20 8208 9567. For more information on what calculators are permissible in exams, take a look at my Clueless about Calculators blog post. Finally, a colour warning The A-level model now has the generic equation solver function in the same place as the quadratic and simultaneous equation solvers, rather than in an apparently random position above the CALC button.

Casio describes the fx-83GT CW as “the new upgraded version of the Casio fx-83GT X” and the fx-991CW as “the new upgraded version of the Casio fx-991 EX”. That seems misleading to me, when the models are so completely different. It would be far more honest to call them “the replacement for” their predecessors. Another one that’s been brought to my attention: the functionality of the button has been changed so that it no longer “attaches” itself to the preceding number. It’s not actually wrong but it’s a change that will be very confusing for many students! Our nominated carrier is Parcel Force. Deliveries are made Monday – Friday between 9.00am – 6.00pm (excluding Bank Holidays).The CASIO FX-85 GT CW comes with additional features, including a high definition display and improved menu navigation. Approved for Key stages 3 & 4, recommended for GCSE, National and Higher, Junior and Leaving.

Until the current GCSE and A-level specifications came in (2015 and 2017 respectively), the standard calculator in most English schools for both GCSE and A-level for a good few years had been the Casio fx-83GT Plus – or the fx-85GT Plus, which was exactly the same except that it had a solar panel as well as battery power. Remember I mentioned that a graphical calculator is much more complex to operate than a scientific one? The CW models have narrowed that gap considerably – and not in a good way! As I mentioned previously, lots of functions – too many to list here – now require more key presses than they did before. A particularly annoying one is nCr (to calculate the number of combinations of r items chosen from a set of n – used in binomial expansion and the binomial probability distribution). Previously it was the Shift function above the ÷ key, but now it takes the following series of key presses to get to the same place:

The fx-85GTX takes the UK's Number One Scientific Calculator a step further, by offering Solar Power to ensure no loss of battery during those crucial exams.