Section A — Setting up for a hedgehog
Total for this section: 22 marks. Answer all questions. Show clearly how you get your answers.
The scenario. Priya is getting an African pygmy hedgehog. She needs to work out what it will cost to set up, and what it will cost to keep the hedgehog each year.
Question 1 — The setup
Priya has £350 to spend on setting up. She finds these prices:
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Silent 12-inch exercise wheel | £42.00 |
| Heating bundle (heater, guard, thermostat) | £75.00 |
| Wooden vivarium, 120cm × 60cm | £185.00 |
| Ceramic food bowl | £6.50 each |
| Igloo hide | £9.50 |
Priya needs two ceramic bowls — one for food and one for water.
Total for Question 1 is 6 marks
Question 2 — Food for a year
Priya buys food in two parts.
- A 1.8 kg bag of dry food costs £16.50 and lasts 10 weeks.
- A tub of mealworms costs £3.60 and lasts 4 weeks.
Priya wants to know the cost of feeding her hedgehog for one year (52 weeks). She can only buy whole bags and whole tubs.
Total for Question 2 is 6 marks
Question 3 — The heating bill
A hedgehog's enclosure must stay between 24°C and 30°C all year round. Priya uses a 100 watt ceramic heater.
- 100 watts = 0.1 kilowatts (kW)
- The heater is switched on for about 12 hours a day
- Electricity costs 24.5p per kilowatt hour (kWh)
Total for Question 3 is 5 marks
Question 4 — Insurance, or not?
Hedgehogs are exotic pets, so they need a specialist vet. Priya is deciding whether to buy pet insurance.
Insurance: £18.50 per month.
Without insurance, these are typical costs for one illness:
| Treatment | Cost |
|---|---|
| Exotic vet consultation | £65 |
| X-ray | £110 |
| Medication | £28 |
Total for Question 4 is 5 marks
Section B — Hedgehog boarding
Total for this section: 13 marks.
A hedgehog boarding service looks after hedgehogs while their owners are away.
Question 5
These are the boarding prices:
| Who | Price per day |
|---|---|
| Standard boarding | £10 |
| Hedgehogs bought from us — stay under 7 days | £7 |
| Hedgehogs bought from us — stay of 7 days or more | £5 |
Total for Question 5 is 5 marks
Question 6
Every boarded hedgehog is weighed each day. A sudden weight loss can be the first sign that something is wrong. These are one hedgehog's weights over six days, in grams:
412, 408, 405, 407, 410, 414
Total for Question 6 is 4 marks
Question 7
The animal room must stay between 24°C and 30°C. A thermometer records the temperature six times in one day:
| Time | Temperature |
|---|---|
| Midnight | 25°C |
| 4 am | 24°C |
| 8 am | 26°C |
| Midday | 29°C |
| 4 pm | 31°C |
| 8 pm | 27°C |
Total for Question 7 is 4 marks
Section C — A mobile animal party
Total for this section: 13 marks.
An animal handling company brings animals to birthday parties.
Question 8
Party packages:
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| Up to 10 children | £250 |
| Up to 15 children | £300 |
| Up to 20 children | £350 |
| Up to 30 children | £450 |
Travel charges (charged per journey, not each way):
| Distance | Charge |
|---|---|
| Up to 10 miles | Included |
| 11 to 20 miles | £35 |
| 21 to 30 miles | £60 |
| 31 to 45 miles | £90 |
Total for Question 8 is 7 marks
Question 9
Sessions at the centre happen in an animal room measuring 8 m by 4 m.
Total for Question 9 is 6 marks
TOTAL FOR PAPER IS 48 MARKS
Mark scheme
Section A
Q1 (a) — 4 marks.
| Doubles the bowl price: 2 × £6.50 = £13.00 | 1 |
| Adds all five items | 1 |
| Correct total: £324.50 | 1 |
| States yes, with £25.50 remaining | 1 |
42.00 + 75.00 + 185.00 + 13.00 + 9.50 = £324.50 · 350.00 − 324.50 = £25.50 left
Common error: using £6.50 for one bowl instead of two. Award 3 marks if the method is otherwise correct.
Q1 (b) — 2 marks. Adds bedding and hay: 20.99 + 2.95 = £23.94 (1). Compares with £25.50 and states yes (£1.56 left) (1).
Q2 (a) — 2 marks. 52 ÷ 10 = 5.2 (1). Rounds up to 6 bags (1). Key idea: you cannot buy 0.2 of a bag. "5 bags" divides correctly but ignores the situation — award 1 mark.
Q2 (b) — 4 marks. Dry food: 6 × £16.50 = £99.00 (1). Mealworm tubs: 52 ÷ 4 = 13 (1). Mealworms: 13 × £3.60 = £46.80 (1). Total: £145.80 (1).
Q3 (a) — 3 marks. 0.1 kW × 12 h = 1.2 kWh (1). 1.2 × 24.5 (1). 29.4p (accept 29p or £0.29) (1).
Q3 (b) — 2 marks. 29.4 × 30 = 882p (1). Converts to £8.82 and states the claim is correct (1).
Q4 (a) — 2 marks. 18.50 × 12 (1). £222.00 (1).
Q4 (b) — 3 marks. Adds the treatment costs: 65 + 110 + 28 = £203 (1). Compares £203 with £222 (1). States a decision with a reason (1).
No — one illness costs £203, which is £19 less than the insurance. She would save money paying directly.
Yes — £203 is only slightly less than £222, and a surgery could cost £500 or more. Insurance protects her against a bill she could not afford.
Award the third mark for any answer that refers back to the numbers. Do not award it for "yes because insurance is safer" with no figures.
Section B
Q5 (a) — 2 marks. Selects the £5 rate (10 days is 7 or more) (1). 10 × 5 = £50 (1). Selecting £7 misses the 7-day threshold — 0 for the first mark, 1 for correct multiplication of their chosen rate.
Q5 (b) — 3 marks. Tom pays 10 × £10 = £100 (1). Subtracts: 100 − 50 (1). £50 more (1).
Q6 (a) — 3 marks. Adds all six: 2456 (1). Divides by 6 (1). 409.3 g (1).
Q6 (b) — 1 mark. 414 − 405 = 9 g.
Q7 (a) — 1 mark. 4 pm. (b) — 1 mark. 1°C (31 − 30). (c) — 2 marks. Adds: 162 (1). 162 ÷ 6 = 27°C (1).
Section C
Q8 (a) — 3 marks. Selects the £300 package (13 is over 10, up to 15) (1). Selects the £60 travel band (24 miles) (1). £360 (1).
Q8 (b) — 2 marks. Selects £450 (21 is over 20) (1). Travel included, total £450 (1). Choosing £350 is the key error — 21 children is over the 20 limit.
Q8 (c) — 2 marks. Compares £450 with £400 (1). States no, £50 over budget (1).
Q9 (a) — 2 marks. 8 × 4 (1). 32 m² — units required (1).
Q9 (b) — 3 marks. 32 ÷ 2.5 (1). 12.8 (1). Rounds down to 12 people (1). Rounding up to 13 is the error to watch for — you cannot exceed the safe limit.
Q9 (c) — 1 mark. Yes, 10 is fewer than 12.
Notes for whoever teaches this
The two rounding questions are deliberately opposite. Question 2(a) rounds up (you cannot buy part of a bag). Question 9(b) rounds down (you cannot squeeze in an extra person). Together they teach the thing Functional Skills actually assesses: the situation decides the rounding, not the decimal.
Q5(a) and Q8(a)/(b) test threshold reading. "7 days or more" and "up to 15 children" are boundaries, and learners lose marks by reading them loosely. These appear constantly in real papers and in real life.
Q4(b) and Q8(c) have no single right answer in the sense that matters — the mark is for justified reasoning, not a number.
Every question is a real decision. Setting up an enclosure, feeding for a year, running the heater, buying insurance, boarding a pet, checking a weight, keeping a room in range, pricing a party, working out capacity. None of it is contrived.
Adapting down to Entry 3: keep Q1(a), 5(a), 7(a), 9(a); give unit totals rather than unit prices; drop percentages, means and multi-step reasoning.
Adapting up to Level 2: add a 15% sale on the setup; give the food ratio as 3:1 dry to live; ask for the yearly food cost as a monthly average; add a probability of picking a particular hedgehog from a group; convert the room area to cm².