11+ Maths in Year 3: What to Do Now and What Can Wait

If your child is in Year 3 and the 11+ is on your mind, you are early, and that is a good thing. Year 3 is not the time for practice papers or tutoring towards a test. It is the time to make sure the basic maths is secure, because everything the 11+ asks for is built on top of it.

Most children start proper 11+ preparation at the start of Year 4. The exception is a child whose times tables or number facts are shaky, who does better starting by the end of Year 3 so the gaps are closed before the harder topics arrive.

What Year 3 should secure

The 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 times tables. Year 3 adds the 3, 4 and 8 tables to the ones from Year 2. Your child should know them in any order and know the division facts that go with them, so 8 × 6 = 48 also means 48 ÷ 8 = 6.

Place value to 1,000. Knowing that the 3 in 347 is worth 300, and being able to split 347 into 300, 40 and 7. Nearly every later topic, from decimals to percentages, depends on this.

Column addition and subtraction. Year 3 is where the written methods start. The important part is exchanging correctly, especially across a zero, which is where most mistakes happen.

Reading, every day. A child who reads well handles long word problems calmly, and a wide vocabulary helps in the verbal reasoning and English papers later on.

What can safely wait

Past papers, timed tests, verbal and non-verbal reasoning practice, and 11+ topics such as ratio and algebra can all wait until Year 4 or Year 5. Starting them now mostly shows your child what they have not been taught yet, and that can make maths feel harder than it is.

It is also fine to keep the whole thing low key. Your child does not need to hear the word "11+" in Year 3. Maths that feels like games and short, successful practice is what builds the confidence they will need later.

Fifteen minutes, a few times a week

A little and often works best at this age. A good week might look like this.

• Times tables on most days, two or three minutes, out loud or with a game.
• One short practice session on the week's school topic, so it sticks rather than fades.
• One maths game or puzzle, chosen by your child.
• Reading together or alone every day, with a chat about any new words.

For times tables, our Turbo Times Tables racing game is free and children tend to ask for it. For puzzles, Sudoku and Squared Away build careful logical thinking without feeling like work.

If your child needs more help

The Year 3 maths curriculum page lists what school covers this year, with a question to try. Our Complete KS2 SATs Maths Course teaches the whole of KS2 in order from Year 3 upwards, so a child who is behind can go back and rebuild, and a child who is ahead can move on at their own pace.

Each lesson starts with a worked example your child clicks through a line at a time, then gives them practice questions to answer on paper and check on screen. It suits a child who needs the method explained again, calmly, as many times as it takes.

A two minute check for tonight

Ask your child three things. What is 8 × 6? What is 24 ÷ 3? And on paper, what is 6,004 − 2,847?

The answers are 48, 8 and 3,157. The last one is a stretch for Year 3, because it needs an exchange across two zeros, so do not worry if it goes wrong. If the first two are slow or wrong, times tables are the thing to work on this year, and it is worth starting before the end of Year 3.

When Year 4 arrives, our post on 11+ maths in Year 4 sets out the next step, and when to start preparing for the 11+ explains how the start date depends on your child.

Aadam, SHLC Tutors