Working through 11+ maths one method at a time
Most 11+ maths preparation is done by sitting papers. Papers are excellent at telling you what is wrong and almost useless at fixing it. This tool is the other half: taking one method and working it until it is secure, away from the pressure of a whole paper.
Why paper after paper stops working
There is a familiar pattern in 11+ preparation. Scores improve for about six weeks as the format becomes familiar, then flatten. Parents respond by doing more papers, and the scores stay flat.
The reason is that papers measure. They do not teach. Once the format is familiar, further papers add nothing except confirmation of the same gaps. What moves the score after that point is going away and learning the specific things the papers keep exposing.
The methods that matter most at 11+
Across the papers we mark, the same short list is responsible for most of the lost marks:
| Method | Why it costs marks | What secure looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Fractions of amounts | Confusing which number to divide by | Can do it both ways round without thinking |
| Ratio sharing | Setting up the parts wrongly | Writes the labels above the numbers before starting |
| Percentages | Reverse and multi-step versions | Uses a bar or a chain, not a memorised rule |
| Place value and decimals | Errors that look careless but are not | Can say what each digit is worth out loud |
| Multi-step word problems | Doing step one and stopping | Writes the plan before any arithmetic |
| Time and timetables | Treating time as base ten | Comfortable adding across the hour |
How to use it alongside papers
A rhythm that works through Year 6: sit a paper, mark it, pick the two or three methods it exposed, spend a fortnight on those specifically, then sit a different paper and check whether those specific questions are now right.
That last step matters. The question is not "did the score go up", which moves for all sorts of reasons. It is "did the thing we worked on get fixed". If it did, the method works. If it did not, the gap is further back than you thought.
When to bring in more structure
If the same method keeps failing after focused work, it is usually resting on something earlier. Fractions failures often come from division, ratio failures from times tables, decimal failures from place value.
Our interactive lessons are sequenced for exactly that, starting at the genuinely basic version of each topic and stepping up through difficulty tiers, so a child can go back without it feeling like going backwards.
Questions parents ask
How much 11+ maths practice per week?
Twenty to thirty minutes on four or five days beats a long weekend session, and it is far more sustainable across a year.
One paper a fortnight is plenty, with the time in between spent on the methods the paper exposed.
We are starting late. What should we cut?
Cut breadth and keep depth. Trying to cover everything in three months produces a thin layer of familiarity that does not survive exam pressure.
Pick the five or six methods that carry the most marks and get those genuinely secure. A child who is solid on fractions, ratio and multi-step problems scores better than one who has skimmed everything.