11+ Maths — What Your Child Actually Needs to Know
11+ Maths covers mostly Year 5-6 curriculum — but applied in harder ways, under time pressure, without a calculator. Here's exactly what's tested and where children typically drop marks.
Number and arithmetic — the foundation
Place value, rounding, factors, multiples, prime numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion. These topics appear in almost every 11+ Maths paper. Children who aren't completely fluent with fractions and percentages lose significant marks — not because the questions are conceptually hard, but because they take too long.
Algebra and sequences — the bit school hasn't taught yet
Most children in Year 5 haven't been taught formal algebra at school. But the 11+ includes number sequences, function machines, and simple equations. These are all learnable — and children who've seen them in practice do fine. Children who encounter them for the first time in the exam often panic and abandon the question.
Shape, space and geometry
Area and perimeter — including compound shapes. Angles in polygons and on a line. Symmetry and coordinates. Nets of 3D shapes. Properties of triangles and quadrilaterals. Shape questions often combine multiple concepts in a single question, which is where children who have only practised topics in isolation start to struggle.
Problem solving — where marks are made and lost
Multi-step word problems are the hardest part of 11+ Maths and the part most children underprepare. They require applying multiple skills to an unfamiliar scenario under time pressure. The children who do well on problem solving are the ones who've practised them enough that the approach feels automatic — not the ones who are still figuring out their method in the exam room.
How StageX Academy covers 11+ Maths
StageX Academy covers every 11+ Maths topic systematically and tracks which ones your child is losing marks on. If fractions keep causing errors, tomorrow's plan has more fractions. If shape questions are fine, StageX Academy moves the focus elsewhere. Every wrong answer gets a step-by-step explanation — so your child understands where they went wrong rather than just trying the same approach again. The parent dashboard shows Maths performance broken down by topic area.
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Frequently asked questions
Is 11+ Maths harder than what they do in school?
The topics are similar to Year 5-6 school Maths — but applied in more complex ways and with harder time constraints. It's also sat without a calculator, which trips up children who've relied on one at school.
Does my child need to know algebra for the 11+?
Yes — basic algebra appears in most 11+ Maths papers. Number sequences, function machines and simple equations are all fair game. Most children haven't been taught these formally yet in Year 5, which is why targeted practice matters.
How does StageX Academy cover 11+ Maths?
Lumi covers all 11+ Maths topics systematically, identifies which areas your child is losing marks in, and targets those specifically in daily practice — with a step-by-step explanation for every question they get wrong.
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