Articles and guides

A complete starting-school checklist — book bag, uniform, PE kit, water bottle and more, with rough price ranges and tips for choosing well. Plus: how to get your child ready for the maths, not just the kit.

What happens if your child misses the 11+ qualifying score: the difference between a review of the score and an admission appeal, who can appeal, the deadlines (set by your local authority), what evidence an independent panel considers, and why the whole process — including the appeal — is free.

Where to find the official 11+ familiarisation papers (GL Assessment via your local authority or the school), what each paper contains, a worked non-verbal reasoning question step by step, and how to carry on from there to free practice in a similar format.

How an 11+ score is produced: raw marks turned into a standardised age score with a mean of 100, the age adjustment, what a qualifying score means, why some schools rank rather than pass, and what parents actually receive in the results letter.

What grammar schools and local authorities actually say about 11+ preparation, what counts as legitimate familiarisation versus coaching, whether Year 5 or Year 6 is the right time to start, and where our free tools fit — with no promises and no pressure.

How an 11+ year is structured in England: registration in the spring or summer term of Year 5, the test in September of Year 6, results in October, the 31 October application deadline, offers on 1 March — and why the exact dates depend on your local authority or the school.

How to do long multiplication: the column method for multiplying a two-digit or three-digit number, with a full example 34 × 27, common mistakes and guided practice.

How to read an analogue clock in simple steps: the short hand for hours and the long hand for minutes, the 5-10-15-30-45 table, step-by-step examples, common mistakes and exercises for children.

How to work out the mean — a short, clear explanation: add up all the numbers and divide by how many there are. Step-by-step examples, a practice table, common mistakes and the difference between the mean and the median.

Probability explained in full: the basic formula, tree diagrams and Venn diagrams, conditional probability and dependent events, and a focused formulae summary for GCSE Foundation and Higher. With step-by-step examples.

Straight-line graphs for Year 8: a complete summary of y = mx + c, what the gradient means, reading a graph, 3 worked examples, and worksheets and exercises to download.

Column subtraction with exchanging (borrowing) for Year 3: when you need to exchange, how to do it step by step, full examples including exchanging twice, and common mistakes.

The sum of the interior angles in a polygon: the formula (n − 2) × 180°, a proof by splitting into triangles, the interior angle of a regular polygon, and worked examples for the pentagon and hexagon.

10 practical, experience-backed ways to help your child with maths at home — a short practice routine, games, maths in everyday life, the right kind of praise and more. Includes what not to do.

How to teach fractions to children: start from real-life examples (pizza, chocolate), explain the numerator and denominator without confusion, and progress gradually to adding fractions. A practical guide for parents.

How to teach the times tables easily: the right order (easy to hard), short practice of 10 minutes a day, and games that prevent tears. A proven 5-step method for parents, matched to the Year 4 multiplication tables check.

Does your child struggle with maths? A step-by-step guide for parents: how to identify the type of difficulty, what to do at home in 7 steps, when to suspect dyscalculia, and how to deal with maths anxiety.

Advanced trigonometry for A level Maths (Year 12-13): the unit circle, radians, the fundamental identity, compound-angle and double-angle identities, trigonometric equations (general solutions), the sine rule, the cosine rule and the area of a triangle.

A complete differentiation guide for A level Maths: the power rule, the product and quotient rules, the chain rule, finding a tangent, stationary points, increasing and decreasing functions, common mistakes and a practice plan.

Coordinate geometry for GCSE Higher: distance between points, gradient and the equation of a line, parallel and perpendicular lines, the equation of a circle, where a line meets a circle, the tangent to a circle and combined problems — with exam-style examples and common mistakes.

A complete guide to GCSE maths Foundation tier: how the three papers work, grades 1–5, the core topics, exam strategy, time management, common mistakes and a structured preparation plan from the start of Year 10.

Integration for A level Maths: antiderivatives, the power rule for integration, the definite integral F(b) − F(a), the area under a curve and between two curves, common mistakes and a practice plan.

Sequences and series for A level Maths: arithmetic sequences, the nth term aₙ = a₁ + (n − 1)d, the sum Sₙ, geometric sequences aₙ = a₁·rⁿ⁻¹, the sum to infinity, compound interest, common mistakes and a practice plan.

A sequences guide from GCSE to A level: arithmetic and geometric sequences, the nth term, the sum of a series, finding the common difference and ratio, worded problems, common mistakes and a full practice plan.

A trigonometry guide from GCSE Higher to A level: exact values, the unit circle, the identity sin² + cos² = 1, solving trigonometric equations, the sine rule and the cosine rule, common mistakes and practice.

Coordinate geometry for GCSE: the gradient of a line, the equation of a line, parallel and perpendicular lines, the perpendicular bisector, identifying a quadrilateral from the coordinates of its vertices, and common mistakes.

Calculus for AS Maths (Year 12): differentiating polynomials, the rules of differentiation, sketching and analysing a curve, integration and area, optimisation problems, a 6-week practice plan and common mistakes.

A complete parents' guide to GCSE maths Higher tier for Year 10: what changes from Foundation, what is studied, how the marks are weighted, a 4-month preparation plan, common mistakes and tips for success in the first year of the course.

Statistics and probability for GCSE Foundation and Higher: mean, median and mode, range and interquartile range, frequency tables and estimated means, conditional probability and tree diagrams — with worked examples and common mistakes.

A GCSE Higher trigonometry guide: exact values (√3/2, not 0.866), the identity sin² + cos² = 1, the 30-60-90 and 45-45-90 triangles, combining trigonometry with Pythagoras, and exam tips.

A complete parents' guide to indices (powers) and roots in Year 7: definitions, the index laws, numerical examples, common mistakes and tips for practising at home.

A complete guide to trigonometry in Year 9: the definitions of sine, cosine and tangent, the SOH-CAH-TOA mnemonic, guided examples, a table of values and common mistakes.

Linear functions for Year 8: the definition, gradient, y-intercept, drawing the graph, finding the equation from 2 points, examples, common mistakes and tips.

A complete guide to solving a quadratic equation: the quadratic formula, the discriminant, factorising, three worked examples step by step and the common mistakes worth knowing for GCSE.

Probability for Years 6-7 in plain English: an intuitive explanation, real-life examples, experiments to do at home and the common mistakes. A complete guide for parents and pupils.

A parent's guide to the Year 6 KS2 maths SATs: the three papers (arithmetic and two reasoning), the core topics that carry the most marks, a four-week practice plan and the mistakes that cost children marks every year.

A complete parents' guide to Year 7 end-of-year maths exams: the topics, a four-week revision plan, tips and common mistakes, plus free practice questions.

A complete guide to working out area and volume for Years 5 and 6: formulae for the rectangle, triangle, trapezium, circle and cube, converting units and real-life examples. Includes a formula table and exercises.

How to explain the order of operations to children in Years 3-6: why multiplication comes before addition, what brackets and indices are, and how to solve the 6 ÷ 2(1 + 2) problem that confuses everyone.

Has your child got column addition wrong again by forgetting to carry? Mixed up numerator and denominator in fractions? Discover the five most common calculation mistakes in Years 3-6 and how to fix them at home — with practical tips for parents.

Fractions in Year 4 — a practical parents' guide: five proven ways of explaining with pizza, chocolate and the number line that stop the confusion before it turns into a fear of maths for the rest of school.

7 practical tips for preparing for a maths test for pupils in Years 3–9 — a weekly plan, finding gaps, focused practice, the Feynman technique, sleep, equipment and time management. The complete guide for pupils and parents.

Maths games for children — a research-based analysis: when they genuinely help, what separates a good game from a bad one, and how to choose by age. A guide for parents who are sceptical about screen time.

A comprehensive parents' guide: the difference between primary and secondary maths, which gaps put a child at risk in Year 7, and how to use the summer to arrive ready.

Negative numbers confuse almost every child in Years 6-8. This article explains to parents the logic behind the minus sign — with real-life examples, the number line, and practical tips for helping at home.

Percentages for Year 6 — a complete guide for parents: what a percentage is, how to work out a discount in the shops, VAT at 20%, test scores and reverse percentage problems. With easy tricks and everyday examples.

The complete parents' guide to geometry in Year 3: 2D and 3D shapes, perimeter and area, symmetry and angles — with fun activities at home that children love.

The complete guide to algebra in Year 7: what x is, how to solve one-step and two-step equations, expanding brackets and equations with x on both sides — with detailed worked examples for pupils and their parents.

Is your child struggling with maths? A complete guide for parents: warning signs by age, an explanation of dyscalculia, practical tools for practising at home and when to seek a professional assessment.

Summer holidays = forgotten maths? Find out how much to practise, what to practise by year group, and an 8-week plan that prevents the summer slide in maths.

A practical guide for parents on teaching times tables pleasantly and effectively — the right order, five methods that work, and what really not to do. No pressure, no tears.

A complete parents' guide to the Year 5 maths curriculum — decimals, percentages, fractions, geometry, statistics, and the end-of-year revision that sets up the Year 6 SATs. Includes Year 5 maths practice and practical tips for helping at home.