What Should a Child Know in Year 6 Maths?

Year 6 is the final year of primary school, and for most children the most academically demanding. The maths curriculum reaches its peak complexity — introducing algebra and ratio while also expecting mastery of everything covered in Years 1 to 5. At the end of the year, children sit the KS2 SATs, which include three maths papers.

This guide covers everything expected in Year 6 maths and how to prioritise revision at home.

Number and Place Value

In Year 6, place value extends to numbers up to 10,000,000. Children should be able to:

• Read, write, order, and compare numbers up to 10,000,000
• Round any whole number to a required degree of accuracy
• Use negative numbers in context, calculate intervals across zero
• Solve problems involving the order of operations (BODMAS/BIDMAS)

Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages

This is one of the most heavily tested areas in the KS2 SATs. Year 6 pupils need to:

• Use common factors to simplify fractions; use common multiples to express fractions in the same denomination
• Add and subtract fractions with different denominators and mixed numbers
• Multiply pairs of proper fractions; divide proper fractions by whole numbers
• Identify the value of each digit up to three decimal places
• Multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100, and 1,000 giving answers up to three decimal places
• Recall and use equivalences between simple fractions, decimals, and percentages
• Solve problems involving the calculation of percentages (e.g. 15% of 360)

Ratio and Proportion

Ratio and proportion appear for the first time in Year 6 and are frequently tested in SATs reasoning papers:

• Solve problems involving the relative sizes of two quantities using ratio notation
• Solve problems involving similar shapes where the scale factor is known
• Solve problems involving unequal sharing and grouping using knowledge of fractions and multiples

Algebra

Algebra is new in Year 6 and can be a source of anxiety for children and parents alike. However, at this level it is fairly accessible:

• Use simple formulae (e.g. area = length × width)
• Generate and describe linear number sequences
• Express missing number problems algebraically (e.g. n + 5 = 12)
• Find pairs of numbers that satisfy an equation with two unknowns
• Enumerate possibilities of combinations of two variables

Framing algebra as “finding the missing number” — something children have been doing since Year 1 — often makes it feel far less intimidating.

Geometry, Measurement, and Statistics

• Draw, translate, and reflect shapes; recognise and describe their properties
• Recognise, describe, and build simple 3D shapes
• Calculate the area of parallelograms and triangles; calculate the volume of cubes and cuboids
• Calculate angles in triangles and rectangles; find unknown angles in any triangles, quadrilaterals, and regular polygons
• Interpret and construct pie charts and line graphs; use data to calculate the mean average