Money questions are rarely one calculation. They are usually three, and the mark is lost in the middle one.
Maths carries 25% of the marks. Almost all of it arrives as worded problems rather than bare calculations, so the reading is part of the maths.
Best value: get it to one unit
Whenever two offers are compared, convert both to the price of a single item. Always. Do not try to reason about which looks better.
Pack A: 3 for £1.20. Pack B: 5 for £1.90. Which is better value?
- Pack A: 120p divided by 3 is 40p each
- Pack B: 190p divided by 5 is 38p each
Pack B is better value, by 2p per item. Note that Pack B costs more in total, which is exactly the confusion the question is built on.
Work in pence. Converting pounds to pence before dividing removes most decimal errors at a stroke.
Change, by counting up
Same principle as time: counting up beats subtracting.
£20 note, £13.47 spent.
- £13.47 to £13.50 is 3p
- £13.50 to £14.00 is 50p
- £14.00 to £20.00 is £6
- Change: £6.53
No borrowing across columns, no decimal point to misplace.
The official example, worked
the partnership's familiarisation guide includes a money question that shows exactly how these are built. Mrs Woods' order form reads:
| Textbook | Price | Number | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Literacy | £6 | ? | ? |
| History | £7 | 3 | £21 |
| Maths | £6.50 | 5 | £32.50 |
| Postage | £5.00 | ||
| Total | £82.50 |
How many literacy books did she order?
- Add what is known: 21 plus 32.50 plus 5 is £58.50
- Subtract from the total: 82.50 minus 58.50 is £24
- Divide by the price: 24 divided by 6 is 4 books
Three steps, and a child who stops at step two answers £24 to a question that asked how many. That is the shape of nearly every money question in this test.
Habits that protect the marks
- Work in pence where you can.
- Underline what is actually asked. How many, or how much?
- Line up the decimal points if you must add in pounds.
- Write £ or p on your answer and check it is sensible. Change of £653 is not sensible.
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The mark is lost in the middle step
A money question in this test is almost never a single calculation. The official example is three steps: add what you know, subtract from the total, then divide by the unit price. A child who does the first two perfectly and stops has an arithmetically correct number and no mark.
That connects to the thing I see everywhere in this paper. A question might require percentages applied to weight and proportion, three separate topics combined, and the child has to understand what is being asked before applying any of them.
So the habit worth drilling is not arithmetic. It is finishing. Underline the actual question, how many or how much, and check your answer answers it. And check it is sensible, because change of six hundred pounds from a twenty should stop anybody.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
How do you compare best value in the 11+?
Convert both offers to the price of a single item. For 3 at £1.20 against 5 at £1.90, that is 40p each against 38p each, so the second is better value even though it costs more in total. Working in pence avoids most decimal errors.
How do you work out change without mistakes?
Count up rather than subtracting. From £13.47 to £20: 3p to £13.50, 50p to £14, then £6 to £20, giving £6.53. There is no borrowing across columns and no decimal point to misplace.
Why do children lose marks on money questions?
Because these are usually three-step problems and children stop after two. In the official example a child who works out that £24 was spent on literacy books, but does not divide by the £6 price, answers the wrong question.
What is the official 11+ money question example?
An order form where History is 3 at £7 for £21, Maths is 5 at £6.50 for £32.50, postage is £5 and the total is £82.50, asking how many £6 literacy books were ordered. The known items total £58.50, leaving £24, which divided by £6 gives 4 books.
Should my child work in pounds or pence?
Pence wherever possible, especially when dividing. Converting £1.20 to 120p before dividing by 3 removes the decimal entirely, and decimal slips are the commonest error in this topic.