What changes in Year 7
Whether your child's school calls it Year 7, Grade 6 or the first year of the MYP, secondary maths starts from the same foundations. Three things change at once.
A faster pace
A specialist maths teacher moves on once a topic is taught, and homework assumes the basics are already secure.
More symbols, fewer objects
Counters and drawings give way to decimals, fractions and letters. A letter stands for a number that can change.
Everything builds on everything
A wobble with fractions in Year 6 turns up again in percentages, ratio, probability and algebra in Year 7.
Six foundations that decide how Year 7 goes
Each one has a free lesson that teaches it from the start. No sign-in needed to open them.
Place value and decimals
Every later topic, from percentages to measurement, leans on knowing what each digit is worth.
The common slip: thinking 0.45 is bigger than 0.5 because 45 is bigger than 5.
Free lesson: Place value and decimals (Year 7)Fractions
Fractions come back in percentages, ratio, probability and algebra. A shaky start here can follow a child for years.
The common slip: adding the tops and the bottoms: 1/2 + 1/4 = 2/6.
Free lesson: Equivalent fractions (Year 7)Percentages
Percentages are fractions out of 100, and Year 7 uses them often: discounts, scores, data.
The common slip: reading 10% as "take away 10".
Free lesson: What a percentage is (Year 7)Negative numbers
Algebra and graphs use numbers below zero from the start of secondary.
The common slip: stopping at zero: 3 take away 5 gives 2.
Free lesson: Numbers on both sides of zero (Year 8 lesson, also free)Ratio
Ratio is about multiplying, not adding. It is the root of scale drawings, recipes, speed and later algebra.
The common slip: adding the same amount to both parts instead of multiplying.
Free lesson: What a ratio says (Year 8 lesson, also free)Algebra as patterns
Year 7 algebra starts with patterns: a letter stands for a number that can change.
The common slip: counting the jumps wrongly, or treating a letter as a label.
Free lesson: Growing patterns (Year 7)The free 10-question check
Ten questions: nine at the level of the end of Year 6, and the last a first step into Year 7 algebra. Your child chooses an answer and presses Check, and a wrong answer explains the mistake behind it. It takes about ten minutes.
A tip: sit beside them, let them answer on their own, and talk about the explanations afterwards. No sign-in, and the check runs on this page only: nothing your child chooses is sent anywhere.
When Year 7 starts
Every foundation in the check is taught again, properly, in the Year 7 and Year 8 lessons. The first lesson of every unit is free. The Years 7 to 11 plan opens the rest: every figure to move, every question checked as it is typed, and a note on what each wrong answer means.
$59 for 12 months, or $99 for 2 years
- Every lesson from Year 7 to Year 11, so the refresher links always open
- Every Year 7 to 11 revision pack as a printable PDF
- Brothers and sisters in different years are covered
No rush
There is nothing to buy before Year 7. Start with the free lessons above; the plan is there when your child needs every lesson in a unit.
One payment. Nothing renews. Full refund within 30 days. Pay by card on Gumroad, then open any lesson and type the email you paid with. Prices are in US$; Gumroad shows your local currency at checkout.
A Years 5 and 6 bridge: tell me when it is ready
We are thinking about a set of about 40 short lessons for Years 5 and 6, designed to be done with a parent, that lead straight into Year 7. It is not built yet. If enough parents ask for it, we will build it, and you will be the first to know.
We use your email only to tell you when the bridge is ready. No newsletter, it is never sold or used for anything else, and you can ask us to delete it at any time: hello@ksmaths.com. See terms and privacy.
Questions
Is this my child's school curriculum?
No. KS Maths is independent and is not linked to any school or exam board. Schools teach topics in different orders, but these six ideas are the ones Year 7 maths builds on.
What if my child gets most of them wrong?
That is useful to know now, and it is not a verdict. Pick one foundation marked "worth a look", open its free lesson together, and come back to the check in a few weeks.
Does the check store anything?
No. It runs in your browser, and nothing your child chooses is sent or saved. Only the bridge form above sends anything: the email you type into it.
Is the check really free?
Yes, and so is the first lesson of every unit. Other lessons are on a paid plan.