Practising for the Year 4 check
The Multiplication Tables Check asks 25 questions from the 2 to 12 times tables, with six seconds per answer. That pace only works when facts are recalled, not worked out. Short, regular practice on paper builds that recall: start with the tables a child knows, add the harder ones, then mix everything together.
A suggested order
- 2, 5 and 10: the counting patterns most children know from Key Stage 1.
- 3, 4 and 8: the 4s are double the 2s, the 8s double the 4s.
- 6, 7 and 9: usually the last to become secure.
- 2 to 12 mixed: 25 questions, like the check itself.
Curriculum links in England
- Year 2Pupils recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 tables.
- Year 3The 3, 4 and 8 tables follow, with the related division facts.
- Year 4All multiplication and division facts up to 12 × 12 should be recalled.
- Year 4 checkThe statutory multiplication tables check is taken on screen in June of Year 4.
The curriculum’s order matches the groups on this page: 2, 5 and 10 in Year 2, then 3, 4 and 8 in Year 3, and the 6s, 7s, 9s, 11s and 12s in Year 4.
The check itself asks only multiplication questions, but the Year 4 requirement covers division facts too, so the division and missing-number options are worth including. In Year 5 and Year 6, mixed sheets keep the facts fresh for long multiplication and short division.
Summarised in our own words from the National Curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study and Standards and Testing Agency guidance on the multiplication tables check.
