Best-buy questions (which pack is better value?) reward one habit above all others: turn everything into a per-unit price. Divide down to pennies-per-item and the whole comparison collapses into a single number your child can trust. Money problems are among the most heavily tested topics in 11+ maths because they wrap arithmetic, decimals, percentages and multi-step reasoning inside familiar shopping situations — which is exactly why a scruffy method loses easy marks. This page teaches the skill properly, shows worked examples step by step, flags the traps, and points you at the free worksheets and timed mini-mocks that make it stick.
What 11+ money problems actually cover
At 11+ level, money problems is a family of related sub-skills rather than one topic. Children need to be fluent with change from a purchase, budgeting within a fixed amount, best-value comparisons, percentage discounts, and money spread across a ratio or shared unequally. Almost every question hides one extra step — a leftover, a second item, a discount applied after a total — and that final step is where marks are won or lost.
- Change and totals: adding several prices in pounds and pence, then subtracting from a note.
- Best buy / unit pricing: reducing each option to price per gram, per litre or per item.
- Percentage of money: discounts, sale prices, VAT-style increases and reverse percentages.
- Sharing money: splitting an amount in a given ratio, or dividing takings between people.
- Budgeting and worded multi-step: "how many can she afford?" and "how much is left over?"
A fully worked example, step by step
Here is a typical Year 6, exam-level question: A shop sells juice in 6-packs for £3.60 and in 10-packs for £5.50. Which is better value, and by how much per bottle?
- Underline the actual question: "which is better value, and by how much per bottle?" — the answer needs a comparison in pennies-per-bottle.
- Convert to pence: £3.60 = 360p, and £5.50 = 550p. Working in whole pence removes decimal slips.
- Find each unit price: 360 ÷ 6 = 60p per bottle; 550 ÷ 10 = 55p per bottle.
- Compare: the 10-pack at 55p is cheaper per bottle.
- Answer the exact question: 60 − 55 = 5p cheaper per bottle. Check the units: pennies per bottle — correct.
Notice that the child who stops at "the 10-pack is better" scores nothing, because the question asked for the difference. Reading the final sentence twice is the single most valuable money-problem habit.
A method for every multi-step money problem
Long worded questions feel harder than they are. Give your child a fixed routine so the panic goes away:
- Underline the question — the very last thing being asked, not the first number you see.
- List what you are given — jot the prices and quantities down the margin.
- Choose the operation — total (add), remaining (subtract), groups (multiply/divide).
- Do it in pence where decimals threaten, then convert back to pounds at the end.
- Check the units and the sense — a bag of shopping should not cost 3p or £3,000.
Percentages and money: discounts and reverse problems
Sale questions appear constantly. For a straightforward discount, find the percentage and subtract: a £40 coat with 25% off means 25% of 40 = £10, so the sale price is £30. Reverse percentages are the sneaky Greater Depth version: "a jacket costs £48 after a 20% discount — what was the original price?" Here £48 represents 80% of the original, so 1% = 48 ÷ 80 = 60p, and 100% = £60. Teach the phrase "the sale price is 80%, not 100%" and this whole class of question opens up.
Sharing money in a ratio
A common question shares takings unequally. "£72 is shared between Ava and Ben in the ratio 5 : 3. How much does each get?"
- Add the parts: 5 + 3 = 8 parts in total.
- Find one part: £72 ÷ 8 = £9 per part.
- Multiply out: Ava gets 5 × £9 = £45; Ben gets 3 × £9 = £27.
- Check: £45 + £27 = £72 — matches the total.
Quick-reference facts your child should own
| Situation | Method | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Change from a note | Total the items, subtract from the note | Missing a second item |
| Best buy | Price ÷ quantity = unit price | Comparing different units |
| Discount | Find the %, subtract from price | Giving the discount, not the new price |
| Reverse % | Sale price = 100 − discount %; scale to 100% | Dividing by the wrong percentage |
| Share in ratio | Add parts, find one part, multiply | Forgetting to add all the parts |
Common mistakes and exam traps
- Pounds-and-pence muddles: writing £3.5 when they mean £3.50, or losing a zero. Work in pence.
- Answering the wrong question: the last sentence often flips it ("how much is left?" not "how much spent?").
- Discount vs sale price: stopping at the money saved instead of the new total.
- Rounding too early: round only at the final step, or unit prices drift.
- Unit mismatch in best-buy: comparing price-per-100g against price-per-item.
How this appears in a real GL 11+ paper
In a typical GL Assessment maths paper — around 50 questions in 50 minutes, roughly a minute each, no calculator — money problems appear as multiple-choice items with answers A to E marked on a separate OMR sheet. The trap is often a "nearly right" option: the discount amount instead of the sale price, or one item's cost instead of the total. Because it is multiple-choice, a quick estimate before you commit catches most silly errors. Region matters too: CSSE and independent-school papers may ask you to show money working and can include probability or free-response, so practise writing the method, not just circling a letter. Raw marks are later converted to a Standard Age Score (SAS, roughly 69–141 with 100 as the average and many grammar schools looking around 111+), so consistent accuracy on high-frequency topics like money genuinely moves the score.
Difficulty progression: Year 5 vs Year 6
A Year 5 (Developing) version keeps it single-step: "A pen costs 45p. How much for three?" — a clean multiplication. The Year 6 (exam-level) version stacks the steps: "Three pens at 45p and a rubber at 30p are bought with a £2 coin — how much change, and could you afford a fourth pen?" Same core skill, two extra layers of reasoning. Our free graded sheets run Foundation, Developing, Secure and Greater Depth so a child enters at their level and climbs. Build a realistic timeline with the revision hub and the key exam dates, and confirm which board your target schools use in the grammar school directory.
Frequently asked questions
Is a calculator allowed for money problems in the 11+?
No. Standard GL and most 11+ maths papers are non-calculator, so mental methods and neat column arithmetic matter. Working in pence and estimating first keeps children accurate under time pressure.
How much time should each money question take?
In a GL paper that averages about one minute per question, a two-step money problem should take a little over a minute. If your child stalls, teach them to flag it, move on, and return — a blank is the same score whether they spent ten seconds or two minutes.
Which papers test money problems most?
All of them include real-life money contexts, but Essex CSSE and independent-school papers lean harder on multi-step and written working, while GL keeps it multiple-choice. Practise both styles with the GL papers and CSSE papers hubs.
Every money problems worksheet — with answer keys and OMR sheets — is free in our worksheet library under the Maths tab, with no card and no email wall, and the mock library puts the same skill inside full timed papers.