Mental maths is still a key part of the end of KS2 National Tests andso schools are striving for pupils to do even better than the averageLevel 3. This book follows on from Mental Maths in Minutes 9-11 so isideal for stretching very able pupils but is also an excellent resourcefor the first year of secondary school. Specific skills such as addition, subtraction, doubling, halving,multiplying and dividing are addressed repeatedly, but each time at ahigher level of understanding.

As with the other books in the series, the Extension book featuresforty mental maths practice sheets together with forty matching answersheets. Each sheet has at least two, and normally four, columnsof questions that pupils can answer quickly. Guidance for teacherssuggests that the sheets are used at the start of maths lessons andthatpupils should be given one minute for each column. Andrew has found aparticularly successful technique is for pupils to complete one column,mark it themselves and then do a second column straight away to see ifthey can improve on their mark. An entire sheet takes approx 10 minuteswhich makes it perfect forlesson starters.