Number – Fractions-Decimals-Percentages​ — Year 6 Maths

Year 6 fractions, decimals and percentages: what pupils learn

Year 6 is where fractions, decimals and percentages come together as three ways of writing the same number. This is also where pupils multiply and divide fractions for the first time, ahead of the KS2 SATs.

By the end of Year 6, the National Curriculum expects pupils to:

• use common factors to simplify fractions, and common multiples to write fractions in the same denomination
• compare and order fractions, including fractions greater than 1
• add and subtract fractions with different denominators and mixed numbers, using equivalent fractions
• multiply simple pairs of fractions, writing the answer in its simplest form, for example 1/4 × 1/2 = 1/8
• divide a fraction by a whole number, for example 1/3 ÷ 2 = 1/6
• associate a fraction with division to calculate decimal equivalents, for example 3/8 = 0.375
• recall and use equivalences between common fractions, decimals and percentages

Key vocabulary

common factor, common multiple, simplify, equivalent, numerator, denominator, decimal equivalent, percentage

How it builds

Year 6 draws together the equivalent fractions, mixed numbers and percentages pupils met in Year 5. At secondary school, this fluency underpins algebraic fractions, ratio and proportion.

Frequently asked questions

How do you simplify a fraction?
Divide the numerator and denominator by the same common factor until they share no factor other than 1. For example, 8/12 simplifies to 2/3 by dividing both by 4.

How do you multiply two fractions?
Multiply the numerators together and the denominators together, then simplify: 1/4 × 1/2 = (1×1)/(4×2) = 1/8.

Which fraction, decimal and percentage facts are worth memorising?
The most useful are 1/2 = 0.5 = 50%, 1/4 = 0.25 = 25%, 3/4 = 0.75 = 75%, and 1/10 = 0.1 = 10%. These come up constantly in SATs-style questions.

Start with our free resources, or get every Year 6 maths lesson with a membership.