Number bonds
Pairs of numbers that add up to 10, 20 and 100: what they are, why they matter, and a page for each total with every pair drawn out.
Pick a total
What a number bond is
A number bond is two numbers that add up to a total. On this ten frame, 3 places are filled and 7 are outlined, so 3 and 7 are a bond to 10.
Children who know their bonds by heart stop counting on their fingers. That matters more every year, and most of all in a timed 11+ paper.
Questions parents ask
What is a number bond?
A pair of numbers that add up to a total. 3 and 7 are a number bond to 10, because 3 + 7 = 10. Knowing the bond also gives the subtraction facts: 10 − 3 = 7 and 10 − 7 = 3.
Why do number bonds matter for the 11+?
11+ maths is timed, and quick mental arithmetic saves minutes. Number bonds are behind adding by making 10, working out change from £1 and checking that an answer is sensible.
What order should children learn number bonds in?
Bonds to 10 first, then bonds to 20, which are bonds to 10 with an extra 10. Then the tens bonds to 100, such as 30 + 70, and finally any pair to 100, such as 37 + 63.
Quick mental maths starts with number bonds
11+ maths is timed, and number bonds are behind fast adding, subtracting and working out change. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.