Bond SATs Skills: Maths Workbook 9-10 Years

Not what I wanted

Bond have always been known for workbooks aimed at the 11+, but now they have a whole new range of books which are for the Key Stage 2 SATs exams. The books are for four different age groups (8-9 years, 9-10 years, 10-11 years and 10-11+ years stretch workbook) and cover Grammar and Punctuation, Spelling and Vocabulary, Arithmetic and Maths. There are also Vocabulary Flashcards and Times Tables Flashcards available in this series, as well as a Times Tables workbook. As reviews for workbooks tend to be cross posted by Amazon, I will make it clear that this review is for the Maths Workbook and for years 9-10. If the review appears on other books, then please note that I did not post it there.This book has ten units of activities, which cover the number, measurement, geometry and statistics elements of the Year 5 element of the National Curriculum and are useful not only for SATs exams, but also for children preparing for the 11+. The book contains a progress chart, each page is scored separately, so children get immediate feedback, there are helpful hints, a pull out answer book and a list of key words.Like all Bond workbooks, this one is well laid out. I like the fact that – although units can be three or four pages – children mark each page as they go along (or you can). This means that they get feedback instantly and it also means that you can give them one page to complete at a time, if you do not want them to do a whole unit at once. This is good ‘extra’ homework and is also useful for home schooling or tutoring. I like this very much and suspect there will be similar books for KS1 in the future.

The questions in this book are not presented in the same style as a SATS exam, although the material covered is the same. Children are likely to find this less intimidating. The questions are a touch more challenging as well, which I think is a good thing. At the start of each page, mathematical terms are explained and an example given.The cover is a remarkably sturdy, so could pass though multiple students if not written inside. Answer are on a four sided pullout in the center.Highly recommended for children of average ability and above.

There are a few really good publishers of this kind of thing -CGP, Schofield and Sim for example- but somehow the Bond titles are just fractionally better presented and higher quality in my opinion. This is no exception. My primary school teacher wife and I can't think of a single significant way in which this could be better given what is in the curriculum (our daughter is nine turning ten). The skills here are useful even if your child won't be sitting SATs but if they are the preparation will be invaluable and you'll be able to reassure yourself that this is as good as such guides are likely to get. Highly recommended.

This lovely book is a great revision tool for students in Year 5 looking for supported extra practice in all Maths topics. There are helpful hints throughout and a pull out mark scheme to allow students to self assess their work as they go through. This has been very useful alongside topic based work each week as a summative check of understanding. The format is different to SATs and can be a welcome break for students during an intense few years.