Ratio and proportion are the most discriminating Year-6 maths topics. A child who can comfortably handle ratio in word problems is in the top decile of 11+ candidates.
What this question type tests
Ratio questions appear in two main forms: "share in the ratio" (split £60 between two people in the ratio 2:3) and "scale by ratio" (a recipe for 4 people; how much for 10).
How it appears in real papers
Ratio appears in roughly 10 to 15 percent of marks in 11+ Maths papers. CSSE and the harder GL papers also use ratio in worded problem-solving questions worth higher marks. Recognising the question type within five seconds is the marker of a confident candidate; recognising it after thirty seconds of re-reading typically means a lost mark on a tight paper.
The technique to learn
The technique for "share in ratio": add the ratio parts (2+3=5), divide the total by the parts (60÷5=12), multiply by each ratio number (2×12=24, 3×12=36). Check by adding back to the total.
For "scale by ratio", use the unitary method: find the value for one part, then multiply up. A recipe for 4 needs 200g of flour; 200÷4 = 50g per person; 10 people need 500g.
Worked example
Worked example: a school has 180 children in the ratio 5:4 boys to girls. How many girls? Add parts: 5+4=9. Each part: 180÷9=20. Girls: 4×20=80.
Common errors
Common error: not noticing whether the question asks for one part or for the difference between parts. Underline what is actually being asked before calculating.
Practice approach
A ratio-only workbook plus weekly word-problem practice from Year 5 onwards builds genuine fluency. Ratio is the topic where deliberate drilling yields the largest score gains. Embedding the technique requires repeated exposure across different surface presentations — a child who has only seen one phrasing will be thrown by the next.