Entrance exams to UK schools usually want to get an idea of a child's underlying intelligence as well as overall academic ability. A school wants to find out not just what the student knows now, but also how quickly they are likely to learn in the future. One happy consequence is that they tend to get creative with their maths questions. Although you'll get your usual straightforward questions early on, the later questions can be downright fiendish, especially considering the age group. I've collected some of the best ones here.
11+ questions
The first two are from the London girls' school consortium, which includes schools such as City of London, Francis Holland, South Hampstead and Channing. The third question is from an entrance exam for Hokkien school in Singapore. The final question is one of my own devising (which relies on prime numbers).
Question 1: London Consortium 11+
Question 2: London Consortium 11+
Question 3: London Consortium 11+
Question 4: written by me
Find the dimensions of a rectangle which has an area of 4800cm² and a perimeter of 320cm.
Question 5 & 6: London Consortium 11+
13+ questions
Scholarship papers are always great for a challenge - these questions are from King's School Canterbury, Sevenoaks and Eton.
Question 1: King's School Canterbury
Question 2: Sevenoaks School
Question 3: King's School Canterbury
Question 4: Eton College 2012
16+ / GCSE
Unfortunately GCSE papers very rarely get that creative with their questions. However, some textbook authors still throw some interesting ones in there. In addition, there are plenty of intriguing questions to be found on 16+ papers.
