11+ Maths
Applying brackets, indices, division, multiplication, addition and subtraction in the correct order.
BIDMAS / Order of Operations appears in 46 of our 338 ready papers (91 tagged questions). It averages 2 questions a paper worth about 1.68 marks each. The typical question allows around 45 sec. It appears in 1 CSSE paper we hold.
BIDMAS (or BODMAS) questions look short and punish one wrong step. Papers present mixed calculations where doing addition before multiplication — or ignoring brackets — flips the answer. Independent schools lean on these as quick discriminators; grammar papers use them inside wider number problems. Teach children to rewrite the expression with the next operation underlined before calculating. Practise with and without brackets, and with simple indices where they appear. A slow, ordered approach beats mental gymnastics when marks are tight and time is short. If two operations share priority, work left to right and tick each step so the working still earns method marks when the final digit slips. Cover the expression with a finger and reveal one operation at a time so priority stays visible instead of relying on memory alone.
A real tagged question from our catalogue — method included, not paywalled.
Ranked from our tagged catalogue — open a paper to practise the questions that actually test this topic.
Not sure whether bidmas / order of operations is the problem? Mark any past paper on 11plusSolved and the report tells you which topics are costing marks — and how many.
