Year 4
British Curriculum
Complete Guide.
Everything parents need to know about Year 4 in the UK — curriculum, subjects, the statutory Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), and how Eleven Ace provides expert online tuition for every subject.
What Is Year 4?
Year 4 is the year group for children aged 8–9 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is the second year of Key Stage 2 (Years 3–6) and a pivotal year for building core skills in reading, writing and mathematics.
Year 4 has one statutory national test — the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), taken in June. Children must demonstrate rapid recall of all times tables up to 12×12. This is the only national test between Year 2 SATs and Year 6 SATs.
- Part of Key Stage 2 — curriculum set by the National Curriculum (England)
- Ofsted-inspected schools follow statutory programmes of study
- Equivalent to Grade 3/4 (USA), Primary 5 (Scotland)
- MFL (Modern Foreign Language) compulsory at KS2
- Statutory Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) in June
Year 4 National Curriculum — Core Subjects
The three core subjects every Year 4 child studies under the British curriculum. Eleven Ace provides expert 1:1 and batch tuition for all of them.
Reading, Writing & SPaG
- Wider reading across fiction, non-fiction and poetry with growing independence
- Formal letter writing, newspaper reports, persuasive texts and narratives
- Fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases and paragraphing
- Possessive apostrophes for regular and irregular plurals
- Standard English forms — "we were" not "we was"
- Year 3/4 statutory spelling list, prefixes (in-, im-, ir-, il-) and suffixes
- Joined handwriting used consistently across all subjects
Number, Geometry & Measurement
- All times tables up to 12×12 — statutory MTC in June
- Place value of 4-digit numbers; ordering and comparing
- Rounding to nearest 10, 100 and 1,000
- Area of rectilinear shapes by counting squares
- Coordinates in the first quadrant; lines of symmetry
- Decimals to two decimal places; tenths and hundredths
- Roman numerals to 100 (C); negative numbers in context
Sound, Electricity, Matter & Life
- Sound — how sounds are made, vibrations, pitch and volume
- Electricity — simple circuits, conductors, insulators, switches
- States of matter — solids, liquids, gases; changes of state; water cycle
- Living things and their habitats — classification keys, local habitats
- Digestive system — mouth, stomach, intestines and their functions
- Teeth — types, functions and dental hygiene
- Food chains — producers, predators, prey
Foundation Subjects — Full Year 4 Curriculum
Beyond the core three, Year 4 children study a broad range of foundation subjects under the British curriculum. Eleven Ace tutors cover these too — from History to Computing.
Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings or a local history study. Chronological understanding, use of primary sources, cause and consequence.
Rivers and the water cycle, land use, OS map skills, grid references, compass directions. Fieldwork and data collection in the local area.
Compulsory at KS2. Greetings, numbers, colours, family, animals, simple sentences and short conversations — building foundations for secondary MFL.
Programming with Scratch (sequences, loops, selection), data handling with spreadsheets, online safety, responsible use of technology and digital literacy.
Sketching, painting, printing, collage and sculpture. Study of famous artists (e.g. Romans-linked mosaics). Developing technique and composition.
Designing, making and evaluating products — electrical circuits in DT, food technology (healthy eating links to science), textiles and mechanical systems.
Performing, composing, music notation basics, listening and appraising. Recorder or glockenspiel commonly taught. Singing in parts and rounds.
Friendships, emotions, bullying awareness, online safety, healthy lifestyles. Comparative religion — Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism — festivals and moral questions.
Invasion games, net/wall, striking/fielding, gymnastics, dance, athletics and swimming. National Curriculum requires swimming by end of KS2.
Expert Online Tuition for Every Year 4 Subject
Whether your child needs support with the National Curriculum, MTC preparation, or building strong foundations for KS2 — Eleven Ace offers two flexible options across the entire UK.
Start Your Child's Year 4 Journey Today.
1:1 tuition · 4-student batches · All subjects · MTC prep · Across the UK
Book Free Year 4 Demo ClassAssessments & Tests in Year 4
Year 4 has one statutory national test — the Multiplication Tables Check. Schools also run their own internal assessments throughout the year. Here's what your child will encounter.
How Eleven Ace Helps
Our tutors prepare students for the MTC with systematic times tables drills, timed practice and confidence-building exercises. We also support internal school tests and help build the foundation skills tracked by teacher assessments throughout the year.
What Year 4 Does Have
- Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) — statutory, taken in June, 25 questions, 6 seconds each, up to 12×12
- Teacher assessments — ongoing tracking against National Curriculum expectations throughout the year
- School internal tests — NFER, Rising Stars or school-designed papers used for setting and reports
What Year 4 Does NOT Have
- No KS2 SATs — SATs are Year 6 only (May)
- No 11+ entrance exams — 11+ is sat in September/October of Year 6
- No Phonics Screening Check — Year 1 only (Year 2 resits)
Year 4 Maths — Full Topic List
Every Maths topic your Year 4 child covers under the British curriculum. Eleven Ace tutors work through each of these systematically in 1:1 and batch sessions.
- Read, write, order and compare numbers to at least 10,000
- Count in multiples of 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1,000
- Find 1,000 more or less than a given number
- Round any number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000
- Negative numbers — count backwards through zero
- Roman numerals to 100 (I to C)
- Recall all multiplication and division facts up to 12×12
- Recognise and use factor pairs
- Multiply 2-digit and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit (short multiplication)
- Divide 2-digit and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit (short division)
- Formal written methods for addition and subtraction (4 digits)
- Solve two-step problems in context, choosing appropriate operations
- Recognise and show equivalent fractions
- Add and subtract fractions with the same denominator
- Decimals to 2 decimal places — tenths and hundredths
- Divide 1-digit or 2-digit numbers by 10 and 100
- Round decimals to the nearest whole number
- Area of rectilinear shapes by counting squares
- Compare and classify geometric shapes including quadrilaterals and triangles
- Identify lines of symmetry in 2-D shapes
- Describe positions on a 2-D grid as coordinates in the first quadrant
- Identify acute, obtuse and right angles
- Convert between different units of measure (km/m, kg/g, l/ml)
- Solve comparison, sum and difference problems using information in tables
Year 4 English — Full Topic List
Every English topic covered in Year 4 under the British curriculum. Eleven Ace sessions build reading comprehension, writing confidence and grammar accuracy.
- Read a wide range of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays and reference books
- Use dictionaries to check meaning of unfamiliar words
- Retrieve and record information from non-fiction texts
- Draw inferences — characters' feelings, thoughts and motives from actions
- Predict what might happen from details stated and implied
- Identify main ideas and summarise paragraphs
- Discuss words and phrases that capture the reader's interest
- Narrative — adventure stories, myths, legends, stories with historical settings
- Formal letter writing and informal letters
- Newspaper reports, recounts and diary entries
- Persuasive writing — adverts, posters, speeches
- Non-chronological reports and explanation texts
- Poetry — free verse, shape poems, haiku, performance poetry
- Plan, draft, evaluate and edit own writing independently
- Fronted adverbials (e.g. "Later that day, I…") with a comma after
- Expanded noun phrases with modifying adjectives and prepositional phrases
- Possessive apostrophes for regular plurals (girls') and irregular plurals (children's)
- Standard English verb forms — "we were" not "we was"
- Paragraphs to organise ideas around a theme
- Pronouns and nouns to avoid repetition
- Year 3/4 statutory spelling list, prefixes (in-, im-, ir-, il-, sub-, super-), suffixes (-ation, -ous)
Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) — What Parents Must Know
The MTC is the only statutory national test in Year 4. It checks whether children can fluently recall their times tables up to 12×12. Understanding how it works helps parents support their child effectively.
What Is the MTC?
- Statutory online test taken by all Year 4 children in England in June
- Introduced by the DfE to ensure children leave primary school with fluent times tables recall
- 25 questions — each presenting a multiplication fact (e.g. 6 × 8 = ?)
- 6 seconds per question — children type their answer on screen
- Covers all times tables from 2×2 up to 12×12
- Questions are weighted towards the harder tables (6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12)
- Maximum score: 25 out of 25 — results shared with parents
How It Works
On-Screen Test
Children complete the MTC on a computer or tablet in school. Each question appears on screen one at a time with a 6-second countdown timer.
25 Random Questions
Questions are randomly generated from the full range of tables (2–12). The 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 times tables appear more frequently as they are harder to recall.
3-Second Pause Between Questions
After each answer (or when the 6 seconds expire), there is a 3-second gap before the next question. The entire check takes under 5 minutes.
Results Shared with Parents
Schools share each child's score (out of 25) with parents before the end of the summer term. There is no pass/fail — it is a check of fluency.
MTC Format at a Glance
Key details about the Multiplication Tables Check that every Year 4 parent should know.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Who takes it? | All Year 4 children in state-funded schools in England |
| When? | June (3-week window set by the DfE each year) |
| Format | On-screen, online test completed on a computer or tablet |
| Number of questions | 25 multiplication questions |
| Time per question | 6 seconds |
| Tables covered | 2×2 up to 12×12 (all multiplication tables) |
| Weighting | 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 times tables appear more frequently |
| Maximum score | 25 out of 25 |
| Pass mark | No pass/fail — it is a fluency check |
| Results | Shared with parents before end of summer term |
How Eleven Ace Prepares Children
- Systematic approach — we teach tables in a structured order, building from easier to harder facts
- Timed practice — regular 6-second drills that mirror the real MTC format
- Focus on tricky tables — extra attention on 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 times tables
- Division fluency — knowing 7×8=56 means knowing 56÷7=8 and 56÷8=7
- Confidence building — reducing test anxiety through familiarity and practice
Tips for Parents
- Little and often — 5–10 minutes of daily practice is more effective than one long session per week
- Start with known facts — build confidence with 2s, 5s, 10s before tackling 7s, 8s, 12s
- Use the practice site — the DfE provides a free "try it out" area that mirrors the real test
- Make it fun — songs, games, flashcards and apps alongside formal practice
- Stay positive — avoid anxiety; frame it as a challenge, not a threat
What to Do in Year 4
A term-by-term action plan for parents navigating Year 4. Follow this timeline to support your child through the MTC and build strong KS2 foundations.
- Assess times tables knowledge — find out which tables your child already knows and which need work
- Begin daily practice — 5–10 minutes of times tables every day, starting with easier facts
- Support reading at home — 15–20 minutes of daily reading builds comprehension and vocabulary
- Check homework expectations — Year 4 typically has more homework than Year 3
- Book a free demo with Eleven Ace — start tuition while the year is fresh
- Intensify MTC practice — introduce timed practice to mirror the 6-second format
- Focus on harder tables — 6, 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 times tables need the most attention
- Try the DfE practice site — familiarise your child with the on-screen format before June
- Support writing development — encourage diary writing, letters and creative stories at home
- Review progress with your Eleven Ace tutor — adjust focus areas based on mock MTC results
Why Year 4 Parents Choose Eleven Ace
- All subjects in one place — no juggling multiple tutors or platforms
- MTC specialist preparation — systematic, timed practice that mirrors the real test
- Flexible 1:1 or batch options — choose what works for your family
- Progress visibility — monthly reports so you always know where your child stands
- UK-wide coverage — expert tutors available wherever you are
- Free demo class — try before you commit, no obligation
Frequently Asked Questions — Year 4
Everything parents ask about Year 4 in the British curriculum, answered clearly.
What is the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)?
Is there a pass mark for the MTC?
When should my child start learning times tables?
Which times tables are the hardest for children?
Are there SATs in Year 4?
What should a Year 4 child know by year end?
How can I help my child prepare for the MTC at home?
Does my child need a tutor for Year 4?
What is the difference between Year 4 and Year 3?
Does Eleven Ace cover all subjects or just Maths?
Child Wellbeing — Keeping Year 4 Positive
The MTC is a low-stakes check, not a high-pressure exam. Keeping practice positive and proportionate is key to your child's confidence and progress.
Some children worry about the timed format. Familiarise them with the on-screen layout using the DfE practice tool. Remind them it is a check, not a pass/fail exam. Celebrate progress — even improving by 2–3 marks is a success.
5–10 minutes of daily practice is enough. Longer sessions lead to fatigue and frustration. Eleven Ace sessions are designed to be focused and efficient — building fluency without overwhelming children.
Children aged 8–9 still need plenty of unstructured play time. Times tables practice should be short, daily and ideally fun — songs, games and friendly challenges work well alongside formal drills.
Focus on what your child can do, not what they cannot. Start practice with known facts to build confidence before introducing harder tables. Praise effort and improvement rather than demanding a perfect score.
Book Free Year 4 Demo Class.
1:1 Tuition · 4-Student Batches · All Subjects · MTC Preparation · Across the UK
English · Maths · Science · Times Tables · History · Geography · Computing · All Year 4 Curriculum Subjects
Book Free Year 4 Demo Class