Column Addition and Subtraction Worksheets

Year 6 SATs maths worksheets on column addition and subtraction: 36 questions in three levels (All, Most, Some), with working space and answers. Free PDF.

7-page A4 PDF from the Tiger Shark Education question bank. All: Add and subtract 3-digit numbers using columns. Most: Add and subtract 4-digit numbers using columns. Some: Add and subtract numbers with 5 or more digits. Each level is two pages of six questions, each with a squared working area, and the last page has every answer, with short working for multi-step questions. Each level is also available as its own 3-page PDF. Example questions from the Some level: 99,958 − 82,492 = / 162,494 + 13,151 =.

What is column addition and subtraction? The column method lines numbers up by place value (ones under ones, tens under tens) and works from right to left, carrying into the next column when a total reaches 10 or more and exchanging (borrowing) from the next column when a digit is too small to subtract from. Year 6 children should be fluent with numbers of five or more digits.

Common mistakes and tips: The most common errors are misaligned columns, forgetting to add the carried digit, and subtracting the smaller digit from the larger one regardless of position. Exchanging across a zero (such as 4,005 − 1,238) causes particular trouble. Squared working space helps children keep columns straight, and checking with the inverse operation catches most mistakes.

This topic is part of the Year 6 National Curriculum for maths, and it regularly appears on the KS2 SATs papers. The All, Most and Some levels let you check basic fluency first and then move on to the multi-step, contextual questions found on the reasoning papers.

How teachers use these sheets: as a lesson’s independent task, as a starter to revisit a topic from earlier in the year, or as a revision pack in the weeks before the SATs. Children can mark their own work with the answer page, then explain one mistake to a partner to deepen understanding.

Reasoning and explanation: once children can answer the questions, ask them to explain their method to a partner or write a short explanation of one answer. The SATs reasoning papers include ‘explain how you know’ questions, and talking about methods deepens understanding far more than repeating calculations.

Use All for children working towards the expected standard, Most for secure Year 5 skills and Some for SATs-standard practice: three entry points to the same lesson. Suits whole-class differentiation, intervention groups, homework and SATs revision, and upper KS2 generally.

Part of a set of 42 Year 6 maths topics.