Percentages of Amounts

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Percentages are one of those things you just can’t avoid — even once you’ve left the classroom. Here’s a handy recap on everything your child needs to know about percentages at KS2.

 

How to Convert a Percentage to a Fraction

First things first, the word percent means ‘parts per 100’. It’s often shown using the % symbol, which, given a little rearrangement, even looks like 100. 1% of an amount is equal to one hundredth of that amount, and with that knowledge you can convert a percentage to a fraction easy-peasy:

 

Converting a fraction to a percentage can be slightly trickier. The bottom number needs to be 100. If it isn’t, multiply the top and bottom numbers by the same number until the bottom number is 100. Then it’s just a case of getting rid of the 100 and scribbling a % symbol after what was the top number — like this:

 

Handy Hint: you might hear the top number in a fraction called the numerator and the bottom number called the denominator.

 

How to Convert a Percentage to a Decimal

It’s super simple to convert a percentage to a decimal. Just divide the number by 100 and give the % symbol the chop:

24% = 24 ÷ 100 = 0.24
 

To convert a decimal to a percentage, multiply by 100 and stick a % symbol on the end:

0.7 = 0.7 × 100% = 70%
 

Very nice, you’re halfway through already — or 50%, I should say…

 

How to Work Out the Percentage of a Number

Let’s say those £15 bright pink wellies you’ve had your eye on now have 20% off in the sale. Forgetting how good they’re going to look for a second, how much are you going to save?

KS2 pupils are often taught to work out percentages of an amount by finding 1% and multiplying up to find the percentage they’re looking for. So, for the real-life example above you would do:

1% of £15 = £15 ÷ 100 = £0.15,

so 20% of £15 = £0.15 × 20 = £3

That’s £3 off those bright pink wellies — go on, treat yourself.

 

If that all seems a bit much work, you could just divide £15 by 5 because 100% divided by 5 gives you 20%.
So that’s £15 ÷ 5 = £3.

Here are some more handy shortcuts for working out percentages that often pop-up:

What % to find	What to do
50%	Divide by 2
25%	Divide by 4
20%	Divide by 5
10%	Divide by 10
5%	Divide by 20

 

Remember, you can always add up combinations of these common percentages to find the exact percentage you’re looking for — it’s not cheating, honest.

 

KS2 Percentages Resources

Now you’re 100% up to scratch, why not take a look at these fab CGP+ resources on percentages. They’re written by amazing teachers and curated by us at CGP+, ready for KS2 pupils.

 

Calculating Percentages (Year 6)

This powerpoint is a cracking summary of what percentages are and includes methods and tips on how to calculate them.

 

Percentages Grid Game (Year 5)

This game gets pupils to practise calculating percentages as they go head-to-head guessing their opponent’s position on the grid.

 

Finding Percentages of Amounts (Year 5)

For even more practice, this worksheet has plenty of problems to solve. There’s even Foundation and Stretch versions to cater for all abilities.