Calculating change from £5 and £10 notes using subtraction or counting up methods.
Where your child meets this in real life: Shopping transactions, checking you've received correct change
SEAGReady breaks calculate change into 2 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Calculate change from £5 or £10 when buying one item
Calculate change after buying multiple items by finding total cost first
Three free sample questions from our calculate change course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
Ciara buys a pen at the school shop. It costs £2.65. She pays with a £5 note. How much change does Ciara get?
Answer: A. £2.35
Change = payment - cost = £5.00 - £2.65 = £2.35 Ciara gets £2.35 change.
Stuck? Start here: Remember: change = payment minus cost
Aoife buys a sandwich for £2.50 and a drink for £1.30 from the canteen. She pays with a £5 note. How much change does Aoife get?
Answer: B. £1.20
Step 1: Find the total cost £2.50 + £1.30 = £3.80 Step 2: Calculate the change £5.00 - £3.80 = £1.20 Aoife gets £1.20 change.
Stuck? Start here: First, find the total cost of both items
Sean buys a comic from a shop in Belfast. It costs £4.25. He pays with a £5 note. How much change does Sean get?
Answer: B. £0.75
Change = payment - cost = £5.00 - £4.25 = £0.75 Sean gets £0.75 (or 75p) change.
Stuck? Start here: Change is what you get back after paying more than the cost
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Aoife buys a notebook at the school shop. It costs £3.65. She pays with a £5 note.
How much change does Aoife get?
£5.00 − £3.65
Step 1 of 5
Aoife buys a notebook at the school shop. It costs £3.65. She pays with a £5 note.
How much change does Aoife get?
Aoife gets £1.35 change.
The key insight: Change is always payment minus cost - the bigger number comes first!
Watch out: £3.65 − £5.00 = can't do it. Always subtract the cost FROM the payment, not the other way round.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in calculate change, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with calculate change? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.