Recognising, describing, and continuing number sequences including adding/subtracting a constant, doubling, halving, and multiplication patterns.
Where your child meets this in real life: Predicting future values, understanding growth patterns, or solving puzzles
Each SEAG paper has 28 maths questions. Questions 29 to 50 are multiple choice with five possible answers, and questions 51 to 56 need a short written answer. With 56 questions in 60 minutes across English and maths, that is about a minute per question.
SEAGReady breaks number sequences into 4 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Continue sequences that count in multiples of 2-10 (e.g., 3, 6, 9, 12...)
Recognise and continue sequences with any constant difference, including subtraction (e.g., 8, 13, 18 or 50, 43, 36)
Recognise and continue sequences based on multiplication or division (e.g., 2, 4, 8, 16 or 80, 40, 20)
Continue alternating additive sequences and supply the next two terms in order.
Try three free questions from our number sequences course. They start easy and get harder, so you can see where your child's confidence runs out. If they manage the last one without a hint, this topic is probably secure. If not, the steps above show where to start.
Noah is counting in fives. His count goes: 5, 10, 15, 20, ___. What number comes next?
A sequence uses the rule 'add 9': 12, 21, 30, 39, ... What is the next term?
A sequence starts: 1, 4, 16, 64, ___. Jake says each term is multiplied by 4. Katie says each term is squared. Who is correct?
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
George is counting coins into piles of 5. His count goes: 5, 10, 15, 20, ___
What number comes next in the sequence?
5, 10, 15, 20, ___
Look at the gaps between numbers
Step 1 of 3
George is counting coins into piles of 5. His count goes: 5, 10, 15, 20, ___
What number comes next in the sequence?
The next number in the sequence is 25.
The key insight: Counting in multiples is just adding the same number each time - like your times tables!
Common mix-up: Adding different amounts each time. In a multiples pattern, the gap between terms stays the same.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in number sequences, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
Struggling with number sequences? The real gap is often in one of these earlier topics.
Sitting the SEAG test this November? Read our last-month revision plan, Paper 1 vs Paper 2 and test day guide.
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.
Free to start · no card needed