The 6-week plan, week by week
- Week 1 — Fluency audit. Three untimed 25-question mocks over three days. Note which tables your child answers slowly or wrongly. These are the three priority tables for the next fortnight.
- Week 2 — Isolate the slow tables. Ten minutes daily, random order, only the three priority tables. No timer yet — build accuracy first.
- Week 3 — Add the timer. Same tables, now in 6-second mode. Accept that some answers will be missed; that's the point of the timer.
- Week 4 — Mix in the rest. Full 12×12 in 6-second mode. Weight practice 60% on the six 'hard' tables (6×, 7×, 8×, 9×, 11×, 12×).
- Week 5 — Two full mocks a week. 25 questions, real MTC format. Look at which specific facts get missed and target them next session.
- Week 6 — Taper. Five minutes a day, only. Focus on calm and confidence. Get to bed early the night before.
What to say to your child
Frame the MTC as a short check on something they've been practising for a year — not a big test. Children pick up parental anxiety faster than any word you say. If the MTC is a big deal for you, it becomes a big deal for them. The reverse is also true: if you treat it as a five-minute Tuesday, so will they.
What not to do
- Don't drill in order. Chanting 7×1, 7×2, 7×3… trains sequential memory, which the MTC deliberately tests around.
- Don't test them at breakfast. Cold-cognition testing under time pressure teaches children that maths equals stress.
- Don't compare to siblings or classmates. The score is a diagnostic, not a competition.
- Don't cram the night before. Sleep matters more than an extra 30 minutes of drill.
- Don't move to a new app in the last fortnight. Familiarity with the practice format matters more than which app it is.
Things that quietly help
- Ten minutes of practice at the same time every day. Ritual beats motivation.
- A physical times-tables grid on the fridge for the child to consult (not during practice, just for confidence).
- Celebrating speed of recall, not just correctness. Fast + right is what the MTC rewards.
- A calm morning on the day itself. Normal breakfast, no last-minute quizzing.
If your child scores low on the mock
Under 15/25 six weeks out isn't a crisis. Most children who start there finish above 20 with a consistent six-week plan. Under 10/25 with two weeks to go — that's when it's worth speaking to the class teacher about school-level support. The MTC isn't the goal; fluent times tables are.