DS is currently working through 9-10 level (just going into Y5). He has always been much stronger in English, but Maths is a weird one. He did OK in his SATS - dropped 4 marks - but often struggles with recall of things like number bonds/ times tables, and sometimes forgets basic maths logic.
We worked through a page today that was new ground in a lot of ways - prime numbers, factors and powers. I don't think he's done these at school yet - at least not in those terms.
It seemed to be quite hard work; 9 Qs took us half an hour. An example was that he had to pick two numbers that could go in the centre of a Venn diagram for square numbers and multiples of 8. He looked at '25 and 64' for a long time and I wondered that he couldn't immediately dismiss it because of the 25 - ie. basic maths logic about multiples of even numbers.
I'd like some perspective really on whether I'm being a complete cow; how your DCs have found these books and whether it's normal for children to hit little stumbling blocks about concepts like the one I mentioned, or if it's worrying for his outlook in any entrance exams.
His tutor has not been explicit but reading between the lines, I would say she pitches his ability at about the level of schools with 'easier' exams.
Of course, it is the end of the summer and he has had a long break while we've been away. We are not going mad on tutoring - he had two sessions in Y4 to test the water and now is going once a week in Y5 to keep him motivated, to ensure he has the right knowledge, and because he responds better to a third party than me and DH. He wants to go to private schools because of his friends so we're not pushing this on him.