KS3 Rounding Worksheets

Rounding appears across Year 7, Year 8, and Year 9 as part of the Number strand in the National Curriculum. Year 7 students consolidate rounding to the nearest 10, 100, and 1000, then develop proficiency with decimal places. The focus shifts to significant figures in Year 8, where students must understand which digit counts as the first significant figure, particularly in numbers like 0.00456 or 2003.

By Year 9, students apply rounding within multi-step calculations, including giving answers to appropriate degrees of accuracy in algebra, geometry, and data handling contexts. GCSE questions regularly embed rounding within problem-solving tasks rather than asking for it in isolation, so Year 9 worksheets typically include questions where students must decide for themselves when and how to round appropriately.

The worksheets build fluency through carefully structured practice that isolates specific rounding skills before combining them. Early questions focus on identifying the correct digit to examine, while later problems require students to round the same number to different degrees of accuracy, highlighting how the choice affects the result. Worked examples demonstrate the decision-making process, particularly for numbers where the critical digit is 5, and where zeros must be included as placeholders.

Teachers use these worksheets for morning starter activities to maintain regular practice, as rounding accuracy directly impacts marks across all GCSE calculator and non-calculator papers. They work effectively for homework because the answer sheets allow students to self-assess and identify exactly where their method breaks down. Many teachers set differentiated tasks by assigning different sections to different groups, then use paired checking to develop students' ability to spot rounding errors in each other's work.