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Year 7 · Geography · Map skills for secondary · Lesson 1

Four and six-figure grid references

Reading Ordnance Survey grids: eastings and northings, four-figure grid references for squares and six-figure references to pinpoint places.

Whiteboard video lesson: Four and six-figure grid references

18-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Identify eastings and northings
  • Give four-figure grid references
  • Give six-figure grid references
  • Explain why six figures are more precise

The method

  1. Corner.
  2. Easting + tenths.
  3. Northing + tenths.
  4. Eastings first.

Key words: grid reference, easting, northing, four-figure, six-figure, Ordnance Survey.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

Which do you read first: eastings or northings?

  1. Step 1: Along

Answer: eastings

Question 2

Where are eastings written?

  1. Step 1: Bottom

Answer: along the bottom (and top)

Question 3

Where are northings written?

  1. Step 1: Side

Answer: up the side