Key Stage 2 geography · Geographical skills and fieldwork

KS2 compass points and grid references for parents

In Key Stage 2, children learn to use the 8 points of a compass to give directions and 4- and 6-figure grid references to pinpoint places on a map, including Ordnance Survey maps. These are the tools that let a child say exactly where something is, and they build on the simple directions and map work from Key Stage 1.

Compass points and grid references, explained

The 8 points of a compass are north, east, south and west, plus the four in between: north-east, south-east, south-west and north-west. Children learn to read a compass rose on a map and to use it to give directions, such as “the church is south-east of the school” or “travel north-west for two kilometres”. A handy way to remember the four main points in clockwise order is a silly phrase such as “Naughty Elephants Squirt Water”. A real compass has a needle that points to magnetic north, and children learn to line up the map with north before they follow a route.

A grid reference is a set of numbers that names one place on a map. Maps are covered by a grid of lines, and each line has a number. The golden rule is “along the corridor and up the stairs”: always read the number along the bottom first (the eastings), then the number up the side (the northings). A 4-figure grid reference names a whole grid square. You find the vertical line on the left of the square, write its number, then find the horizontal line at the bottom of the square and write that number after it.

A 6-figure grid reference is more exact, because it divides each grid square into tenths. After the two-digit easting, children add a third digit saying how many tenths across the square the feature is, and after the two-digit northing a sixth digit saying how many tenths up. So 3471 becomes something like 344718. On standard Ordnance Survey walking maps, each grid square is one kilometre across, so a 6-figure reference locates something to within about a hundred metres. Full Ordnance Survey references also begin with two letters that name a 100-kilometre square, but at primary school children usually work with the numbers only.

Children practise on simple class-made grids first, then on Ordnance Survey maps and in atlases. The curriculum asks them to use maps, atlases, globes and digital mapping to locate countries and describe features studied, so grid references and compass points are also used with digital maps, which often show coordinates, and with route-planning and treasure-hunt games. Accuracy matters. A single digit the wrong way round puts a child in a completely different place, so teachers encourage them to check the answer by looking at the map again.

Words your child will hear

Compass rose: The symbol on a map that shows the directions, usually with north marked.
Cardinal points: The four main directions: north, east, south and west.
Intercardinal (or ordinal) points: The four in-between directions: north-east, south-east, south-west and north-west.
Grid reference: A set of numbers that tells you exactly where something is on a map.
Easting: The number that tells you how far across (east) a place is; always given first.
Northing: The number that tells you how far up (north) a place is; always given second.
Grid square: One of the squares made by the grid lines on a map.

What the National Curriculum says

In Key Stage 2, pupils should be taught to:

Use the 8 points of a compass, 4- and 6-figure grid references, symbols and key (including the use of Ordnance Survey maps) to build their knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world
Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries and describe features studied

Objectives from the National Curriculum in England, © Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

A worked example

On a map, a church stands in the grid square whose bottom-left corner is where easting line 34 crosses northing line 71. The church is four tenths of the way across the square and eight tenths of the way up. A farm lies north-east of the church. Give the 4-figure and 6-figure grid references for the church.

Find the easting first. The vertical line on the left of the square is 34. Along the corridor: write 34.
Now find the northing. The horizontal line at the bottom of the square is 71. Up the stairs: write 71 after the 34.
Put them together for a 4-figure grid reference. It names the whole square.
```
Easting   Northing
   34        71
4-figure reference: 3471
```
Now add the tenths for the 6-figure reference. The church is 4 tenths across, so the easting becomes 344. It is 8 tenths up, so the northing becomes 718.

Join the two three-digit numbers, easting first.

Easting   Northing
  344       718
6-figure reference: 344718

Use the compass. The farm is north-east of the church, so it lies between north and east, up and to the right on the map. Check that your answer makes sense by finding both places on the map again.

The church is in square 3471, and its 6-figure grid reference is 344718. The farm lies to the north-east of the church.

Common mistakes and how to help

Reading the numbers the wrong way round

Children read the northing before the easting because they look at the side of the map first. This puts the reference in a completely different place.

What helps: Repeat “along the corridor, up the stairs”. Always say which number goes along the bottom first, and check by finding the point again.

Reading the lines on the right or top of the square

A grid square is named by the lines at its bottom-left corner, but children often read the numbers on the far side of the square, which gives a reference that is one square out.

What helps: Put a finger on the bottom-left corner of the square, then read the line to the left and the line below. Those two numbers are the reference.

Thinking the tenths are counted from the top or right of the square

In a 6-figure reference the extra digits are counted from the left and from the bottom. Children who count from another corner get the wrong digit.

What helps: Draw a line along the bottom and up the left side of the square, each marked from 0 to 10. Count the tenths from the corner where the line numbers are taken.

Mixing up north-east and south-west

The in-between directions are used less often, so children guess rather than reason them out.

What helps: Use the compass rose and say the two letters in order: north or south first, then east or west. North-east is the top right of a map.

How to help at home

Make a grid in the living room. Mark out a grid on the floor with masking tape or string, label the lines with numbers and hide a toy. Give grid references for a partner to find it, remembering to say along first and then up.
Find north. Use a compass to find north in your home or garden. Without one, remember that the sun rises roughly in the east and sets roughly in the west (never look straight at it). Then give directions to your child, such as “walk to the south-west corner of the garden”.
Play a hidden-ships game on squared paper. Draw a grid on squared paper, label the lines and take turns guessing a reference to find each other’s hidden ships. It gives plenty of practice at the along, then up rule in a game.
Use a local map on a walk. Take a map of the park or town centre on a walk and ask your child to give the grid reference or compass direction of a bench, a pond or a café, then walk to it together to check.

Builds on

Key Stage 1: World maps, atlases and globes
Key Stage 1: Compass directions and routes
Key Stage 1: Aerial photographs and landmarks
Key Stage 1: Simple maps, symbols and keys
Key Stage 1: Fieldwork in the school grounds

Leads on to

Key Stage 3: Globes, maps and atlases
Key Stage 3: OS maps: grid references, scale and contours
Key Stage 3: Thematic maps and satellite images
Key Stage 3: Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Key Stage 3: Fieldwork in contrasting locations