This activity can be used to develop pupils' mental maths, times tables and spelling skills. By using distractions in the activities pupils are made to switch between differing tasks which challenges and sharpens their mental recall abilities.

The level, complexity and speed of the activities can all be controlled by clicking the relevant buttons. For example, in the maths workout the number range can be increased up to a maximum of 50 and different combinations of operation can be selected.

Feedback at the end of the activities shows a full breakdown of how many and which types of question were answered correctly. This proves a useful diagnostic tool in identifying where pupils' strategies may need support. Revisiting the activity periodically will provide a means of assessing progression.

Running the activity is self-explanatory, just enter a name and click the 'play' button. Setting the options is also simple (see the 'help' notes at the start of each activity).

Pupil NotesThis activity really gives your mental maths and spelling skills a workout!

At the start of the activity you can choose between a Spelling Workout, a Times Tables Workout or a Maths Workout. Once you've chosen which workout to have enter your name and press the enter/return key.

It's a good idea to click the 'help' button and take a couple of minutes to read the instructions before playing the games.

All three workouts are played against the clock and require real agility to switch between all the different tasks - it's not as easy as you might think!

At the end of each workout you will be presented with your personal set of fitness figures which can be printed out (for the maths) or saved to disk and printed (for the spellings).

Why not visit the Mental Gym on a regular basis to check your fitness figures - are they improving?

Versions of this activity in Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, English, Somali and Urdu can be found by following this link.