1 cm graph paper, A4
One-centimetre squares on A4. Large enough for young children to write one digit per square, and a convenient scale for simple plans.
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Primary maths and place value
Centimetre squares are the standard for early number work: one digit per box makes column addition line up without any extra instruction, and place-value columns become visually obvious. It is also the right size for children still developing fine motor control, where 5 mm squares are frustratingly small.
A ready-made 1:100 scale
Treat one square as one metre and an A4 sheet covers roughly 19 × 27 metres — enough for a house floor plan or a garden layout at 1:100. Treat a square as 10 cm instead and you get 1:10 for furniture and joinery. Because the PDF prints at true size, measurements you take off the printed sheet with a ruler are correct.
Fewer lines, less ink
A centimetre grid on A4 is about 19 × 27 lines, versus roughly 38 × 55 for a 5 mm grid. If you are printing a class set, the coarser grid uses noticeably less toner and looks cleaner on cheap paper, which tends to bleed at fine line weights.
Printing it accurately
This only measures correctly if your printer doesn't rescale the page. In the print dialog set Scale: 100% — not "Fit to page" or "Shrink oversized pages". If you're not sure it worked, print the calibration page, measure the ruler on it with a real ruler, and it will tell you exactly what your printer is doing to the page.