A hard maths problem my colleague's 12 year old was set

[attimes_bracing]

My colleague's 12 year was set question 5.  The external square does not count and everything must be a square.  We tried overlapping and about 20 different permutations but could not get 9 squares.  I said I'd post it here because there are smart people on LJ.

Any thoughts?

Comments

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Sod it - it's 9 total, isn't it. Damn!