Ages 7-11 (KS2)

SATs Prep/11+ Prep

Preparing Year 5 and Year 6 students for high-stakes assessments requires a careful blend of academic skill-building, exam strategy, and psychological reassurance.

While KS2 SATs and the 11+ (Grammar/Independent School Entrance Exams) share some curriculum overlaps, they are different. SATs measure standard national expectations, whereas the 11+ is a selective, competitive filter designed to identify the top 20–25% of academically able children.

Diagnostic Mapping

We use targeted diagnostic testing to see where the baseline lies.

• Finding the Gaps: We check for core curriculum stability (e.g., standard times tables, basic parts of speech).
• The 11+ Pivot: If a student is aiming for the 11+, we look for high-level abstract logic and spatial awareness—skills not typically prioritised in standard primary classrooms.

For KS2 SATs Focus

The SATs require deep consistency across standard Key Stage 2 domains. We focus heavily on high-yield marks:

• Maths: Drill down into Paper 1 (Arithmetic), which accounts for 40 of the 110 total maths marks. They focus intensely on fractions, decimals, percentages (FDP), and long division/multiplication. For Papers 2 and 3 (Reasoning), tutors teach how to decode “word problems.”
• Reading: We focus with students specifically on Inference (2d) and Retrieval (2b) question types, which consistently make up over 70–80% of the raw marks on the reading paper.
• SPaG: Rote memorization of grammatical terminology (e.g., active vs. passive voice, subordinate clauses, modal verbs) so children can easily grab the “low-hanging fruit” marks on the grammar paper.

For 11+ Exam Focus

The 11+ pushes past the national curriculum, testing speed, agility, and reasoning.

• Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning (VR / NVR): We explicitly teach code-breaking, word patterns, spatial manipulation, and matrix grids. Because these are not normally taught in state primary schools, we dedicate significant time to mastering the standard question types (such as GL Assessment’s 21 verbal reasoning types).
• Advanced Vocabulary: The 11+ heavily features synonyms, antonyms, and complex cloze procedures. We build flashcards and digital word banks featuring advanced, tier-3 vocabulary.
• Adaptability & Creative Thinking: We focus heavily on unseen, cross-curricular problem solving and creative tasks rather than predictable question drilling.

Knowing the content is only half the battle. Once the content is locked in, we transition to pure exam mechanics:

• Time Boxing & Pacing: 11+ papers are notoriously fast-paced (often requiring less than 30 seconds per question). We teach “triage tactics”—fpr example – skipping questions that take too long to guarantee answering the simpler ones.
• Answer Elimination: For multiple-choice formats, we teach children to eliminate the two obviously wrong answers first, maximising their statistical chances of a correct guess if they get stuck.
• Showing the Working: For SATs Reasoning papers, where method marks are awarded even if the final calculation is wrong, we re-enforce writing down every single step of calculations.

As the exam weeks approach, we do the following:

Under-Condition Mocks: We administer official past papers (for SATs) or strictly timed mock papers (for 11+) using exam-conditioned desks, silence, and formal timers.

Overcoming “Exam Panic”: By exposing students to the physical and mental constraints of the test multiple times, we reduce “blanking” or exam anxiety on the day.