Year 6 SATs 2027
Year 6 children in England’s state schools sit the SATs from Monday 10 May 2027. Here’s what’s in each paper, how they’re scored, and a free arithmetic paper set out like the real one: 40 marks of calculations in 30 minutes.
Practise the arithmetic paper
At your own pace, or with the real 30-minute clock. A new paper every time, marked when you finish.
Have paper and a pencil ready for working out.
What’s in each paper
| Paper | Time | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar, punctuation and spelling | 45 minutes | 50 |
| Spelling (20 words read aloud) | about 15 minutes | 20 |
| Reading (one booklet of texts) | 60 minutes | 50 |
| Maths Paper 1, arithmetic | 30 minutes | 40 |
| Maths Papers 2 and 3, reasoning | 40 minutes each | 35 each |
Scores are scaled from 80 to 120, and 100 means the expected standard. Schools get results in early July. These timings come from the 2026 guidance. The 2027 guidance is due on GOV.UK in April 2027.
Practise each paper
Each paper has its own page: what’s on it, how it’s marked, and a free practice paper, new every time.
- Maths
Arithmetic
40 marks of calculations in 30 minutes.
- Maths
Reasoning
Problems to solve, 35 marks in 40 minutes each.
- English
Grammar, punctuation and spelling
A 50-mark questions paper and 20 spellings.
- Scores
Scaled score converter
Raw marks to scaled scores, from 2024 to 2026.
In Year 4, children sit the multiplication tables check. Some also sit the 11+, most of them in September of Year 6.
How to get ready
Little and often
Short practice most days does more than a long session the week before.
Start with arithmetic
It’s the paper where practice pays most.
Go over every mistake
The slip matters more than the score.
Save the clock for later
Practise against the clock near the time, not from the start.
Keep it calm
A calm week does more than a last-minute push.
Questions about the SATs
When are the 2027 SATs?
From Monday 10 to Thursday 13 May 2027. Schools in England sit the same papers that week, each on the day the Department for Education sets.
Can you fail the SATs?
No. There’s no pass mark. Each child gets a scaled score for reading, maths, and grammar, punctuation and spelling, and 100 or more means they’ve met the expected standard. The results don’t decide which secondary school a child goes to.
What is a good scaled score?
100 or more meets the expected standard, and 110 or more counts as a high score. Scores run from 80 to 120. How many marks it takes to reach 100 changes a little each year, and is set once the papers are marked.
Are past papers free?
Yes. The Department for Education publishes past papers, with their mark schemes, free on GOV.UK, and they’re the closest practice there is. The practice papers here are made fresh every time, one for each paper, so they can be sat as often as you like.
Thena goes over every question your child gets wrong
She puts each one back on her board, finds the slip and works it through with them, then gives them one like it to do alone.
Try 3 lessons free