What is it
KS2 SATs are national curriculum tests every child in England sits at the end of Year 6, covering Reading, Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling (GPS), and two Maths papers — Arithmetic and Reasoning. Schools use the results to track progress; secondary schools often use them for initial setting.
Why it matters
SATs are usually a child's first formal, timed exam — the Maths Reasoning paper specifically tests multi-step word-problem skills many children haven't practised under real time pressure before, so confidence with the format matters almost as much as knowing the content.
Exam tip
Practise past Arithmetic papers against a real clock, not open-ended — the paper rewards speed and accuracy on the same handful of question types every year, so timed repetition closes that gap faster than untimed revision.
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