When are Year 6 SATs?

In the academic world, there are many tests and examinations a student must go through in order to be assessed on their academic ability. Of course, this criterion applies to the UK as well. There are the standard ones more people, even across the world, will know of – GCSEs and A-Levels to name a few. However, those in the UK will have likely heard of SATs; primary school children in the UK are required to sit these exams in order to be assessed for the future. Whilst a lot of us have sat these exams, there may still be confusion about when exactly Year 6 SATs are.

To put it briefly, Year 6 SATs exams will always take place in May; this allows students a whole year to prepare properly and get in all the necessary practice. In 2024, Year 6 students will begin their SATs week on Monday 13^th May 2024, and their exams will last four days, starting from Monday 13^th and ending on Thursday 16^th May. To read more about SATs week and the key dates to note down, check out this guidance from the UK government website on the topic.

While this may have given you a brief understanding as to when exactly the Year 6 SATs are, it may be helpful to continue reading in order to gain a better understanding on these examinations.

When are Year 6 SATs 2024?

SATs for Year 6 will always take place in May; children have all of the academic year to prepare for this examination. In the case of SATs 2024, the SATs week will begin on the 13^th of May 2024. And by week, it means four days (13^th May-16^th May).

To read more about when these exams are and key dates, check out this helpful guide from the UK Government on the topic.

Below is a timetable of important dates in terms of which days host which exams:

If you would like more information on SATs, check out this article from SATs Papers to read more.

What are Year 6 SATs?

Standardised Assessment Tests are a small group of exams used to track children’s progress during their earlier parts of education; two sets of SATs, one for Year 2 and the other for Year 6. Children are tested on their mathematic ability (arithmetic and reasoning) as well as their writing ability (reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling).

SATs will be sat by the child in their classroom. While some years (I know I certainly did!) sat their SATs in a big hall, SATs are classified as informal exams and have started being carried out in regular classrooms; the thought of an exam hall as a child is enough to make anyone panic.

There is also psychological evidence from empirical studies that sitting a test in the same environment you learnt in helps with memory and remembering all the classroom learning. This is known as context dependent memory. If you would like to read more about context dependent memory, check out this article from Simply Psychology.  

If you would like to check out more information about SATs in general, it may be helpful to check out this article from Think Student for more information.

How are Year 6 SATs different to Year 2 SATs?

Firstly, there is a difference in which exam is compulsory for students. SATs are compulsory for all KS2 students (Year 6), but SATs are only compulsory for KS1 pupils born before the 31^st August 2015.

The government has stipulated that the Year 2 SATs are optional for schools to carry out; ultimately, the key difference between the two sets of exams is this. If you want to learn more about Year 2 SATs check out this Think Student article.

Both sets of exams are in May, and both test a student’s reading and writing ability. In this regard, their use is very similar; testing a student’s ability.

To read more about Year 2 and Year 6 SATs, check out this article from Third Space Learning.