KS2 SATs past papers

Past papers are published free by the Standards and Testing Agency and are the single most useful revision resource — provided they are used to find gaps rather than simply to generate scores.

Where to get them

Every year's papers, mark schemes and administration instructions are published on gov.uk, free, with no sign-up. Search for 'key stage 2 tests past papers'.

You need the mark scheme as well as the paper. For reading you also need the reading booklet, which is a separate download from the answer booklet.

Using them as a diagnostic, not a score generator

The temptation is to sit a paper, mark it, note the score and move on. That tells you roughly where your child is and nothing about what to do next.

The useful step is the one after marking: group the dropped marks by topic. Five marks lost across fractions is a revision plan. A score of 27/40 is not.

Doing one paper carefully and acting on it beats doing four and filing the scores.

How many is too many

There are only so many past papers, and burning through them early leaves nothing fresh for the run-up to May.

A reasonable pattern: use individual questions and short sets for most of the year, and save two or three complete papers per subject for the final few weeks when stamina and timing become the point.

Marking honestly

Mark schemes are specific, sometimes frustratingly so. If the scheme wants a unit, an answer without the unit does not score, and marking it generously at home does your child no favours.

The exception is method marks, which are often more generous than parents expect. Read the scheme properly before deciding a question was wrong.