KS2 SATs past papers: official SATs papers, mark schemes, timings and how to use them at home

Key takeaways

• →GOV.UK publishes the past three years of KS2 SATs papers: 2024, 2025 and 2026. Each year has English reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, and maths, with mark schemes.
• →Reading is 1 hour. Grammar, punctuation and spelling is 45 minutes plus a spelling test of about 15. Maths is 30 minutes for arithmetic and 40 for each reasoning paper, with no calculator.
• →A scaled score of 100 or more means the expected standard. The raw marks needed for 100 change each year, so treat any home score as a rough guide.
• →The 2027 tests run from Monday 10 to Thursday 13 May. GOV.UK will publish the 2027 papers on Friday 21 May, after the tests.

1. KS2 SATs past papers: which ones are published

SATs is the everyday name for the key stage 2 national curriculum tests, taken at the end of key stage 2, in Year 6. SATs papers are the test papers from earlier years.^[17]

The Standards and Testing Agency (STA), the government body behind the tests, publishes the past papers on GOV.UK.^[4]

Only three subjects have papers: English reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, and maths. English writing and science have no test. Teachers assess them instead, so there are no past papers for them.^[17]

GOV.UK keeps the past three years on one page called National curriculum assessments: past test materials. When we checked, that was 2024, 2025 and 2026. Each year has three subjects: English reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling, and maths.^[1]

The page keeps only the past three years of test materials, so older papers are no longer there. It lists modified versions too, and key stage 1 papers. This guide covers the standard key stage 2 papers.^[1]

Mark schemes are published with the papers. GOV.UK’s 2027 test arrangements say the collection includes past papers, test administration instructions and mark schemes.^[16]

2. How to download them and what you get

Open the GOV.UK past test materials page and look under Key stage 2 past papers: standard materials. Pick a year and a subject. Each link opens its own page, such as Key stage 2 tests: 2026 mathematics test materials.^[1]

The papers are PDFs. The 2026 maths page lists Paper 1 (arithmetic), Paper 2 (reasoning), Paper 3 (reasoning), instructions for the adult running each paper, and one mark scheme document.^[2]

The 2026 reading page has a reading booklet, an answer booklet, the instructions and the mark schemes.^[3]

The 2026 grammar, punctuation and spelling page has Paper 1 (questions), Paper 2 (spelling), instructions for each paper and the mark schemes.^[4]

The maths mark scheme says it is there to show teachers how the tests are marked. Parents can use it the same way.^[11]

Print the instructions too: The instructions for the adult running the test (the administering documents) are in each download. They have the wording the school reads out, and the timings.

3. Test format and timings

These timings come from the 2026 test instructions on GOV.UK, the latest we found. Ask your school for its 2027 timetable and start times, which headteachers decide.^[16]

Grammar, punctuation and spelling Paper 1 has 45 minutes.^[9]

Paper 2 is the spelling test. An adult reads out 20 sentences, each with a missing word, and the pupil writes the word in. It takes about 15 minutes and is not strictly timed.^[10]

The instructions have the adult say the word, read the sentence, then say the word again. At home, do the same.^[10]

Reading is one hour in total, including the time to read. The booklet has three texts, each with its own questions, and pupils can work through them in any order that suits them.^[8]

Maths Paper 1, arithmetic, is 30 minutes.^[5]

Maths Papers 2 and 3, reasoning, are 40 minutes each.^[6]

Pupils must not use a calculator on any of the three maths papers.^[7]

The marks per paper come from GOV.UK’s scaled scores guidance.^[12]

4. Scaled scores and the expected standard

The marks from each paper in a subject add up to a raw score. GOV.UK converts it to a scaled score from 80 to 120. A score of 100 or more means the pupil met the expected standard. A score of 99 or less means they did not.^[12]

The tests follow the same specification each year, but difficulty varies a little. So the raw score needed for 100 changes from year to year.^[12]

Pupils must take every paper for a subject to get a scaled score. A part-paper at home gives you marks, not a scaled score.^[12]

GOV.UK publishes conversion tables each July that turn raw marks into scaled scores. Use the table for the same year as the paper, and do not treat any mark as a target, because next year’s tests will differ.^[13]

5. The 2027 dates

The 2027 tests run from Monday 10 to Thursday 13 May. Grammar, punctuation and spelling is on the Monday, reading on the Tuesday, maths Papers 1 and 2 on the Wednesday and maths Paper 3 on the Thursday.^[17]

GOV.UK will publish the 2027 test materials on Friday 21 May. That is after the tests, so there are no 2027 papers to practise with beforehand.^[1]

The 2027 mark schemes come out the same day. Home educators and overseas schools can download the 2027 materials from that date.^[16]

Schools can see results online from Tuesday 6 July 2027, and GOV.UK will publish the conversion tables that day.^[16]

Parents should have the results by the end of the summer term.^[17]

Our Year 6 SATs guide has the full 2027 timetable, how results are reported and what happens with writing and science, which have no test.

6. How to use past papers at home without stress

Ask the school first. Find out what practice your child’s class already does, so you do not repeat it and you know which paper to try.

Keep it little and often, and not every night. Ten to fifteen minutes, two or three times a week, works better than a paper every evening. Rest days matter.

Use parts, not whole papers. A full subject paper is a lot for a child of ten or eleven at home. Start with one reading text and its questions, the 30-minute arithmetic paper or the spelling test.

Mark it together with the official mark scheme. Look at the questions that lost marks, not just the total, and pick one or two to practise.

Treat any score as a rough guide. Conditions at home differ from the test, and the marks needed for 100 change each year.

Stop if your child is tired or upset, and try again another day. One calm fifteen minutes beats a stressful hour.

Practice should leave your child feeling more sure, not less.

Save a paper for later: Keep the 2026 papers back for a full practice nearer May. Start with 2024 so the layout feels familiar.

7. A calm plan to May

From 1 November, the first test on Monday 10 May 2027 is about 27 weeks away. This plan is our suggestion, not an official one.

8. How Brainhub can help

Brainhub teaches one-to-one, live online across the UK. Primary lessons start from £25 an hour. If your child is finding reading, maths or grammar hard, a tutor can use a marked past paper to see which gaps matter most and work on them at your child’s pace.

Every family starts with a free 45-minute assessment, so you can see where your child is before you decide anything.

1. 1. Which years of KS2 SATs papers are on GOV.UK?

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2. 2. How long are the maths papers, and can pupils use a calculator?

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3. 3. What scaled score means a child met the expected standard?

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Your next steps

• Open the GOV.UK past test materials page and download one 2024 paper with its mark scheme.
• Put 10 to 13 May and 6 July 2027 in the family calendar.
• Book a free 45-minute assessment to see where your child is now.

Subject guides to go with this

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