Year 6: age, curriculum and assessments

Year 6 is the last year of Key Stage 2, and the last year of primary school.

The answer

Children in Year 6 are 10 or 11 years old. Year 6 is in Key Stage 2, and every child turns 11 during the year.

Year 6 at a glance

Year 6 is the final year of Key Stage 2, in what schools call upper Key Stage 2. Key Stage 2 is Years 3 to 6, ages 7 to 11. Year 6 is busy: in selective areas the 11+ comes in September, the secondary school application closes on 31 October, and the Key Stage 2 tests follow in May.

Age: 10 to 11
Key stage: Key Stage 2
Where: Primary school
National assessments: Key Stage 2 national tests (SATs); Teacher assessment in writing and science

What children learn in Year 6

Taken from the national curriculum in England (2014), Year 6 programme of study for mathematics, the Years 5 and 6 programme of study for English, and English Appendix 2.

Maths in Year 6

Read, write and compare numbers up to 10,000,000, and calculate with negative numbers.
Use long multiplication (up to four digits by two digits) and long division by a two-digit number.
Use the order of operations, and find common factors, common multiples and prime numbers.
Simplify fractions, add and subtract fractions with different denominators, multiply pairs of fractions, and divide fractions by whole numbers.
Move between fractions, decimals and percentages, and find percentages of amounts, such as 15% of 360.
Solve ratio and proportion problems, including scale factors and unequal sharing.
Start algebra: simple formulae, number sequences, and missing number problems written with letters.
Find the area of triangles and parallelograms and the volume of cubes and cuboids, name the parts of a circle, and use all four quadrants of a coordinate grid.
Read and draw pie charts and line graphs, and calculate the mean.

English in Year 6

Use the passive voice (The window was broken), and know the subject and object of a sentence.
Tell formal and informal language apart, including the subjunctive: If I were you.
Use semicolons, colons and dashes between main clauses, a colon to introduce a list, and semicolons within lists.
Use hyphens to avoid ambiguity, as in man-eating shark, and punctuate bullet points consistently.
Link paragraphs with phrases such as on the other hand and as a consequence, and use headings, bullet points and tables.
Know synonyms and antonyms, summarise longer passages, tell fact from opinion, and back up inferences with evidence.

Tests and assessments in Year 6

Key Stage 2 national tests (SATs): In May; English reading; grammar, punctuation and spelling (including a spelling test); and three maths papers, one arithmetic and two reasoning. Results are scaled scores from 80 to 120, where 100 or more means the expected standard. You receive them before the end of the summer term.
Teacher assessment in writing and science: By the end of the summer term; There is no writing or science test. Teachers judge writing against the expected standard, and report science as the expected standard met or not met.

Every family also applies for a secondary school place through the local council by 31 October, listing schools in order of preference. Offers are made on 1 March, National Offer Day.

Where the 11+ fits in Year 6

In most selective areas the 11+ is sat in September of Year 6, in the first weeks of the autumn term. Registration closed in the summer of Year 5, so by Year 6 preparation is almost over.

Results usually arrive in October, before the secondary school application closes on 31 October, so you list your preferences knowing the outcome. Offers follow on 1 March.

The 11+ comes months before the SATs in May, so the two do not compete. Some areas and independent schools test later in the autumn, so always check your own dates.

Missing numbers on a balance

Year 6 is when algebra starts: missing number problems written with letters. Keep both sides of the balance equal to find the missing number.

An interactive example loads here in your browser.

Is your child in Year 6?

Enter a date of birth to see the year group today, and the dates that matter from Reception to Year 7.

A school year finder loads here in your browser: enter a date of birth to see the year group.

How to help at home in Year 6

Keep SATs practice short and calm: ten minutes of arithmetic a day does more than a weekend of past papers.
Put fractions, decimals and percentages side by side: 1/4, 0.25 and 25% are the same amount.
Visit secondary schools on open evenings early in the autumn term, and put 31 October in your diary.
Keep reading together. Longer books, news written for children and non-fiction all build the vocabulary Year 7 expects.

Other year groups

Questions parents ask

What age is Year 6?

Children in Year 6 are 10 or 11 years old. Children in the same year group are born between 1 September in one year and 31 August the next, so each child turns 11 at some point during Year 6.

What key stage is Year 6?

Year 6 is the final year of Key Stage 2, in what schools call upper Key Stage 2. Key Stage 2 is Years 3 to 6, ages 7 to 11.

When are the Year 6 SATs?

In May of Year 6, over four days. Reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling, and three maths papers are all sat in the same week.

What is a good Key Stage 2 SATs score?

A scaled score of 100 or more means your child met the expected standard. Scores run from 80 to 120.

When is the 11+ sat?

In most selective areas, in September of Year 6. Registration usually closes in the summer term of Year 5.

See where your Year 6 child is strongest

The free diagnostic checks maths, English, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, and shows what to practise next, whether you are facing the 11+ or the SATs. No card is required.

Start free diagnostic