Year 6 is a bit of a magical time. They’ve come a long way from those early days with a backpack bigger than they are, excited to be starting in Key Stage 2, and now they’re probably the biggest fish in the little pond of their primary playground. Year 6 classes often feel like a fun and receptive age group to teach because they’re running high on the confidence that comes with finishing one stage of school, and the excitement of getting ready to tackle another stage of growing up. But as well as the buzz that comes with being at the top of the school, there are some new things on the horizon too.

More of the Same

Transitioning into Year 6 doesn’t just mean they’re well on the way to ‘big school’ – where it’s all coursework, beep tests and blazers (or so it looks from their side, anyway). It means that they’re gearing up to take a huge step on their learning journey and prepare for new modes of instruction, new challenges, and more in-depth learning across the board. Like most students will have already experienced during their time in Reception to Year 5, they’ll most likely be following some of the government’s national statutory schemes of learning, ensuring that their key skills are developed to a standard where they’ll be able to take on everything that Year 7 has to offer next September.

They will, however, start tackling subjects in a little more depth in preparation for the ways they’ll be learning in high school– sciences might have more of a practical element to them, history may require them to start questioning sources and debating more. Many students respond to this increased information with gusto, but it’s important that students who don’t respond as well to change or increased difficulty feel supported too – many educators like to gamify some of the newer aspects of these subjects, and this can have great results.

SATs and Assessments

Whether they’re a whiz at quizzes or tend to get nervous in tests, Year 6 is probably one of the first times they’ve been hit with the idea of an exam with results that go beyond the classroom. Far more formal than the Key Stage 1 SATs that they took at the end of Year 2, the Key Stage 2 SATs are held on the same dates across the country, are taken under exam conditions and can often feel a little daunting to pupils, educators and parents alike.

Students sit a number of papers in the subjects of maths and English. They might also sit end of year exams in subjects like science too, but these will be internal to the school and not a national form of assessment. There are six papers:

English Reading (Comprehension)
English Grammar (Spelling)
English Grammar (Punctuation and Spelling, including Vocabulary)
Maths (Arithmetic)

Maths (Mathematical Reasoning 1)
Maths (Mathematical Reasoning 2)

Explore Learning has an in-depth breakdown of what to expect from each paper, as well as offering some guidelines on how each paper is marked, which can be handy for both parents, students and NQTs alike.

Some pupils in Year 6 will also be sitting the 11+ exam. This is a selective entrance examination for secondary schools- all children took the 11+ until the early 1970s, but now it’s only really used by independent and selective grammar schools as a way of exploring a child’s progress and potential. The content varies dependent on the exam board, but will focus largely on a combination of English, Maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning skills. The latter of these don’t tend to appear in the standard curriculum, and might mean pupils taking the exam need extra support and materials both in and out of school.

Looking Towards the Future

It’s also around this time that some students start worrying about the future. It’s the time where they’ll start chatting over lunch with their friends about what they’re looking forward to about high school and which high schools they’re all planning to go to, and some might even start to feel like their friendship groups are beginning to beginning to break down.

As an educator, it’s important to make sure that students know that they play an active part in choosing their high school destinations. It’s also important to make sure that they’re aware they’re choosing based on where they feel like they’ll be happy and can succeed, and not just following their friends (even though in a lot of cases these might be one and the same thing). Many Year schools take time out of scheduled lessons to run a short workshop with educators on the choices that lie ahead of students, and these can really help with what can be a mystifying process at 10 or 11 years old.

Opening Up

Moving from Year 5 to Year 6 is a strange time for everybody. You’re simultaneously still very much a child, but the idea of adult choices and responsibilities are beginning to creep up on you, with decisions about high schools and national exams all part and parcel of the transitional experience. It’s natural to feel daunted. What matters is keeping an open channel of communication between all parties- that’s parents, schools and pupils.

Parent’s evenings and drop-in sessions are a great way for parents to check in with schools (and vice versa) if they’re worried about anything. But it’s also worth starting a conversation with students themselves whether you’re an educator because it can, in turn, can lead to conversations about any stress or mental health problems students might be feeling. What matters is that students feel like their concerns are valid and there’s somebody to listen to them, and that your reassurances don’t feel empty or forced.

Although in education we tend to focus on the much bigger transition between Year 6 and Year 7, the move from Year 5 into Year 6 is a big moment and opens up the idea of learning and changing on a much broader scale. It’s important that students feel like they’re growing too, and that they’re developing a sense of agency in how they learn and how they’re making important choices. It’s an exciting time, but it’s a time where they might feel like they need a little more support and encouragement than usual too. It’s all about listening, supporting and helping develop that sense of independence so that they can go forward with confidence.