SATs results in Greater London determine how children are grouped when they start secondary school. For Wandsworth pupils, tutors we partner with focus on the specific skills each paper demands — from multi-step arithmetic problems to inference questions in reading — ensuring children feel prepared rather than pressured.
Arithmetic Paper
The arithmetic paper tests calculation skills: long multiplication, long division, fractions, decimals, and percentages. There's no room for reasoning here — it's about speed and accuracy. Tutors we partner with in Wandsworth build these skills through regular practice, focusing on the methods children are expected to use and the common errors that cost marks. Fluent arithmetic is also the foundation for the two reasoning papers, so time spent here pays off twice.
Support for Your Child
If your pupil in Wandsworth is approaching SATs, we can help them feel ready. Let us know to discuss where they are now and what support would make the most difference.
The Reading Paper
The reading paper presents three texts of increasing difficulty and asks questions that test retrieval, inference, vocabulary, and summary. Many Wandsworth children find the final text challenging — it's often a pre-1900 extract or a piece of non-fiction with unfamiliar language. Tutors we partner with prepare students by practising with real SATs papers and teaching strategies for each question type: how to find evidence, how to explain an author's word choice, how to summarise a paragraph concisely.
GPS Paper
The GPS paper tests grammar terminology (subordinate clauses, modal verbs, relative pronouns) alongside spelling and punctuation. It's often the paper that children in Wandsworth find most unfamiliar, because the metalanguage can be confusing. Tutors we partner with teach this vocabulary explicitly, using examples and practice questions to make abstract concepts concrete. Spelling lists are practised regularly, and common patterns are taught systematically.
Why Individual Tutoring Works
In a classroom of 30, a teacher cannot pause to check whether each pupil truly understands. A tutor working individually with a learner in Wandsworth can. Every question is answered, every misconception corrected on the spot, and the pace adapts to the pupil — not the timetable. Families across Greater London consistently find that regular, focused personal teaching produces faster and more durable progress than group revision classes or self-study alone.
Early vs Late Preparation
Starting in Year 5 gives the most time to fill gaps — particularly in maths, where foundational weaknesses can be hard to fix quickly. Year 6 preparation then focuses on applying those skills under test conditions. For Wandsworth families who come to us in Year 6, we can still make a significant difference by targeting the topics most likely to appear and building answering approach rapidly. But earlier is always better, especially for children who find reading or maths genuinely difficult.