SATs results in West Sussex determine how children are grouped when they start secondary school. For Worthing pupils, the educators we work 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.
Number Skills
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. The educators we work with in Worthing 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.
Year 5 vs Year 6
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 Worthing 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 test-taking ability rapidly. But earlier is always better, especially for children who find reading or maths genuinely difficult.
Reading Skills
The reading paper presents three texts of increasing difficulty and asks questions that test retrieval, inference, vocabulary, and summary. Many Worthing children find the final text challenging — it's often a pre-1900 extract or a piece of non-fiction with unfamiliar language. The educators we work 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.
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 Worthing can. Every question is answered, every misconception corrected on the spot, and the pace adapts to the pupil — not the timetable. Families across West Sussex consistently find that regular, focused tailored teaching produces faster and more durable progress than group revision classes or self-study alone.
Working Around Your Schedule
Scheduling needs to work for the whole family. In Worthing, we offer morning, afternoon, evening, and weekend availability to fit around school, sport, and family commitments. Whether the preference is a fixed weekly slot or a more adaptable arrangement, we accommodate it. During busier periods — mock exam season, for instance — many families increase frequency before scaling back again.
Getting Started
If your child in Worthing is approaching SATs, we can help them feel ready. Get in touch to discuss where they are now and what support would make the most difference.