Free · P7

SEAG transfer test practice papers

Free papers in the SEAG test's shape: 56 English and maths questions in an hour, with every answer and its working. Print one for a timed hour at home, or sit a new one online.

Pick a paper to print

  • Practice paper 1

    A full paper: punctuation, grammar and spelling, a reading text, then the maths.

    Print with answers

  • Practice paper 2

    A second full paper, with a different reading text and new maths.

    Print with answers

Sit a new paper online

Every online paper is new and timed like the real one. Sit the full hour, or the English or maths half on its own. It is marked the moment it ends.

  • Full paper

    56 questions · 60 minutes

    Punctuation, grammar, spelling, a reading text, then maths. The last six maths answers are typed.

  • English

    28 questions · 30 minutes

    Punctuation, grammar, spelling and comprehension.

  • Maths

    28 questions · 30 minutes

    Number, measures, shape and data. No calculator.

How the SEAG test works

Papers
Two, with the same format and difficulty, sat on two Saturdays in November of P7
Questions
56 a paper: English questions 1 to 28, then maths 29 to 56
Time
60 minutes a paper, after a short untimed practice section
English
Punctuation 5, grammar 5 and spelling 5, then 13 questions on a reading text
Maths
Questions 29 to 50 with choices, then 51 to 56 with written answers
Answers
Five choices, A to E. Proofreading questions show four parts and N for no mistake
Marks
1 for each right answer, nothing taken off for a wrong one

Our papers follow this shape with one change: the six written comprehension answers (questions 23 to 28) are multiple choice here, because a machine cannot mark a written answer about a story fairly. The six written maths answers are typed as a number online, and written on the line when printed.

How the results work

Each child gets a standardised age score(SAS) for English and one for maths. Each runs from 69 to 141, with 100 the average, and it allows for the child's age. The two added together are the total standardised age score, from 138 to 282, with 200 the average.

The total places each child in one of six bands, by how it compares with every child who sat the test that year. Band 1 is the highest:

Band 1
Did better than at least 60% of the children who sat it
Band 2
Did better than 50% to 59% of them
Band 3
Did better than 40% to 49%
Band 4
Did better than 30% to 39%
Band 5
Did better than 20% to 29%
Band 6
Did better than fewer than 20%

The total needed for each band changes a little every year. Our practice shows the number of questions answered correctly. It never turns that into an SAS or a band, because only the real test, sat by every child that year, can.

Answers and working

Both printed papers end with their answers and the working for each one. Online, your first finished paper shows the answers to its first ten questions; full answers for every online paper will come with our UK practice packs.

Looking for a school? The grammar school finder lists the schools near any postcode.

Questions parents ask

What is the SEAG test?
The transfer test that P7 pupils in Northern Ireland sit for a place at a post-primary school that uses academic selection, mostly grammar schools. The Schools' Entrance Assessment Group runs it, and GL Assessment sets and marks the papers. It replaced the two separate tests schools used before.
Are these real SEAG papers?
No. Every question here is written by us, in the test's published shape. SEAG's own practice papers are on its website and are copyright, and we are not connected with SEAG or GL Assessment.
Is there verbal or non-verbal reasoning?
No. The SEAG test is English and maths only, on the Northern Ireland primary curriculum. Practise reading closely, spelling, punctuation and the maths your child meets in P6 and P7.
Is it worth guessing?
Yes. Nothing is taken off for a wrong answer, so a child should answer every question, ruling out the choices that cannot be right first.
How should my child practise?
Sit a full paper in a quiet hour, then go through every question missed with the working. In the proofreading questions, read each part slowly and choose N only when every part is right.