If your child is starting their transfer test journey, practice papers SEAG are probably a topic already on your mind! Practice papers SEAG cause so many opinions and so does the transfer test as a whole. But it’s here for the time being so the best thing that I can do is help you to prepare your child for the SEAG as best as I can. And of course, create happy, confident learners inside the classroom and out! Let’s chat all about practice papers! I wanted to give you some tips on the best ways to start your child using SEAG transfer test practice papers.
If you would like a 30-minute free SEAG practice papers with answers you can download one right here to get started! This resource also comes with some teaching hints to help you explain those tricky topics to your child! So get started by getting your SEAG practice papers free download here!
When should your child be starting SEAG practice papers Northern Ireland?
Each school starts practice papers at different times. Some wait until after the February break, some wait until after Easter, some start after Christmas and some don’t do practice papers at all in school! Your child’s school should make you aware of their plan for transfer test preparation. But if they haven’t, it is worth it to get in contact with your child’s teacher so you are aware of the brands of papers they are using and also how many papers they will be completing per week in school.
My advice for starting practice papers is to wait until after the February break. This means you can complete papers in a relaxing, slow pace rather than rushing them. If you start going through a few papers with your child before they start them in school, that is also completely fine. It means your child will have a wee headstart and know what to expect when they sit their first paper in school.
Your child’s first practice paper SEAG at home
Under NO circumstances should your child be sitting a full-length SEAG transfer practice papers under test conditions for their first paper. And by test conditions, I mean sitting at a desk, by themselves with a timer on. Trust me on this, this will do them more harm than good. For starters, it could completely traumatise and demotivate a child at the beginning of their transfer test journey. They may feel anxiety or stress over tests and these feelings may not disappear.
My recommendation for your child sitting their first practice paper is to choose a short, 30-minute paper. (You can click here to get one for free!) You are going to sit with your child and go through each question in the paper one at a time. Read the questions out loud, discuss the steps needed to find the answer and explore the answer sheet. This will give your child a chance to see a SEAG-style paper in an environment which they are comfortable with and with one of the most important people in their lives that makes them feel at ease. (Yes I’m talking about you!)
During this exploration of a practice paper, encourage your child to ask questions about what they are unsure about, ask them how they feel about the transfer test and discuss any worries that they may have. Having a conversation like this can help talk away any uncertainties or stress about the transfer test and practice papers.
First Practice Paper at School
Like I said at the beginning of this blog post, every school is different and how they tackle practice papers and transfer test preparation will be different. Over the years I have had students who attend schools that take transfer tests very seriously (maybe a bit too seriously!), schools that have got it just right and schools that didn’t even prepare students for the transfer test.
Fingers crossed your child’s school gives you notice about when your child will be sitting their first practice paper in school. However, I recently had a student who was thrown in at the deep end with a full practice paper as their first paper under test conditions! And the parents/guardians knew nothing about it. Needless to say, I had a very unmotivated and stressed student! I wish I could insert a shocked emoji here!
Ideally, your child’s teacher will start with a shorter paper and go through it together as a class. Rather than sitting the first practice paper under test conditions. Regardless of how your child’s school operates, there are some key things that you need to know about practice papers SEAG.
How many practice papers your child will be completing per week
The first thing that you need to find out from your child’s school is how many practice papers your child will be sitting in school each week and if they will get any for homework as well. This will help you decide how many extra practice papers your child will do at home with you or with their tutor if they have one. Most schools will give one or two practice papers SEAG per week in school and when it gets closer to the tests, send one home for homework as well.
What brands of practice papers SEAG they will be using
The next thing that you need to find out is what brand of practice papers your child’s school will be using. A lot of companies do have papers which are exclusive to schools. This means your child won’t be sitting the same papers twice. If your child’s school is using papers that can also be purchased by parents or tutors, I recommend trying to find different brands that are exclusive for home use. Oh looky here, I’ve linked some here for you!
How will the practice papers be reviewed?
Once your child and their peers have sat their practice paper in school, what happens next? Are they going to go through each paper as a class? Will they use peer marking or will the teacher be marking it? Or are the papers going to be sent home for you to go over with your child? This is something that you need to find out from your child’s school, so you know how your child’s learning and progress are going to be tracked and evaluated.
The SEAG Answer Sheet
The SEAG answer sheet is something that can confuse students. If I’m being truly honest, I don’t know why SEAG decided to use this answer sheet. (Well I kind of do, it’s because a computer can mark the multiple-choice answers). To help get your child used to using the answer sheet, I do recommend using the answer sheet from the get-go. So from your child’s first practice paper, use the answer marking sheets included with the papers. This will help your child get used to marking their answers with that horizontal line in the lettered boxes. There are also boxes for your child to record their open-response questions.
Different brands of practice papers
There are lots of different brands of SEAG transfer practice papers out there. And just like with anything, some are better than others. Some are also more challenging than others. Your child will soon become familiar with the papers that are extremely challenging and some are a bit more realistic. Just remind your child of this when they are completing different practice papers SEAG. Keep their spirits high and if their scores drop when you switch brands, tell them not to worry about it. You can also download different brands of SEAG sample paper to get your child used to the different layouts and styles.
Using older AQE and GL practice papers
Something to be aware of is that your child’s school may use some of the older AGE and GL revision materials and practice papers. There is nothing wrong with this because most of the topics are the same. However, the layout is different and the SEAG transfer test only has one comprehension compared to a GL English paper which had three comprehensions. I recently had a student who was sent a GL English paper for homework and they were panicking about the timings and all of the questions. I recommended that they break the paper up into three sections and complete it over three days. This means they can focus on the types of questions they are being asked and develop the skills needed to complete them first. Focus on developing the skills needed first rather than timings.
Keep track of your child’s learning
Another tip which I highly recommend doing from the get-go, is to keep track of your child’s learning throughout their practice papers SEAG. By jotting down a few notes of topics your child struggled with in each practice paper, you will have areas and topics that you can work on with them. It also means you will have a handy wee list to give to their tutor if they have one!
The sooner you start this tracking, the easier it will be to revise and study when it comes close to the test. You can do this by writing down the topic name and using a traffic lights system. For example, write down “multiplication word problem” and put a green, orange or red dot beside the topic. Green being they got the question correct and understand the topic, orange they sort of understand but need more practice and red being they have no idea how to complete the topic and need to develop their learning of the topic.
Don’t focus on the scores
My next tip is not to get focused or stressed out about the scoring and percentages. I know that is easier said than done but promise me you will REALLY try! As Ronan Keating says, “Life is a rollercoaster,” and so will your child’s SEAG transfer practice papers scores! There are so many factors that can affect your child’s score on a practice paper. Some papers are trickier than others, some have topics your child hasn’t learned yet, your child could be more tired than usual or they are just having an “off-day.” Celebrate when your child gets a higher percentage in their practice papers. That is easy to do. The harder part is keeping motivation levels high when their scores have dropped a little. This is when you need to manifest your inner cheerleader and praise, praise, praise!
Remain calm
My last tip on practice papers is to remain calm. This applies to you and your child! Becoming stressed, overwhelmed or a “SEAG-zilla” won’t do anyone good. (I’m copyrighting that term! haha) If you or your child starts to feel this way over practice papers, just take a step back. Go for a walk, watch a movie, do something fun! Sometimes taking a step back is just what we all need.
When most people hear the words “practice papers,” it fills them with dread. It really shouldn’t be that way if you take it at your child’s own pace. Who cares if so and so from your child’s class is doing ten practice papers per week at home and your child is only doing one. Take it at your child’s pace. If that means then are doing ten papers per week go for it! Your child ends up doing one paper every two weeks, no problem! If it also means you need to sit with your child and complete the papers together for the first month or so, then do it.
My business motto is “Let’s create happy, confident learners together inside the classroom and out,” for a reason. Humans won’t learn or assimilate information as easily if they are filled with anxiety! Yes, the main reason for sitting the transfer test is to get into a grammar school. But there are so many other skills your child will learn during this process which they can take throughout life. So keep calm, go at your child’s pace and have a laugh and giggle along the way.
More information on practice papers
7 useful ways to use transfer test in Northern Ireland practice papers to prepare your child
5 Top Tips to Boost your SEAG GL Transfer Test Revision.
How to be your own child’s Transfer Test Tutor
5 fantastic, simple ways to prepare your child for the SEAG Transfer Tests
If you would like more information on how to prepare your child for the transfer test, you can grab a copy of my book, “A Complete Guide on How to Prepare and Empower your Child for the SEAG transfer test.” This contains everything you need to know to prepare for the SEAG and beyond.
I hope this blog post has helped untangle your thoughts about practice papers and taken away some of the stress and unknowns they can cause. Keep these tips in mind when starting your child’s practice paper SEAG journey.
