GPS practice papers: six original mini-papers with mark schemes
Grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and spelling practice in the style of the key stage 2 test. Interactive with instant marking, or printable with a full mark scheme.
Quick answer
- Papers
- Six, rising from Years 3 and 4 level to Year 6 level.
- Each paper
- 30 marks of questions plus 10 marks of spelling, 40 in all.
- Original
- Question types and marks follow the national test. Every question is our own.
The six papers
| Paper | Level | Marks | Focus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Years 3 and 4 level | 40 | word classes, sentence types, tense, inverted commas, apostrophes | Paper / Mark scheme |
| Paper 2 | Years 3 and 4 level | 40 | prefixes and suffixes, conjunctions, present perfect, commas, plurals | Paper / Mark scheme |
| Paper 3 | Year 5 level | 40 | relative clauses, modal verbs, parenthesis, cohesion, verb suffixes | Paper / Mark scheme |
| Paper 4 | Year 5 level | 40 | pronouns, prepositions, perfect tenses, parenthesis, fronted adverbials | Paper / Mark scheme |
| Paper 5 | Year 6 level | 40 | active and passive, formal and informal, subjunctive, semi-colons and colons | Paper / Mark scheme |
| Paper 6 | Year 6 level | 40 | passives, cohesion, hyphens, parenthesis, relative clauses, word meanings | Paper / Mark scheme |
The format
The national key stage 2 test has a grammar, punctuation and vocabulary paper and a separate spelling paper, using multiple choice, tick tables, gap fills and short rewrites worth one or two marks (see the test framework). Our mini-papers copy those types and mark values, at a shorter length:
- Part A: 30 marks. Choose the answer, tick a box in each row, click words in a sentence, fill a gap, or rewrite a sentence.
- Part B: 10 marks of spelling. Listen to a sentence, then the missing word, then the sentence again, and type the word.
Using them
- Pick the paper that matches the level. Papers 1 and 2 suit Years 3 and 4, papers 3 and 4 suit Year 5, papers 5 and 6 suit Year 6.
- Work through on screen, or print the paper and the mark scheme.
- For printed spelling, an adult reads the script at the back of the mark scheme.
- Use the notes after each answer to find topics to revisit, then try the topic pages.
Questions
Are these real test questions?
No. They are original questions written to match the types and marks used in the test. Real past papers are published by the Standards and Testing Agency.
How are rewrites marked?
Rewrites are matched against the answers in the mark scheme. Where more than one wording is correct, the mark scheme lists them. If your answer is correct but worded differently, check it against the notes.
Spelling lists and grammar terminology: Department for Education, National curriculum in England: English programmes of study, Appendices 1 and 2 (Crown copyright 2013), reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example sentences, tips, explanations and questions are by Litlings.