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7 Plus Curriculum

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7 Plus Curriculum Tracker

The 7 plus is a heterogeneous collection of admission tests to various independent schools for entry into year 3 in the United Kingdom.  As these tests are not standardised and every school is free to set their own exam, defining a curriculum to cover the entire 7 plus is challenging. Having said this, given the age of the applicants, the relative subject knowledge and skills that can be expected from children of this age, one can make a well-educated guess as to what a 7 plus exam will cover. This is what we have done here to assist tutors and parents that are preparing their students for the 7 plus test.

After having consistently prepared students for 7 plus exams since their rapid increase in popularity in the late noughties, feedback from our tutors, students and clients have suggested that 7 plus exams to competitive schools expect students to be operating approximately one year ahead of national averages at the time they take the exam (November to January). As such, we have distilled the expectations in English, Maths and Interpersonal skills from the United Kingdom’s National Curriculum that students are expected to be achieving by the end of year 3 to create what successful 7 plus students should be able to complete half way through year 2. We then cross-referenced this list of learning objectives with various 7 plus sample exams published on independent school websites in order to refine the list of objectives.

As a result of this exercise, the list of learning objectives below represent what we currently feel students should be able to perform in order to be successful at 7 plus. We would like to emphasise however that even by being able to demonstrate aptitude in all of these learning objectives will not provide a guarantee of success in these competitive school entrance exams. Please also note that a student may not need to show aptitude in all of these learning objectives upon sitting the test and that the learning objectives laid out below are exceptionally high expectations for a student to achieve in year 2!

English

Reading

  • I can read a wide variety of age appropriate texts (silently and aloud) quickly, accurately and fluently, automatically decoding words using phonics and other reading strategies
  • I can read age appropriate unfamiliar words, including exception words, accurately and without undue hesitation
  • I can use a dictionary to check the meaning of unfamiliar words
  • I can explain the meaning of words in context
  • I can skim and scan to identify ideas in a text and explain these using my own words
  • I can make simple inferences, such as inferring characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying my inferences with evidence
  • I can predict what might happen next in a narrative
  • I can recognise and demonstrate understanding of figurative language
  • I can use age-appropriate, academic vocabulary: simile, metaphor, alliteration, adjective, adverb, verb, noun etc

    • Speaking and listening

  • I can ask relevant questions
  • I can articulate and justify answers, including expressing my opinions about things that I have read
  • I can give well-structured descriptions, explanations and narratives
  • I can maintain attention and participate actively in conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments appropriately
  • I can speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English

    • Writing

    Grammar

  • I can use the present and past tenses correctly and consistently including the progressive form (for example, she is drumming, he was shouting)

    • Language

  • In narratives, I can describe settings and characters using a variety of vocabulary
  • I can use subordination (using when, if, that, before, after, while, so, because, although) and coordination (using or, and, but) in my sentences
  • I can vary my sentence starters, including starting sentences with adverbs (first, then, next, suddenly)
  • I can use figurative language in my writing
  • I can use expanded noun phrases to describe (for example, the blue butterfly, plain flour, the man in the moon)

    • Planning and Editing

  • I can write for different purposes, including descriptions, narratives and recounts
  • I can plan in advance what I am going to write either verbally or by making notes
  • I can check my writing makes sense and make simple revisions to my writing, including corrections of common errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar

    • Punctuation

  • I can use apostrophes of contraction (for example, can’t)
  • I can use exclamation marks appropriately and can include exclamatives in my writing
  • I can use direct speech in my narratives with punctuation
  • I can accurately demarcate sentences (using full stops and capital letters)
  • I can use commas in lists
  • I can write statements and questions, using question marks accurately
  • I can use a possessive apostrophe (singular) (for example, the girl’s book)

    • Spelling and Handwriting

  • I can spell many words, including common exception words, using segmenting and other strategies
  • I can recognise common homophones and use these accurately
  • I can form capital letters and lower-case letters neatly and can begin to join my handwriting with appropriate spacing between words

    • Structure

  • I can structure a simple narrative, using a beginning, middle and end with some attempt to add a dilemma and to resolve it
  • I can organise paragraphs around a theme

    • Interpersonal skills

    Expected 18 months prior to the exam

  • I can explain what my strengths and weaknesses are in my learning
  • I can manage my feelings appropriately
  • I can work independently for a sustained period of time
  • I can complete work in a timed environment
  • I can read over my work to check for mistakes
  • I can appreciate that others have different opinions to me
  • I can resolve problems and conflicts independently
  • I can make suggestions as to how a group can work well together

    • Expected 12 months prior to the exam

  • I can work cooperatively in a group
  • I can explain my strengths in learning
  • I can resist distractions in order to accurately complete my work
  • I am aware of the consequences of my actions
  • I can hold a conversation with an adult
  • I am confident in meeting new children and teachers
  • I can listen and respond to others in a conversation

    • Expected six months prior to the exam

  • I know how to be friendly towards others
  • I can take turns when I play a game
  • I can wait my turn to say something in a classroom
  • I can share with others
  • I can concentrate and pay attention to the task in hand
  • I know that I have to work hard to achieve my goals
  • I can explain what I am good at and what went well in a task
  • I can tell you something special about me
  • I say “please” and “thank you”
  • I can fasten my own jacket and put on my shoes
  • I can listen to and follow instructions
  • I can play and work in a group with other children

    • Maths

    Addition and Subtraction

  • I can recall and use addition and subtraction facts to 20 fluently, and derive and use related facts up to 100 (5 resources)
  • I can add and subtract numbers mentally and using formal written methods, including: a two-digit number and 1s a two-digit number and 10s 2 two-digit numbers 3 one-digit numbers (4 resources)
  • I can recognise and use the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction and use this to check calculations and solve missing number problems
  • I can solve problems, including missing number problems, using number facts, place value, and more complex addition and subtraction

    • Fractions

  • I can recognise and use fractions as numbers: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators
  • I can recognise and show, using diagrams, equivalent fractions with small denominators (1 resources)
  • I can add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole
  • I can compare and order unit fractions, and fractions with the same denominators (1 resources)
  • I can solve problems that involve all of the above. (1 resources)
  • I can recognise, find, name and write fractions of a length, shape, set of objects or quantity: unit fractions and non-unit fractions with small denominators (1 resources)

    • Measurement

  • I can record and compare time in terms of seconds, minutes and hours; use vocabulary such as o’clock, am/pm, morning, afternoon, noon and midnight
  • I know the number of seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in a day and days in each month, year and leap year (1 resources)
  • I can compare and order lengths, mass, volume/capacity and record the results using >, < and =
  • I can measure the perimeter of simple 2-D shapes (1 resources)
  • I can recognise and use symbols for pounds (£) and pence (p)
  • I can find different combinations of coins that equal the same amounts of money
  • I can solve problems in a practical context involving addition and subtraction of money in both £ and p, including giving change (1 resources)
  • I can tell and write the time from an analogue clock, including using Roman numerals from I to XII, and from a 12-hour digital clock (1 resources)
  • I can choose and use appropriate standard units to estimate and measure length/height in any direction (m/cm); mass (kg/g); temperature (°C); capacity (litres/ml) to the nearest appropriate unit, using rulers, scales, thermometers and measuring vessels

    • Multiplication and Division

  • I can calculate mathematical statements for multiplication and division within the multiplication tables and write them using the multiplication (×), division (÷) and equals (=) signs
  • I can show that multiplication of 2 numbers can be done in any order (commutative) and division of 1 number by another cannot
  • I can use formal written methods to multiply a two-digit number by a one-digit number
  • I can solve problems, including missing number problems, involving multiplication and division, including positive integer scaling problems and correspondence problems in which n objects are connected to m objects.
  • I can recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 multiplication tables, including recognising odd and even numbers

    • Number and Place Value

  • I can solve number problems and practical problems involving these ideas
  • I can count on and back in multiples of 2, 3, 4 and 5 from 0, and in 10s from any number, forward and backward
  • I can find 10 or 100 more or less than any given number (5 resources)
  • I can recognise the place value of each digit in a three-digit number (100s, 10s, 1s) (2 resources)
  • I can compare and order numbers up to 1000 (1 resources)
  • I can round any number to the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000 (1 resources)
  • I can identify, represent and estimate numbers using different representations (2 resources)
  • I can show that addition of 2 numbers can be done in any order (commutative) and subtraction of one number from another cannot
  • I can read and write any three-digit whole number in figures and words (1 resources)

    • Properties of Shapes

  • I can identify and describe the properties of 3-D shapes, including the number of edges, vertices and faces
  • I can identify 2-D shapes on the surface of 3-D shapes
  • I can recognise angles as a property of shape or a description of a turn
  • I can identify right angles, recognise that 2 right angles make a half-turn, 3 make three quarters of a turn and 4 a complete turn
  • I can identify horizontal and vertical lines and pairs of perpendicular and parallel lines
  • I can order and arrange combinations of mathematical objects in patterns and sequences
  • I can use mathematical vocabulary to describe position, direction and movement including movement in a straight line and distinguishing between rotation as a turn and in terms of right angles for quarter, half and three-quarter turns (clockwise and anti-clockwise).
  • I can identify and describe the properties of 2-D shapes, including the number of sides and line symmetry in a vertical line

    • Statistics

  • I can solve one-step and two-step questions using information presented in scaled bar charts and pictograms and tables.
  • I can interpret and construct simple pictograms, tally charts, block diagrams and tables
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