SEAG Transfer Test: guide for 2028 entry

For children in Northern Ireland who are in Primary 6 now. They would sit the SEAG Entrance Assessment in Primary 7, their final year of primary school, to start Year 8 at a post-primary school in September 2028. Dates and format are taken from SEAG's own pages.

Try a free SEAG Transfer Test-style practice (3 days, no card)

At a glance

Test dates: Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's papers are on Saturday 14 November 2026 and Saturday 21 November 2026, for September 2027 entry
Registration: Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year the registration period ran from Monday 18 May 2026 to Friday 18 September 2026
Papers: Two, a week apart. Each has 28 English (or Irish) questions and 28 Maths questions in 60 minutes
Set by: GL Assessment, which also marks it
Fee: This year, a £20 non-refundable administration fee. No fee for pupils entitled to free school meals, with evidence. SEAG says the fee in any late registration window is £50
Results: Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's outcomes are due online on Saturday 23 January 2027

Key dates

For 2028 entry (papers expected in November 2027, going by this year's pattern)

SEAG has not published these dates yet. When we checked, its pages showed only the dates for children moving to Year 8 in September 2027.

Source: SEAG: Key Dates

This year's dates (2026 papers, 2027 entry), as a guide to the pattern

Monday 18 May 2026: Registration period opened, at 8am (from SEAG's FAQs)
Friday 18 September 2026: Registration period closed, at 11.59pm (from SEAG's FAQs)
Monday 21 to Thursday 24 September 2026: SEAG's key dates page lists registration opening on Monday 21 September and closing on Thursday 24 September, the final date for pupil applications and access applications. SEAG's FAQs give the registration period as 18 May to 18 September and say the fee in any late registration window is £50.
Friday 9 October 2026: Pupil cards became available for parents to download
Saturday 14 November 2026: Paper 1, at the pupil's chosen assessment centre
Saturday 21 November 2026: Paper 2
Saturday 23 January 2027: Statements of Outcomes released online
Monday 25 January 2027: Re-mark requests open
Wednesday 3 February 2027: Deadline for re-mark requests

Source: SEAG: Key Dates

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The two papers

Paper 1: 60 minutesAn untimed practice test of 5 English (or Irish) questions and 5 Maths questions, which does not count. Then the main test of 28 English (or Irish) questions and 28 Maths questions in 60 minutes.

Paper 2: 60 minutesThe same structure as Paper 1, one week later. Across the two papers there are 56 English (or Irish) questions and 56 Maths questions.

What is tested

SEAG says the assessment is based entirely on the Northern Ireland Curriculum at Key Stage 2. English (or Irish) covers comprehension, spelling and punctuation, grammar and syntax, and vocabulary. Maths covers numbers, measurements, shape and space, money, probability and data representation. SEAG's guide lists only English (or Irish) and Maths.

An Irish (Gaeilge) version of the assessment is available as well as the English one.

Both papers count

SEAG says a pupil who takes only one paper has not completed the full assessment. That paper is still marked, but the outcome carries the letter e, for estimate. SEAG also says there is no alternative date for a pupil who misses one of the two papers, so plan for both Saturdays.

How the outcome is reported

Each pupil receives a Statement of Outcomes. It shows a standardised age score for English or Irish and one for Maths, each on a range of 69 to 141 with an average of 100. The two are added to give a Total Standardised Age Score, on a range of 138 to 282 with an average of 200. It also shows a Band from 1 to 6, with Band 1 the highest, and a cohort percentile.

Each school decides how to use it

SEAG has no role in how schools use the outcomes. Whether a school uses the total score, the band, both or some other method is a matter for that school's Board of Governors, so read the admissions criteria of each school you are interested in.

SEAG's own practice papers

SEAG says its practice papers, answer sheets and parents' guide with answer keys are free to download from its website. It says it does not sell practice papers and does not endorse any other materials. Start with those. Our questions are our own and are not SEAG papers.

Five SEAG-style sample questions

These are our own questions, written in the style of the test so you can see the level. They are not taken from any real paper. Tap a question to see the answer and the method.

1. Aoife buys 3 scones at 85p each and pays with a £5 note. How many pence does she get in change?

A) 235
B) 245
C) 255
D) 265

Answer: B) 245. Three scones cost 3 × 85p = 255p. £5 is 500p. Take away: 500 − 255 = 245p, which is £2.45.

2. What is the mean of these four numbers? 14, 19, 23, 28

A) 20
B) 22
C) 21
D) 24

Answer: C) 21. Add the numbers: 14 + 19 + 23 + 28 = 84. Divide by how many there are: 84 ÷ 4 = 21.

3. A jug holds 2.75 litres of juice. How many 250 ml cups can be filled from it?

A) 11
B) 9
C) 10
D) 12

Answer: A) 11. Change litres to millilitres: 2.75 litres is 2750 ml. Four 250 ml cups make 1 litre, so 2 litres fills 8 cups and the last 750 ml fills 3 more. 8 + 3 = 11.

4. The ancient bridge crossed the river. Which words could replace ancient without changing the meaning?

A) broken
B) narrow
C) wooden
D) very old

Answer: D) very old. Ancient means very old. A bridge could also be broken, narrow or wooden, but none of those words means the same as ancient.

5. Which word is the adverb in this sentence? The ferry moved slowly across the lough.

A) ferry
B) slowly
C) moved
D) across

Answer: B) slowly. An adverb tells you more about a verb. Slowly tells you how the ferry moved. Ferry is a noun, moved is the verb and across is a preposition.

What a Primary 6 parent can do now

Download SEAG's free practice papers and parents' guide and look through one together, so your child sees how the English and maths questions are set out.
Keep Primary 6 English and maths secure, since the assessment follows the Key Stage 2 curriculum. Add 60-minute timed practice nearer the time.
Check SEAG's key dates page in the spring of 2027 for the 2028 entry dates. This year the registration period opened on Monday 18 May 2026.

Free Year 5 baseline check: 20 questions in 15 minutes

How to prepare

Download SEAG's free practice papers, answer sheets and parents' guide.
Practise English and maths together in one 60-minute sitting, as on the day.
Cover the whole Key Stage 2 maths list, including money, probability and data.
Keep a steady weekly routine rather than long sessions.

Try a free SEAG Transfer Test-style mock

Set out like the papers the school or area describes, with your child's score at the end and, where the school sets a writing task, their writing marked from a photo. Where a timing is not published, ours is an estimate. Free 3-day trial, no card needed.

Start my SEAG Transfer Test-style mock

Or get a free SEAG Transfer Test-style practice paper (PDF)

Our mocks follow the published format where there is one. The timings we estimate and the questions are our own, not real past papers.

The other 32 school and area guides

Blackheath High 11+ guide · Eltham College 11+ guide · Dulwich College 11+ guide · Alleyn's 11+ guide · Kent Test guide · Bexley 11+ guide · Colfe's 11+ guide · St Olave's 11+ guide · Medway Test guide · Tiffin 11+ guide · Sutton SET guide · ISEB Pre-Test guide · London 11+ Consortium guide · Latymer Upper 11+ guide · Henrietta Barnett 11+ guide · Dame Alice Owen's 11+ guide · QE Barnet 11+ guide · Redbridge 11+ guide · Buckinghamshire Transfer Test guide · Essex CSSE 11+ guide · Slough Consortium 11+ guide · Kendrick School 11+ guide · Bournemouth and Poole 11+ guide · South Wilts Grammar 11+ guide · Bishop Wordsworth's 11+ guide · Torbay grammar schools 11+ guide · Plymouth grammar schools 11+ guide · Lincolnshire 11+ guide · West Midlands grammar schools 11+ guide · Wirral 11+ guide · Ripon Grammar School 11+ guide · Lancaster Royal Grammar 11+ guide

More free practice: Free 11+ Maths practice questions → · Free 11+ Verbal Reasoning practice → · Free 11+ Fractions questions → · Free 11+ Vocabulary questions →

Quick answers

When is the SEAG Transfer Test?

Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year's papers are on Saturday 14 November 2026 and Saturday 21 November 2026, for September 2027 entry.

What is in the SEAG Transfer Test?

Paper 1: 60 minutes. An untimed practice test of 5 English (or Irish) questions and 5 Maths questions, which does not count. Then the main test of 28 English (or Irish) questions and 28 Maths questions in 60 minutes. Paper 2: 60 minutes. The same structure as Paper 1, one week later. Across the two papers there are 56 English (or Irish) questions and 56 Maths questions.

When do I need to register for the SEAG Transfer Test?

Not yet published for 2028 entry. This year the registration period ran from Monday 18 May 2026 to Friday 18 September 2026.

How can my child practise for the SEAG Transfer Test?

Download SEAG's free practice papers, answer sheets and parents' guide.

Sources

Checked 7 October 2026. Schools change their tests, so always confirm dates and details on the official pages below.

Eleven Plus Academy is independent. It is not affiliated with SEAG (the Schools' Entrance Assessment Group), GL Assessment or any school.