SEAGReady
Curriculum Guide

SEAG English TopicsWhat's Tested

A complete breakdown of the English topics covered in the SEAG transfer test, based on the Northern Ireland Key Stage 2 curriculum.

5

Topic strands

28

English questions per paper

P6-P7

Curriculum level

All English topics by strand

Click each strand to see the specific topics tested. All topics are from the NI Curriculum for Key Stage 2.

  • Capital letters and full stops
  • Question marks and exclamation marks
  • Commas in lists and sentences
  • Apostrophes for contraction
  • Apostrophes for possession
  • Speech marks and direct speech
  • Colons and semicolons
  • Brackets and hyphens
  • Proofreading for punctuation errors

How English is tested on the day

The SEAG transfer test is two 60-minute papers, sat on consecutive Saturdays in November. Each paper contains 28 English questions and 28 maths questions, so English makes up half of every paper.

The English section of each paper

  • Questions 1–15: punctuation, grammar, and spelling exercises, such as spotting the error in a sentence or choosing the correct word.
  • Then a reading passage (fiction, non-fiction, or poetry) followed by 7 multiple-choice comprehension questions and 6 short free-response questions.

Why the passage matters most

Nearly half of the English marks come from the reading passage, and it is where time pressure bites hardest. Children who practise reading a full passage and answering questions against the clock go in with a real advantage. SEAGReady's comprehension practice is multiple-choice with model explanations, so your child learns why an answer is right, not just whether it is.

Our Approach

How SEAGReady covers each strand

Diagnostic Assessment

Our initial diagnostic tests your child across all five English strands to find their starting point and identify gaps.

Focused Practice

Daily sessions target the strands where your child needs the most work, with comprehension practice in multiple-choice format backed by model explanations.

Spaced Repetition

Spelling rules, homophones, and grammar points come back for review at optimal intervals, so they stick until test day.

English Mock Exams

Timed English mock exams build familiarity with the format, and progress tracking shows exactly which strands are mastered.

Master every strand

SEAGReady covers the complete English curriculum with adaptive practice that focuses on what your child needs most.