NFER/CAT4 Testing

NFER/CAT4 Testing: Saturday 9th May 2026 at 8:30am - 12:00 noon (all students must be collected by  12.00 noon promptly)

These NFER/CAT4 tests are nothing to worry about. They are Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs) which assess a student's ability to think through a set of problems. They are baseline tests to assess verbal reasoning (thinking with words), quantitative reasoning (thinking with numbers), non-verbal reasoning (thinking with shape and patterns) and spatial ability (mentally generating and transforming visual images). These tests are used widely by many schools when students transfer from primary to secondary school and also at other stages. The tests are not linked to the National Curriculum.

The tests are assessments designed to help students and their teachers understand how they learn and what their academic potential might be. The testing assesses how students think in areas that are known to make a difference to learning.

The tests are designed to give schools a much broader, more rounded view of each child, their potential and how they learn. The results help teachers decide upon the right pace of learning for a student and whether additional support or challenge is needed. Teachers value the ability of these tests to provide an understanding of what a child is capable of rather than defining them by their understanding of a body of knowledge in particular subjects.

The tests are designed to be taken without any revision or preparation so they can assess a child's potential in their ability to reason. It is strongly advised NOT to practice ahead of a CAT4 test as this will alter the reliability of test scores. Think of it like an eye test; if you practice ahead of an eye test and memorise the card, your diagnosis may not be correct and valuable information may be missed. CAT tests indicate general transferable abilities, such as the ability to recognise similarities, analogies, patterns and relationships, all fundamental to understanding and assimilating new information. They are designed specifically to minimise the role of prior learning and can therefore provide an indication of potential.

The questions are multiple choice format, and the students have to select an answer from those given and mark this onto an answer sheet. CAT tests differ from the national tests (or SATs) which indicate attainment in some core areas of the curriculum and reflect how well pupils have acquired and retained specific knowledge in these areas.

These tests are used in conjunction with KS2 data (from your daughter's primary school) in order to set the students for certain subjects in Year 7. Setting reviews also take place during Year 7.

On NFER/CAT4 testing day your daughter should wear her current primary school uniform, bring a snack for break time, a pencil and an eraser. The only access to the school will be by the main gate on Shorts Road, opposite the junction with Alma Road [for SATNAV purposes, use postcode SM5 2PB]. 

Please arrive promptly by 8.30am. The students are to line up alphabetically according to surname outside the Marie Therese Hall. If raining, students will sit in the Chapel.

Please collect your daughter from the Marie Therese Hall at 12.00 noon. If your daughter cannot attend on Saturday 9th May 2026, please contact the Admissions Officer  beforehand by email admissions@stphils.org.uk using ‘NFER’ as the subject. Parking will be available on the school field.

Students enjoying the Year 7 Fun Run.