An 8-Week SEAG Revision Plan for Parents

Preparing for SEAG does not need to mean hours of work every evening. A consistent routine of short, focused sessions can help your child improve steadily while leaving room for schoolwork, hobbies and rest.

This eight-week plan gives parents a clear weekly focus. Adapt the pace to your child: if a topic needs more time, stay with it rather than rushing ahead simply to keep to the schedule.

A sensible weekly target

Aim for four focused practice sessions each week, usually lasting 25 to 35 minutes. Add a slightly longer mixed or timed session at the weekend when appropriate. Quality and consistency matter more than completing a large number of questions.

Before you begin

Ask your child to complete a mixed set of maths and English questions in calm conditions. Treat this as a starting point rather than a verdict. Review the answers and sort mistakes into four useful groups:

• The topic needs to be learned or revised.
• The question or instruction was misunderstood.
• The method was known, but a careless error changed the answer.
• Time pressure caused rushing or left the question unfinished.

Keep a short list of the topics and habits costing the most marks. This becomes your priority list for the next eight weeks.

Week 1: Find the starting point

The first week is about understanding where your child feels confident and where help is needed. Avoid placing too much importance on the initial score.

Focus on

• Completing a mixed set of maths and English questions.
• Identifying two or three weaker topics.
• Reviewing mistakes without criticism or pressure.
• Agreeing a regular routine that fits around family life.

Week 2: Strengthen core maths skills

Spend this week revisiting mathematical skills that appear across many different question types. Choose the areas identified in Week 1 rather than trying to cover every topic at once.

Suggested topics

• Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
• Times tables and related division facts.
• Fractions, decimals and percentages.
• Units of measurement and conversions.
• Multi-step word problems.

Encourage your child to show their working. This makes it easier to see whether a wrong answer came from the method, a calculation or a misunderstood instruction.

Week 3: Develop English and comprehension

Focus on careful reading, vocabulary and finding evidence. Children should learn that a good comprehension answer is supported by the passage rather than by a quick guess.

Suggested activities

• Short comprehension passages.
• Vocabulary understood from context.
• Spelling, punctuation and grammar.
• Sentence structure.
• Recognising facts, opinions and implied meaning.

Week 4: Improve question-reading skills

Children can lose marks even when they know the topic because they answer a slightly different question from the one asked. This week, make understanding the instruction part of the method.

Practise

• Underlining or noting the important information.
• Checking the units required in the answer.
• Recognising words such as difference, total, remaining and approximately.
• Eliminating options that cannot be correct.
• Checking that every part of the question has been answered.

Introduce a few short timed sections, but keep accuracy and understanding as the priority.

Halfway check

Complete another short mixed assessment and compare it with Week 1. Look beyond the total score: are the same types of mistakes still appearing, and is your child explaining methods more confidently?

Week 5: Introduce timed practice

Begin helping your child become comfortable working within a time limit. Use short timed sections before attempting full papers.

• Use a visible clock or timer without repeatedly announcing the remaining time.
• Set a clear finishing point.
• Review questions after the timed section has ended.
• Teach your child not to spend too long on one difficult question.
• Where the format allows, choose the best answer, mark the question and return to it later.

Week 6: Target the weakest areas

Use the first five weeks to identify the two or three areas currently costing the most marks. Focused practice is more effective than jumping between many unrelated weaknesses.

A useful session structure

1. Review the method, rule or idea.
2. Complete a few accessible questions to rebuild the process.
3. Move to SEAG-style questions that require the skill.
4. Explain and correct mistakes.
5. Finish with one question your child can complete confidently.

When a child can complete one example but struggles with a slightly different version, the topic probably needs more varied practice rather than simple repetition.

Week 7: Practise full-paper technique

Your child should now try at least one full practice paper or realistic combined session. The purpose is to practise concentration, pacing and recovery when a question feels difficult.

Recreate sensible test conditions

• Use the correct instructions and time limit for the practice material.
• Choose a quiet place and remove unnecessary interruptions.
• Do not give hints during the attempt.
• Encourage your child to check answers if time remains.
• Review the paper later if your child is tired or frustrated.

Look for

• Questions left unanswered.
• Sections that consumed too much time.
• Repeated topic weaknesses.
• Misread instructions or units.
• Careless calculation or answer-transfer errors.

Week 8: Consolidate and build confidence

The final week is for consolidation, not cramming. Avoid introducing a long list of unfamiliar topics just before the assessment.

• Briefly revisit key methods.
• Complete a small number of mixed questions.
• Review familiar mistakes and useful checking habits.
• Prepare the practical test-day routine using current official instructions.
• Protect sleep, rest and normal family time.

Reduce the workload as the assessment approaches. A rested child who trusts their method is better placed than a tired child who has completed one more paper.

Example weekly timetable

Adjust the timetable around your family. Try to protect at least two days each week from formal SEAG practice.

How parents should review mistakes

For each incorrect answer, ask:

1. Did you understand what the question was asking?
2. Did you know the method or rule?
3. Can you show where the answer went wrong?
4. Can you complete a similar question now?
5. Is this a topic we should revisit next week?

Keep the discussion calm and specific. A mistake is useful when it reveals what to learn, practise or check next time.

PrepPath is an independent preparation resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Schools’ Entrance Assessment Group.