Key stage 2: registering pupils for the tests
Information for primary schools on how to register pupils for key stage 2 (KS2) national curriculum tests in 2025.
All schools must complete pupil registration for pupils reaching the end of KS2, including those working below the standard or unable to access the tests.
Pupil registration opens on the Primary Assessment Gateway (PAG) on Monday 10 February and must be completed by Friday 7 March.
Schools must continue to update their pupil registration data after the deadline – for example, when pupils join or leave the school. Schools can do this until 11:59pm on Thursday 22 May.
Pupil registration data is used to ensure the:
- pupil lists within access arrangements forms are accurate
- quantity of test materials provided is sufficient
- test attendance registers are accurate
- list of expected pupils for teacher assessment is accurate
- results data returned to schools matches the pupil data held in their management information system (MIS)
Schools should have more than one delegated member of school staff registered as a user on the PAG. This will ensure any PAG related activities are not the sole responsibility of one individual, reducing the impact of staff absence or shortages.
Checking your pupil data
To access the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form for the first time, sign in to the PAG, select the ‘My Activity’ tab, then ‘Outstanding activity’. Independent schools and pupil referral units with test orders will find the form in the ‘Available activity’ section.
If you submitted your school census data to the Department for Education (DfE), your pupil list will already be populated with the latest available data. However, you should still check that the data is accurate.
By 11:59pm on Friday 7 March, you must:
- check your pupil list to ensure pupil data is correct, including full legal name, date of birth and unique pupil number (UPN)
- edit information if required
- add pupils who are not on your school’s ‘existing pupils’ list
- ensure each pupil has been assigned the correct pupil registration code
When making changes to your pupil data, we recommend selecting ‘save’ after each pupil amendment.
Your data will not be populated yet if you:
- are a pupil referral unit, secure unit or independent school
- are a non-maintained special school that did not place a test order by the deadline in November
- did not submit your school census data to DfE
In these cases, you will need to upload your pupil data. You can do this by adding pupils individually to the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form or by using the bulk upload template available in the ‘Manage pupil registration - upload multiple pupils’ form. You can find this in your ‘Available activity’.
All community special, non-maintained special, foundation special, academy special sponsor led, free special or academy special converter schools must still check, upload or amend pupil data and ensure each pupil has been assigned the correct pupil registration code.
Uploading multiple pupils
You will not be able to upload multiple pupils if you have a ‘Manage pupil registration’ form in your ‘Outstanding activity’.
You must complete this outstanding activity first, submitting a blank form if needed, before you can successfully upload multiple pupils.
Select the ‘Manage pupil registration - upload multiple pupils’ form and follow the steps below:
- Select ‘Download’ to download the template.
- Populate the template with your pupil data.
- Ensure you have not changed any headers within the template.
- Ensure your pupil information is entered in the required order and format – examples are available on the form.
- Save the file as a ‘comma delimited’ (.csv) file.
- Upload your file by selecting ‘Select file’.
- Locate your saved file.
- Submit.
After you submit the pupil data, you will see an onscreen confirmation message and receive a confirmation email. A copy of this email will also be available in your ‘Completed activity’.
If the data includes any errors, such as an incorrect UPN format, you will receive an email explaining the necessary actions to amend the data. You must make these corrections in the file and upload it again.
After you have successfully uploaded your pupil data, you still need to complete pupil registration using the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form, which will then be available in your ‘Outstanding activity’.
Pupil registration codes
All pupils will automatically show as ‘Registered’ for each test subject. You can change a pupil’s status for each subject by selecting ‘edit’ and selecting one of the following codes from the drop-down list:
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| Registered | Pupil is expected to sit the test or will later be recorded as ‘Just arrived’ or ‘Unable to access’ or ‘Absent’ on the test attendance register |
| Below | Pupil working below the overall standard of the test subject |
| Future | Pupil taking one or more, but not all, assessments in a future year |
| Left | Pupil has left the school |
| Previous | Pupil took one or more, but not all, assessments in a previous year |
| Unregistered | Pupil appears incorrectly in your existing pupil list |
You must complete pupil registration and submit the form, even if all your pupils are working below the standard of the tests.
Pupils who are learning outside their chronological year group for all subjects should be included in your pupil registration data at the end of the academic year in which they complete the relevant KS2 programme of study. If they have been incorrectly included, you should use the ‘Unregistered’ code.
Pupils working below the overall standard of the tests (code ‘B’)
Pupils who are working below the overall standard of the KS2 tests, and who are not expected to reach the standard by May 2025, should be marked as:
- ‘Below’ on the PAG during pupil registration
- ‘B’ (Below the standard) on the test attendance register for each test that they have not taken
You can update a pupil’s registration record at any time, including on the day you are administering a test, if you change your assessment of their ability.
For English grammar, punctuation and spelling and mathematics tests, pupils must complete all tests papers to receive an overall test outcome. They cannot take one component of the test and be registered as below the standard for another – for example, a pupil cannot take Paper 1 of the English grammar, punctuation and spelling test and be marked as ‘B’ on the test attendance register for Paper 2. In this scenario, STA would correct the pupil’s status to ‘A’ (Absent) for Paper 2.
If your school decides not to enter a pupil for the reading and mathematics tests because they are working below the overall standard, you should use either the pre-key stage standards or engagement model to provide a teacher assessment outcome.
Submitting pupil registration data
Independent schools
You will only be able to register pupils for the tests if you:
- placed a KS2 test order by Friday 15 November
- have a written agreement in place with the local authority that will monitor your KS2 tests
- informed us of your local authority monitoring arrangement on the PAG by Friday 6 December
Independent schools that do not upload their pupils’ details and complete pupil registration by Friday 7 March will not be able to participate in the tests.
Keeping pupil registration data updated
You can make updates to your pupil registration data until 11:59pm on Thursday 22 May.
If you need to make any changes, you can amend the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form and resubmit.
It is important you update your data if:
- any pupils join or leave your school
- a pupil’s registration code changes – for example, if a pupil was registered as ‘Below’ for a test subject but you later decide the pupil can take the test
We will use your pupil registration data to determine your school’s expected teacher assessment data. If you do not keep your pupil registration data up to date, it will cause errors when submitting your teacher assessment data in June.
If you open the form to view your pupils’ data but do not make any changes, you should still resubmit the form to ensure you do not have any outstanding activity.
If you do not complete this action, we may contact your school to request outstanding data.
If you have any further questions about how to register a pupil, or need support completing pupil registration, you can contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013 or email assessments@education.gov.uk.
Updating your attendance register
If you add a new pupil to the test attendance register during test week, or the following timetable variation week, you must also ensure you have updated your pupil registration data within the ‘Manage pupil registration’ form on the PAG, so that we have a record of their UPN.
Pupils marked on the attendance register as ‘Pupils working below the standard of the tests - B’ should be recorded as ‘Below’ on the PAG.
Pupils marked as ‘Unable to access - U’ and ‘Just arrived - J’ on the attendance register should be recorded as ‘Registered’ on the PAG.
Pupils whose performance cannot be established because they have just arrived in school (code ‘J’)
Pupils should not take the test if your school has not had enough time to assess a pupil’s abilities and determine whether they are working at the standard of the test. You should complete pupil registration for them on the PAG and mark them as ‘J’ (Just arrived) on the test attendance register.
This applies to pupils who have:
- arrived in school during the weeks immediately before the tests
- recently come from a different education system
If you have determined a pupil’s abilities prior to the tests and found that they are not working at the test standard in a subject, you should use the pre-key stage standards or engagement model, as appropriate, to assess them.
If a test is administered to a pupil who has just arrived in school, you should mark the pupil as ‘✓’ (Attended) on the attendance register and return their test script for marking.
Pupils who are working at the standard of the tests but unable to access them (code ‘U’)
Schools should refer to the KS2 tests access arrangements guidance to help pupils who are working at the overall standard of the tests to complete them. If a pupil is working at the standard of the tests but unable to access them, even with appropriate access arrangements, they must be registered on the PAG but should not take the test. You should mark them as ‘U’ (Unable to access) on the test attendance register.
This may apply to pupils who have:
- a disability
- specific medical needs
- spent time in hospital towards the end of the key stage
- been absent from school for an extended period – for example, pupils who were home educated or excluded and need time to adjust to regular school life
- recently experienced, or are experiencing, severe emotional difficulties
Pupils who need access arrangements
Schools should register pupils who need access arrangements for the KS2 tests, regardless of whether they go on to take them.
You must complete pupil registration before making applications or notifications for access arrangements, because these forms will ask you to select the pupil from a drop-down list.
Pupils with English as an additional language
You should ensure pupils with English as an additional language are included in your KS2 pupil registration data, regardless of whether they go on to take the tests.
English tests
Pupils who cannot communicate in English are considered working below the overall standard of the English tests and should not take them. You should use the pre-key stage standards to make a teacher assessment judgement for English reading and writing, providing the pupil is engaged in subject-specific study.
Mathematics tests
To establish a pupil’s abilities in mathematics, teachers and language support staff could work together to translate national curriculum work into the pupil’s preferred language.
If a pupil is working at the standard of the mathematics tests, the school should consider using access arrangements to enable the pupil to take the tests. You can find more information on using written or oral translations in the KS2 access arrangements guidance.
Help and support
We have produced a step-by-step video tutorial on how to complete pupil registration:
Step-by-step video tutorial on how to complete pupil registration.
If you have any further questions, you can contact the national curriculum assessments helpline on 0300 303 3013 or email assessments@education.gov.uk.
Updates to this page
Published 18 February 2015Last updated 13 January 2025 + show all updates
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Updated for the 2024 to 2025 academic year.
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Updated information and video content for the 2024 tests
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Added further clarification to the 'Independent schools' section
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Updated information for the 2023 tests.
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This has been updated for the 2022 test cycle.
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Updated for the 2020 test cycle.
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Updated for the 2019 test cycle.
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Updated for the 2018 test cycle.
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Updated for the 2017 test cycle.
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Updated to reflect 2016 dates and guidance.
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First published.