Sats: KS2 Year 6 reading paper revealed after row over difficulty

Desk Report:

The content of last week's Year 6 Sats reading paper has been published early, after some teachers and parents said it was so tough it left children in tears.

One question asked 10 and 11-year-olds to find a similar word to "eat" in a passage that contained both "consume" and "feeding".

Even staff "had to really think" about the answers, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the Sats were "rigorously trialled".

The test materials and mark schemes were to be published on Monday - but the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) said it was making them available early

"due to public interest in the tests".

BBC News obtained a copy of the paper on Wednesday, so was able to look over the questions before their publication.

Concerns have been raised about its length and complexity, with some parents and teachers reporting that children were unable to finish it.

The paper has fuelled a debate among teachers and parents about the purpose of Sats. In the test, children had one hour to answer 38 illnesses such as stomach bugs, which may cause diarrhoea and vomiting, as well as respiratory, skin, ear and eye infections. Wildlife including fish and insects can also experience kidney issues and die from sewage pollution. questions about three set texts.

Water UK, the body which represents England's nine water and sewage companies, apologised on behalf of the industry for not "acting quickly enough".

Ruth Kelly, the organisation's chair, told BBC News: "We're sorry about the upset and the anger from the fact that there have been overspills of untreated sewage onto beaches and into rivers over the past few years.

"We're sorry that we didn't act sooner, but we get it."

Environment Agency chairman Alan Lovell welcomed the companies' apology but said he wanted to "see action and a clear plan for delivery".

The first was an extract from a story about friends who believe they have come across sheep "rustlers" - a word used in the text, which means someone who steals animals from farms.

Another was an interview about bats in Texas, which was based on a 2016 New York Times article.

The final passage was taken from a book called "The Rise of Wolves".

Three tough questions in the KS2 Sats reading paper

One head teacher identified what she thought were three of the toughest questions in a phone call with BBC News on Wednesday, before she had seen the mark scheme.