End of Year Report Comments for Year 6 — Examples and Tips

Year 6 reports carry a particular weight. They're often the last formal written assessment parents receive from primary school, and they coincide with SATs, secondary transition, and the end of a significant chapter in a child's education. Getting the tone right matters.

This article provides example comments across subjects and attainment levels, along with guidance on the specific challenges of Year 6 report writing.

General Principles for Year 6 Reports

Before diving into examples, a few principles worth keeping in mind:

• Celebrate the journey — Year 6 reports should reflect on growth across the whole of Key Stage 2, not just the final term
• Reference SATs appropriately — Mention them where relevant but don't let them dominate. SATs are one measure, not the whole picture
• Look forward — Include language about readiness for secondary school and the skills they're taking with them
• Be personal — This is possibly the last report from a teacher who has known this child closely. Make it count

English — Reading and Writing

Working at Expected Standard

"Fatima has developed into a confident and thoughtful reader this year. She engages well with a range of fiction and non-fiction texts and is able to retrieve information, make inferences, and explain her reasoning with clear reference to the text. In her SATs reading paper, Fatima demonstrated a secure understanding of the skills she has developed throughout Key Stage 2. In writing, she consistently organises her work into clear paragraphs, uses a range of punctuation accurately, and is beginning to adapt her tone effectively for different audiences. A target for Year 7 would be to experiment with more ambitious vocabulary choices to elevate her writing further."

Working at Greater Depth

"Oliver is an exceptionally accomplished reader who analyses texts with genuine insight and maturity. He draws perceptive connections between books and can articulate an author's intent with impressive clarity. His writing is a real strength — he crafts sentences with precision, deploys a wide vocabulary with confidence, and structures his work to engage the reader from the opening line. Oliver's SATs results reflect the outstanding effort he has put in across the year. He is more than ready for the challenges of secondary English."

Working Towards Expected Standard

"Jasmine has worked hard on her reading this year and has made encouraging progress, particularly with her decoding and fluency. She is more confident tackling longer texts and is developing her ability to find information and answer retrieval questions. In writing, Jasmine is producing well-structured pieces with increasing independence, and she is beginning to use a wider range of conjunctions and sentence openers. As she moves to Year 7, continuing to read regularly at home will be key to building on this strong foundation."

Mathematics

Working at Expected Standard

"Callum has shown consistent effort and solid understanding across all areas of the maths curriculum this year. He is confident with the four operations, including long division and multiplication of larger numbers, and has a good grasp of fractions, decimals, and percentages. His reasoning skills have improved noticeably — he now explains his methods clearly and can identify errors in worked examples. Callum approached his SATs with a calm and focused attitude that was a credit to him. Moving forward, he should continue to practise applying his skills to multi-step word problems."

Working at Greater Depth

"Zara is a natural mathematician who approaches challenges with curiosity and persistence. She excels in algebraic thinking and can generalise patterns with confidence. Her ability to reason abstractly and explain her thinking to others is exceptional — she has been a fantastic maths ambassador in class this year. Zara's SATs performance reflected her deep understanding of mathematical concepts. Secondary school will offer her exciting new topics to explore, and she has every skill she needs to thrive."

Working Towards Expected Standard

"Ethan has made pleasing progress in maths this year, particularly in his understanding of place value and his recall of multiplication facts. He has grown in confidence when tackling calculations and is increasingly willing to have a go at problems that he initially finds tricky. Ethan benefits from concrete resources and visual representations to support his understanding, and this is something his new teachers should be aware of. He should be proud of the resilience he has shown this year."

Science

"Aisha has been an enthusiastic and curious scientist throughout Year 6. She has a strong understanding of the topics covered this year, including evolution and inheritance, light, and electricity. Her practical skills are excellent — she plans fair tests methodically, records results accurately, and draws conclusions supported by evidence. Aisha asks thoughtful questions and is not afraid to challenge ideas, which is exactly the attitude that will serve her well in secondary science."

"Marcus has developed a good understanding of scientific concepts this year, with a particular interest in the electricity topic where he designed and built circuits with real skill. He is becoming more confident with scientific vocabulary and is learning to write up experiments with greater detail. A focus for Year 7 will be developing his ability to explain results using scientific reasoning rather than simply describing what happened."

Personal Development and General Comments

Year 6 general comments are where you can truly personalise the report and reflect on the child as a whole person. These are often the paragraphs that parents treasure most.

"Isabelle has been an outstanding member of our school community throughout her time in primary school, and this year has been no exception. As Head Girl, she has carried out her responsibilities with maturity, kindness, and quiet determination. She is a role model to younger pupils and a supportive friend to her peers. Isabelle has navigated the pressures of Year 6 — SATs preparation, the school production, and the excitement and uncertainty of moving to secondary school — with characteristic grace. She leaves us ready for every challenge ahead, and we could not be more proud of the young person she has become."

"Dylan has grown enormously this year, both academically and personally. At the start of Year 6, he found it difficult to manage his frustration when things didn't go as planned. Over the course of the year, he has developed strategies that help him stay calm, ask for help, and try again — and the difference has been remarkable. He has formed strong friendships, contributed thoughtfully in class discussions, and shown real leadership during group work. Dylan is ready for secondary school, and he should feel very proud of how far he has come."

SATs — Getting the Tone Right

SATs references should be honest but proportionate. Avoid reducing a child to a score. Some useful phrases:

• "Her SATs results were a fair reflection of the hard work she has put in this year"
• "He approached his SATs calmly and with real determination"
• "The SATs gave him an opportunity to demonstrate the progress he has made"
• "While SATs are just one measure, Poppy's results showed her secure understanding of the curriculum"

For children who may not have achieved the results they hoped for:

• "SATs are one snapshot in time and do not capture the full picture of what Kai is capable of"
• "Although the SATs were challenging, they do not diminish the significant progress Maisie has made"

Secondary Transition Language

End your Year 6 reports with forward-looking language that builds confidence about the move to secondary school:

• "She has all the skills and qualities she needs to make an excellent start at secondary school"
• "We are confident that he will settle quickly and make the most of the opportunities ahead"
• "The independence and resilience she has shown this year will serve her brilliantly in Year 7"
• "He leaves primary school as a kind, capable, and determined young person — his new school is lucky to have him"

Save Time Without Sacrificing Quality

Writing 30 or more Year 6 reports to this standard is a significant undertaking. If you're looking for a way to create high-quality, personalised comments more efficiently, Reportify can help. It understands the Year 6 context — SATs, secondary transition, and the full range of attainment levels — and generates curriculum-aligned comments in proper British English that you can edit and personalise to fit each child.

These are the reports that parents keep. Take the time to make them meaningful — and don't be afraid to use the tools available to help you do it well.