Step-Up to SATS Year 3

The second CD-ROM allows children to practice their literacy and numerical skills by entering the English or the Maths space station, each of which is divided into three areas. The Learning Capsule consolidates work that is carried out as part of the Year 3 curriculum at school. Children can either choose which exercises to carry out or Adi, who takes into account their progress, can guide them. The teaching point is explained and children are given tips if they get the answer wrong. Children can also look at multimedia documents and animated lessons if they need further explanations. Exercises include work on all areas of the English and Maths curriculum, for example: punctuation, vocabulary, conjunctions, common nouns, addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. Children and parents can keep track of how they are doing by looking at the results sheets. As a reward, children are able to "buy" games to play when they have scored enough points.

The Teaching Capsule provides children with challenges against the clock and memory games. This capsule is not quite as well matched as the Learning Capsule to the Year 3 curriculum, as some of the questions are a little easy, but children would really enjoy trying to beat the clock.

The Resource Capsule gives excellent explanations of all the areas covered on these CD-ROMs, for example, what synonyms are and how pieces of writing can be improved. This is an invaluable resource for children and for parents who have forgotten what a synonym is!

Step-up to SATs Year 3 would be an excellent buy for any Year 3 child (7-8 years old) and would probably keep them busy for the whole year. It is packed with a very good range of educational and fun activities. --Amanda York

This is a comprehensive study program for the full school year. It fully supports the national curriculum for English and Maths through a unique one-to-one tutoring system. Step-Up to STATS includes over 2000 questions and over 200 exercises, developed together with teachers and education specialists, and complemented with revision and research tools including a glossary, encyclopaedia files, and interactive dictation exercises.