{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-national-curriculum-key-stage-4-assessment-arrangements-england-order-2016/article-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-national-curriculum-key-stage-4-assessment-arrangements-england-order-2016/article-3.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2016/476",
  "legislation_title": "The Education (National Curriculum) (Key Stage 4 Assessment Arrangements) (England) Order 2016",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/education-national-curriculum-key-stage-4-assessment-arrangements-england-order-2016",
  "path": "article/3",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "National reference tests",
  "text": "(1) Subject to paragraph (6), the head teacher of a school designated under sub-paragraph (3)(a) must arrange for each pupil to whom this article applies to take a national reference test in either English language or mathematics but not both.\n(2) Subject to paragraph (6), this article applies—\n(a) in the 2016-17 school year and every school year after that;\n(b) to a pupil in the final year of the fourth key stage; and\n(c) if the pupil has been selected by the test supplier by virtue of sub-paragraph (3)(b).\n(3) The test supplier must—\n(a) designate schools from which pupils will be selected to take a national reference test;\n(b) select pupils to take a national reference test from schools which are so designated.\n(4) The test supplier must—\n(a) notify a school which it has designated under sub-paragraph (3)(a) of the fact of its designation in writing within four weeks of that designation;\n(b) notify a school which it has designated under sub-paragraph (3)(a) of the identity of the pupils at that school who have been selected under sub-paragraph (3)(b) in writing within four weeks of that selection.\n(5) The head teacher must provide to the test supplier a list of pupils who are in the final year of the fourth key stage at the school within four weeks of receiving the notification under sub-paragraph (4)(a).\n(6) The head teacher must consider whether each pupil at the school who has been selected under paragraph (3)(b) should take a national reference test, and if the head teacher decides that a pupil should not do so, this article does not apply to that pupil.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "For the definition of school year see section 579 of the Education Act 1996 (c.56)."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/476/article/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T23:24:35.711638+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}