NAPFA Test for Primary School

What is in the primary school NAPFA test?

Six stations: sit-ups in one minute, the standing broad jump, sit and reach, inclined pull-ups in 30 seconds, the 4 x 10m shuttle run and a 1.6km run-walk. Princess Elizabeth Primary School's PE site describes its tables as the standard for the P4 and P6 NAPFA test, so most children take it twice in primary school.

St Andrew's School (Junior) states that the five stations and the 1.6km should be attempted on the same day, with 2 to 5 minutes of rest allowed between stations. The order and the date are the school's to set, so the PE teacher or the school calendar is the place to check them.

Every primary pupil does inclined pull-ups, boys and girls alike: the body hangs at an angle under a low bar with the feet on the ground, and the reps are counted for 30 seconds.

Full pull-ups only arrive for boys at 15. The 1.6km is four laps of a 400m track. How the six stations work in general, and how NAPFA differs from IPPT, is in the main NAPFA test guide.

Which age row is my child graded on?

The primary tables are set by age and sex, not by school level. St. Hilda's Primary School groups them as a P4 template covering ages 9 to 11 and a P6 template covering ages 11 to 13, which is why age 11 appears on both. A P4 child is usually on the 9, 10 or 11 row and a P6 child on the 11, 12 or 13 row.

Schools can work out a pupil's age differently, so ask the PE teacher which row your child will be read against before you set a target. Reading the wrong row by one year can move a run target by as much as 40 seconds. For a Primary 5 child, that means planning now for the row they will be on in Primary 6.

The tables on this page are St. Hilda's Primary School's published P4 and P6 NAPFA templates, checked 30 October 2026 (details in Sources), so if your child's school hands out a different sheet, train to that.

What 1.6km time does each NAPFA grade need?

To see your child's 1.6km grades, pick their age in the Gold floor table under the next question, which shows these grades with the C and A bands, or tap See the full 1.6km table below for every age, boys first and then girls.

C is the grade Gold needs at every station. The table's last two columns divide the slowest B and C times into four even laps of a 400m track, rounded down to the second, so four even laps finish inside the band.

Two things stand out. The bands get faster almost every year, so a child who ran a C at 10 needs to be quicker to hold it at 12, simply because the table expects more as children grow.

And the gap between a boy's and a girl's A band is a minute at 9 and a minute and a half by 12. Both are reasons to read your own child's row rather than a classmate's.

How does a primary school pupil get NAPFA Gold?

Gold needs two things at once: at least a C on every one of the six stations, and 21 or more points in total, as St. Hilda's awards slide sets out. Silver is at least a D everywhere and 15 points, and Bronze at least an E everywhere and 6 points. One grade below E, an F, rules out every award.

A child with five A grades and one D gets 27 points and Silver, not Gold, because the D breaks the C floor. Fix the weakest station first, then pick up the three spare points where they come cheapest.

For the spare points, the table below gives the A band at all six stations. A child near the top of a C band on two or three stations is often closer to a B there than a parent expects, and a B on three stations is the whole difference between Silver and Gold.

How do the primary NAPFA standards differ for boys and girls?

Every station is banded separately for boys and girls, and the gap widens with age, as the A table above shows. The bands sit closest on sit and reach, the one station where a boy and a girl of the same age share the same A at every age, from over 33cm at 9 to over 41cm at 13.

There the girls' C band even starts a little higher than the boys'. It needs no equipment and a few minutes a day, which makes it a good place for any child to look for a spare point.

How should a child pace the 1.6km run-walk?

The usual mistake is a first lap run far too fast, then a long walk in the third. Even laps are faster overall and feel easier. The 1.6km is four laps of a 400m track, so divide the time you want by four.

A boy of 12 holding a C needs 10:40 or faster, which is four laps of 2:40. The even lap for a B or a C at every age is in the last two columns of the 1.6km table above.

1. 01Practise the lap, not the distanceOn a track, call out the time at the end of each lap so the child learns what the target pace feels like.
2. 02Walking is part of the test's nameIt is a run-walk. A child who cannot yet run all four laps can still make a C by running steadily and walking short, planned stretches, rather than sprinting and stopping.
3. 03Off a trackA park connector with distance markers, or a loop measured once with a phone app, works for practice. The test-day surface may differ, so do one practice on a track if you can.
4. 04The last lap is the one to pushIf there is anything left after three even laps, that is when to use it.

What can a parent do at home in the six weeks before NAPFA?

Three short sessions a week of 20 to 30 minutes, kept playful, done on non-consecutive days. The plan below needs a playground or fitness-corner bar at chest height for the inclined pull-ups, a floor mat, a tape measure and somewhere to run. Swap a session for a game of catching or a swim whenever the child needs a break. Consistency over six weeks matters more than any single session.

Each station has a full technique page, written for secondary students but with the same moves a child uses: the shuttle run turn, the broad jump arm swing and landing, a sit and reach stretching routine and inclined pull-up and sit-up progressions. Use the primary numbers on this page as the targets.

Keep it in proportion. The Health Promotion Board's guideline for ages 7 to 18 is 60 minutes or more of moderate to vigorous activity every day, with muscle and bone strengthening at least three times a week. A child who already plays sport, swims or runs around at recess every day is doing most of the preparation already. The sessions above add the station practice that play does not cover.

Can a Fit Titans coach help a primary school pupil?

For a P6 pupil who has turned 12, yes. Our coaches train children from about 12 years old, with a parent's consent and a parent or another adult at home for every session. That age floor is our own policy. For younger children, play and the parent-led plan above do the job better than a paid coach.

For a 12-year-old, the coach to ask for is Rita, whose profile lists a Youth Fitness certification, the one youth credential on our roster. She covers the Woodlands area (Admiralty) at S$90 a session. If you live elsewhere, ask anyway, and we check which coach will travel to you before you book.

A coach tests all six stations in the first session, reads them against your child's row, and spends the time where the Gold points are, at home, in your condo gym or at a park near you.

Rates start from S$50 a session, each coach publishes their own on our pricing page, and the first session is a paid trial at 10% off. Two siblings or classmates can share a session at the buddy rate. For older children, see personal training for teens and our IPPT and NAPFA coaching.