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Officially Unofficial MTC

Assess your year 4s' MTC-readiness under test conditions

Jen Pierce avatar
Written by Jen Pierce
Updated over a month ago

Officially Unofficial MTC: Autumn, Spring and Summer Editions.

As part of our MTC 2024-2025 package, we're continuing with the facility for you to carry out mock three MTCs in semi-test conditions. That's one OUMTC per term!

If your school wishes to take to part in them then you have to opt-in via the "OUMTC Setup" tab within the MTC Hub. You can opt-in from September 2024.

Note: If you are already opted in last year then you do not have to opt in again.

What are OUMTCs?

When are they taking place?

🍂 OUMTC Autumn Edition: The Autumn Edition will kick off the new academic year and can be enabled for pupils to do at any point from (and including) the 30th September- 18th October 2024.

🌷 OUMTC Spring Edition: The Spring Edition can be enabled for pupils to do at any point from (and including) the 13th January to 31st January 2025.

🌞 OUMTC Summer Edition: The Summer Edition can be enabled for pupils to do at any point from (and including) the 28th April to 16th May 2025.

You choose when you are ready for pupils to participate during that window by heading to MTC Hub > OUMTC Setup > Turn pupil's OUMTC Status to 'On'.


Important device information:

The OUMTC can only be completed on a web browser (on any device). It can not be completed via the TT Rock Stars app.


How it works

  • You opt your school in if you want your pupils to do it by heading to the MTC Hub

  • Click OUMTC Setup and select Enrol My School.

  • Check the Year 4 pupil list is correct, unenrolling any pupils you do not wish to take part. Assign access arrangements for those eligible using the toggle.

  • Once the OUMTC three week window opens, you can switch the OUMTC on for pupils either individually or in groups via the OUMTC Setup tab within the MTC Hub.

  • Pupils log in and are taken through three warm-up questions and then one full Soundcheck game.

  • Their score goes towards the school's average.

  • After the OUMTC closes you'll be able to see your Local Authority's average and the national average in the School Results tab within the MTC Hub.

Important: to take part, pupils must be in Year 4. You can check that pupils are correctly assigned to their year groups in the Account > Classes area.


Frequently asked questions

My year 4 students are not showing in the OUMTC list. How do I change this?

If students from the wrong year groups are showing then they'll need to be correctly assigned on the Classes page. Once it's sorted there, it'll be fixed on the OUMTC enrollment page.

To fix this:

  1. Go to Account (bottom left) > Classes (or click here)

  2. Tick the relevant pupils or classes and press Update (at the top) >Set Yeargroup> Year

  3. Set the correct year group for all students.

Now go back to the OUMTC Setup page and the correct students should be showing.

What would pupils do exactly?

The pupil side of things has been designed to mimic the MTC. When they login they will see Baz Wynter asking for some help with doing the Soundcheck because he’s running late. They’ll click through a conversation, practice with three warm-up questions – that only really serves to get them in the mindset and reminds them of the format – then back to Baz to complete the Soundcheck game. The results of the Soundcheck game are taken as their Officially Unofficial score. Once the game is complete, they’ll be thanked and returned to the main Play page. This is what it looks like:

When will pupils see all this exactly?

You are in control and decide when the pupils can start the OUMTC. To set up access for the OUMTC, visit the OUMTC Setup tab within the MTC Hub. If your school is not enrolled, you will need to click Enrol my school.

Next, check if the correct pupils are shown on the “Enrolled pupils” list and add/unenrol pupils if necessary. They must be in Year 4 to take part.

Once the OUMTC starts, you can turn the OUMTC ‘On’ for your class or individual pupils using the OFF/ON toggle. When you switch the toggle to “ON”, the pupils will be taken through the steps to complete their OUMTC at next login.

In summary: enrol your school > check pupils are on the enrolled list > turn the OUMTC on within the date window. All pupils have to do at that point is log in and follow the steps. They don't need to go anywhere in particular.

What happens once pupils have done it?

When a pupil completes the Soundcheck they can use the rest of TT Rock Stars as usual. You’ll be able to view their results as they come in on the Pupil Results tab (only visible once you opt in).

When all the enrolled pupils have completed their game, nothing special happens but you now have your school average score and the % who got 25/25.

After the OUTMC closes, you’ll be able to view the National and Local Authority averages too in the School Results tab within the MTC Hub.

Who can see the data?

Pupils can see their score in their usual Soundcheck history. You and colleagues can see the pupil results and you’ll be able to see an average for the LA and an average for the country. You won’t see other schools’ averages though.

Your local authority can’t see any of the data, nor will it be shared with them. The Department for Education can’t see any of the data, nor will it be shared with them.

So it’s just you and your colleagues who can see your school’s results.

So other schools can’t see what we got?

No. In no way can another school see what another school got. Not even your average.

Will they be stressful for the pupils?

We think not – it’s just a few practice questions then one Soundcheck game that they’re guided through – but you’ll know your pupils best. There are things you can do to minimise their anxiety, principally not to overstate the importance. This isn’t a high stakes test for them or for you so in your messaging to parents/carers and pupils, keep it low key.

Something like "we're planning ahead for delivery of times tables next year and hope to capture a record of where the year 4s are at now."

You can include "We will create a quiet environment for year 4 pupils to login to TT Rock Stars and concentrate for 5 minutes on [insert date here]. They will be guided through two Soundcheck games and that’s it. The first one is a warm-up but they should give both of them your best shot."

What’s the point of doing the Officially Unofficial MTCs?

We think it would be relatively useful to you to have a sense of how your year 4s would perform on the MTC if they did it in October, January and April. We can’t recreate the conditions but nonetheless, if we dedicate a 3-week window for them and somewhat standardise the process for pupils it can still be more of a thing than if each school were to simply say "Right, play some Soundcheck games."

We couldn’t provide LA and national data if every school did it on their own terms, which would immediately rule out comparison data. Conversely, if all TTRS schools do it then you've got some fairly robust data from which to draw your own conclusions.

What if our school doesn’t want to take part?

We’ve designed it in such that you don’t need to take any action if taking part in the Officially Unofficial MTC isn’t right for your school. That is to say, by default, all schools are opted out. Schools that do want to take part need to opt in by heading to the MTC Hub.

Can we control when pupils can and can't do the two Soundcheck games?

Yes, during the date windows for both OUMTCs, you can turn the OUMTC 'On' or 'Off' for individual pupils. We suggest only turning it 'On' when you're ready for that pupil to do it in school. Once the pupil has completed the OUMTC, the OUMTC status will be greyed out and the pupil score will appear.

In addition, the OUMTC will only appear during school hours. As default these will be 8:30am to 3:30pm but can be amended via your School Settings.

Is it possible for pupils not in year 4 to do the OUMTC?

To make this a valid data gathering exercise on your year 4s and to be able to compare to Local Authority and National averages, the OUMTC is only for year 4s. Remember that you can always ask classes to play in Soundcheck at any time.

What Access Arrangements are possible?

As with the real MTC, the access arrangements include: changing the colour scheme (pupils control that themselves before the OUMTC in their Settings) and being able to press 'Next' in between each question rather than it auto-advancing. The 'Next' feature is controlled by you and you can enable for each eligible child once you get to the OUMTC Setup tab with the MTC Hub.


Remind me the steps I need to take

  1. Opt in on the OUMTC Setup tab within the MTC Hub.

  2. Make sure all your Year 4 pupils are in the enrolled pupils list

  3. With colleagues, agree the date(s) on which the pupils will complete the OUMTC.

  4. Inform parents as necessary.

  5. On the agreed date, toggle ‘On’ for the individual pupils via the OUMTC Setup tab on the MTC Hub taking part on that date/ time and get the pupils logged in.

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