NATS Stage 4 practical exercise
NATS Stage 4 is a practical exercise on a simulated section of airspace, run over Teams or at Whiteley across a series of short runs with feedback between them.
Stage 4 is the final assessment stage: a practical exercise delivered virtually through Microsoft Teams or face to face at NATS's Whiteley office. It runs on a secure digital-twin platform, and it is the closest thing in selection to the actual job.
What happens
- You are briefed on the task, the rules and what you are being asked to achieve.
- You manage a simulated section of airspace in real time.
- You are asked to verbalise your reasoning as you work.
- You complete a series of short runs rather than one long one.
- You get assessor feedback between runs, and are expected to act on it.
The thing most candidates miss
NATS lists what it assesses: safety, efficiency, task completion, situational awareness, communication, problem-solving — and learning potential.
That last one changes how you should approach it. The exercise is structured as multiple short runs with feedback in between precisely so that assessors can see whether you improve when corrected. A candidate who performs moderately on run one and visibly better on run three is demonstrating exactly what is being looked for. A candidate who performs identically each time, however competently, is not.
So the preparation is not only "get good at the task". It is: take a correction, apply it immediately and visibly, and say what you are changing and why. That is a rehearsable skill and almost nobody rehearses it.
Verbalising your reasoning
Being asked to think aloud while concentrating is genuinely awkward the first time. Practise narrating your decisions during any timed task — what you are prioritising, what you are watching, why you chose this option over that one. Assessors cannot score reasoning they cannot hear.
Safety and efficiency together
Both are assessed. A run that is perfectly safe but achieves nothing is not a good run, and neither is a fast one that loses separation. The balance between them is the judgement being tested.
What is not published
NATS does not disclose task rules, scenarios, performance thresholds, scoring formulas or disqualification criteria. Passing Stage 4 may lead to a conditional offer, which remains subject to medical clearance and security screening and does not guarantee an immediate course date.
Try a real item
Written to the same standard as the live tests — same format, same difficulty, and where it matters, the same trap that catches people in the real thing. Pick an answer to see the reasoning.
Practical Exercise — Radar
A radar scope with a bearing ring and range rings. You direct traffic by giving headings — 000 is north, clockwise — routing aircraft through gates in sequence while keeping them clear of danger areas and unknown traffic.
NATS Stage 4 runs this kind of work sample across a series of short runs with assessor feedback between them, because it is explicitly assessing learning potential — whether you improve when corrected. Practise it more than once in a sitting and change something deliberately each time.
Try itPractise what this guide covers
These are live now. Reading about a timed test is not the same as sitting one.
Common questions
Where does NATS Stage 4 take place?
Either virtually through Microsoft Teams or face to face at NATS's Whiteley office.
What does NATS Stage 4 assess?
Safety, efficiency, task completion, situational awareness, communication, problem-solving and learning potential — how well you adapt when corrected.
Why are there several short runs instead of one long one?
So assessors can give feedback between runs and see whether you apply it. Improvement across runs is part of what is being measured.
Keep reading
Last updated 2026-09-03. ATC Ready is an independent practice tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or associated with NATS Holdings, EUROCONTROL, the Federal Aviation Administration, NAV CANADA or any other air navigation service provider or testing authority. Always confirm current details on the provider's own recruitment pages.