13+ exam papers private school entrance and 11+ pretests

Our focus on on the 11+ PreTests published by GL Assessment and by ISEB.

11+ PreTests GL Assessment

FIND OUT HERE whether the senior schools you are considering uses ISEB’s Common Pretests.

If not, does it use GL Assessment pre-tests?

The GL Assessment PreTest is taken at ages 11 and 12. Hence, GL Assessment’s assessment is termed a Pre-Test which is

Age-standardized.
Measuring ability and attainment.
For Year 6 / 7 pupils. Pre-Tests are commissioned
A multiple- choice GL Assessment.
An adaptive assessment. This means that there is a GL Assessment Pre-Test item bank and algorithms designed to:
Offers each 11+ pupil a randomised order of questions. This helps the publisher GL Assessment to maintain the integrity of the 11+ answers. Otherwise the 11+ exam could quickly become compromised.
GL Assessment’s pre-test 11 plus questions may become more difficult reflecting individual pupil abilities (on each GL Assessment Pre-Test subject).

The 2.5 hour admin time is subdivided into the following subjects for the GL Assessment Pre-Test:

Private school applicants also often take the Independent Schools Examinations Board (ISEB) Common Pre-Test on a computer at school.

This is how the ISEB Pre-test works:

Prep schools have their own arrangements for the administration of the Pre-Test, with candidates encouraged to sit the test between 1st October and 1st February of Year 6. It is important to note that the test is age-standardized and candidates are therefore at no disadvantage if they sit the exam earlier, rather than later.
If your son or daughter is offered a senior school place after completing these tests, they will normally still be required to sit the Common Entrance examinations in Year 8.
Senior schools will inform parents if they use the Common Pre-Tests and will register the candidates. Parents do not need to register their children for the Common Pre-Tests.
Children applying to multiple schools using the Common Pre-Test will only take one test per academic year.
Those who successfully pass the pretest will be called back to sit a second-round assessment; this is certainly the case for most of the competitive London day schools and well-regarded boarding schools. Some schools solely use the pretest as their entry assessment criteria and do not have a second round.

The best way to prepare for private school entrance exams is by using past papers. Firstly, sitting an entrance exam is stressful. If your child knows to expect, they will be a lot calmer on the big day. This will allow them to work to the best of their ability.
Finally, taking past papers will reveal the types of questions your child consistently gets wrong. By focusing on common mistakes, you can target your child’s practice and make the best use of his or her preparation time.
Private school entrance exams are as unique as the schools setting them.
Difficulty levels will vary, as will the types of questions featured. However, the majority of private school entrance exams test children on Maths and English/verbal ability.
The MATHS part of a private school entrance exam could cover a very wide range of Maths entrance exam topics. The majority of private school Maths entrance exams include Number, Measures, Algebra, Indices.
Most private schools provide examples of past papers to prospective applicants. Once you’ve identified the format of the entrance exam your child will be sitting, use similar past papers to give your child further practice.

- 25 minutes for the English section.
- , 50 minutes for the Maths section.
- 32 minutes for the Non-verbal reasoning section.
- And the remaining 36 minutes for the verbal reasoning section.

Students can take the tests together or separately.

Overseas candidates can take the exam at the testing centres accepted by the senior schools.

11+ PreTests GL Assessment