What’s the difference between CEM, GL, Quest & ISEB?

There are four key entrance exam providers you'll need to know if you're going through the admissions process for selective schools.

The exam boards you will most often hear mentioned are GL, CEM, Quest Admissions and ISEB. These are the largest providers of selective secondary school entrance exams in England.

All entrance exams are designed to assess a child’s attainment and potential, helping to determine whether they are likely to thrive at the school. However, there are key differences in:

• Which schools they’re used for
• Which topics are covered and the level of challenge
• The exam format and structure

Let's explore the differences between the main exam boards.

What they’re used for

Grammar schools

GL Assessments provide exams for state grammar school entrance.

CEM introduced their 11 plus papers later as an alternative. In late 2022, CEM announced they were switching to online exams and no longer providing standard 11 plus exams.

As such, most grammar schools are switching to GL for the 2023–24 admissions season and beyond. If you're applying for your child to enter Year 7 in September 2024 or later, they will likely be taking a GL exam.

Independent schools

Quest Admissions is used for entrance exams by 150+ selective independent schools. It's an adaptive, online assessment that tests not only what pupils know, but how they think too.

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is used for entrance assessments by independent schools (private schools). It is currently used by over 70 schools across England for all or part of their 11 plus and 13 plus entry processes.

To complicate things slightly, ISEB also administers the Common Entrance test which is used by around 160 independent schools for 13 plus entry and streaming purposes. A handful of independent schools use adapted Common Entrance papers for 11 plus entry, too.

And to complicate things further, CEM also administers the CEM Select test which is used by about 40 independent schools as part of their admissions process.

When they take place

Grammar school 11 plus

Grammar school 11 plus exams take place in September of Year 6. Most local authorities set a specific date when children sit the 11 plus exam for all grammar schools in the region.

If a child is applying to multiple schools within the same grammar school consortium, they will only have to sit the test once, and their results will be shared with all relevant schools.

Independent school entrance exams

Independent entrance exams are usually taken between October to January of Year 6, although this depends on each school's process.

What is assessed

The key subjects covered on grammar school and independent school entrance exams are broadly the same:

• English
• Maths
• Verbal reasoning
• Non-verbal reasoning

Similar skills are assessed, with differences to the structure and format of the tests:

GL 11 plus

• Covers English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning

• English and maths national curriculum objectives from Year 5 and 6

• English paper includes comprehension and SPaG (spelling, punctuation and grammar)

CEM Select

• Covers English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning

• English is included within the verbal reasoning section

Quest Admissions

Quest Admissions is unique as it's split into two parts. Schools can choose which subjects they want to cover in their test from the following:

• Part 1: covers a combination of English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning

• Part 2: covers creative comprehension, and puzzles and problem-solving

• Schools can set their own bespoke exam testing a combination of subjects

ISEB Common Pre-Test

• Covers English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning

• English and maths national curriculum objectives from Year 5 only

• English section is split into comprehension and SPaG

ISEB Common Entrance

The ISEB Common Entrance differs the most from the other exams in its content:

• No verbal or non-verbal reasoning

• 3 compulsory papers in English, maths and science

• 13 plus candidates may be required to sit additional papers (e.g. geography, history, classics, modern languages, theology, philosophy and religion)

Exam structure

There are key differences in the timings and structure of the papers.

Quest Admissions

Quest Admissions tests will vary from school to school. Check in with your target schools to understand what their test will consist of.

Many schools will test the four subjects that make up part 1, with some choosing to further test part 2 subjects.

Part 1 includes:

• English
• Maths
• Verbal reasoning
• Non-verbal reasoning

GL 11 plus

GL exams consist of papers separated by subject. Schools can choose a combination of the available papers, and some schools combine multiple subjects into a single paper.

Aside from these school-specific variations, the ‘standard’ GL formats as found in their official practice papers are:

• English: 49–56 questions in 50 minutes
• Maths: 50 questions in 50 minutes
• Verbal reasoning: 80 questions in 60 minutes
• Non-verbal reasoning: 80 questions in 60 minutes

CEM Select

CEM Select exams are split into six components of 20–30 questions each, with approximately one hour total allocated:

• Comprehension
• Anagrams
• Missing words
• Shuffled sentences
• General mathematics
• Pictures

(Learn more)

ISEB

The ISEB Common Pre-Test consists of four separate tests which can be taken separately or one after another. The exam takes a total of 2 hours 15 minutes. The timings of each test are:

• English: 40 minutes
• Maths: 40 minutes
• Verbal reasoning: 25 minutes
• Non-verbal reasoning: 30 minutes

Candidates will see as many questions as they have time for.

Exam format

GL 11 plus

GL 11 plus exams are traditional exams taken on paper. Children are given a test booklet with a separate answer sheet. Answer formats are a combination of multiple choice and ‘standard format’ which requires the student to write their answer in a small box.

The answers are marked by computers and leave no margin for human interpretation, so children should practise writing their answers clearly on the separate answer sheet.

CEM Select

CEM Select is an online computer-based assessment, with a combination of multiple-choice, drag and drop, and auto-complete question styles (learn more).

Quest Admissions

Quest Admissions is an online exam taken on a computer at the student’s own school (if the school is a registered testing centre) or the school the student is applying to. Some of the content is adaptive, meaning it gets harder depending on the child's answers.

ISEB

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online exam taken on a computer at the student’s own school (if the school is a registered testing centre) or the school the student is applying to. The answer format is multiple-choice only.