Theresa May has proposed a shakeup of the education system that could lead to an expansion of grammar schools across England. Many people object to the categorisation of pupils at age 11 on the basis of an exam. But how would you fare in such a test? Here’s a selection of 11-plus questions from sample tests produced by the educational publisher CGP. (To complete all the questions please view on desktop or mobile browsers rather than the app.)
Maths
Verbal reasoning
(link to solutions at bottom of questions)
1) The number codes for three of these four words are listed in a random order. Work out the code to answer the questions.
DEAR MEAD WARE DRAM
1435 6342 5231
1. Find the code for the word DRAM
2. Find the code for the word REAM
3. Find the word that has the number code 6234
2) The words in the second set follow the same pattern as the words in the first set. Find the missing word to complete the second set.
Example: vile (vet) fact sale (sew) blow
1. road (ramp) poem what (_______) down
2. clip (pile) led drum (_______) see
3. soft (lift) file pest (_______) cope
4. pace (car) rock silk (______) plan
5. pear (maps) mass cork (______) ache
6. shone (over) river glide (______) audit
7. mild (lime) idle rent (______) acre
3) Tilly, Charlie, Sylvia, Norio and Pavle play hopscotch on a grid with the numbers 1-10. Only Tilly and Charlie throw their stones onto even numbers. Norio’s stone lands on a lower number than anyone else’s. Sylvia’s stone lands on 7. No two people throw their stone on the same number. Nobody’s stone lands on the numbers 1, 5 or 10.
If these statements are true, only one of the sentences below must be true. Which one?
A Tilly’s stone lands on number 5
B Pavle’s stone lands on number 9
C Sylvia’s stone lands on a higher number than Charlie’s
D Norio’s stone lands on number 2
E Charlie’s stone lands on number 6
4) Find the pair of letters that completes each sentence in the most sensible way. Use the alphabet to help you.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Example: BN is to EK as HT is to (EW KW EQ KQ EP)
1. PS is to RY as HL is to (NN FR SO JQ JR)
2. BJ is to YQ as IH is to (QT PS NS PW SP)
3. WB is to AJ as SC is to (WK HX WL AG VL)
4. DM is to NW as HK is to (QT PS NS PW SP)
5. PH is to VC as YO is to (DI EI BL TT EJ)
5) Remove one letter from the first word and add it to the second word to make two new words. Do not rearrange the other letters.
Example: steam pot (team) (post)
1. broad cue (____) (____)
2. farce fog (_____) (_____)
3. found tor (_____) (_____)
4. heard ode (_____) (_____)
5. genie run (_____) (_____)
Click here for solutions to the verbal reasoning test
Spelling
In this passage, there are some spelling mistakes. Select the letter which matches the part of the sentence with the mistake. If there’s no mistake, select N.
English
The Crystal Heart
Mi Nuong’s father was an influential Lord. He ruled all of the lands of the Red River and his palace stood tall and majestic on its broad, sloping banks. Yet, Mi Nuong was forlorn and melancholy. Her father kept her locked away at the top of the palace’s tallest tower in order to keep her out of harm’s way. Mi Nuong felt trapped; the only company she had was her maid and her daily routine was always the same. Everyday, she would sit by her window embroidering and look out of her window, gazing sorrowfully down at the waters rushing past far below. Often, she dreamed of being carried away in the fast flowing rapids to distant lands.
One morning, Mi Nuong heard music floating through her open window. She hurried over to see where the sound was coming from. There, on the river below, was a little golden fishing boat. Mi Nuong heard the music rise up from the boat, and caught snatches of a song: “My love is like a blossom in the breeze. My love is like a moonbeam on the waves.”
The music was captivating, drawing Mi Nuong like a flickering candle flame draws the unwary moth. The voice was clear and sweet and Mi Nuong leaned out as far out as she could to try to catch sight of the singer. As the boat bobbed past, she glimpsed the tiny figure of a man stood on the prow with a net. A sudden glimmer of hope lit up in her heart and she felt as if she was floating on air. Perhaps this man had come to release her from the tower. Perhaps he was a Mandarin’s son in disguise; the man she was destined to marry …
Answer these questions about the text that you’ve just read.
Non-verbal reasoning
For each question below there are two figures that are like each other in some way. Find which of the five figures on the right is most like the two figures on the left.
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