GL, CEM and ISEB: What's the Difference?
7 min read
The three main 11+ exam formats explained side by side — question style, timing, and how to check which one your target schools actually use.
Once you start reading about the 11+, three names come up constantly — GL, CEM, ISEB — often without explanation. They’re different testing providers with genuinely different question styles, and knowing which one your target school uses changes how you should prepare.
A note before we start:exam boards and formats do change between areas and between years, and this guide can’t tell you which one your specific school uses today. Always confirm directly with your local authority’s 11+ page or your target school’s admissions page — use this guide to understand what the differences mean once you know.
GL Assessment
GL Assessment is the most widely used 11+ testing provider across England’s grammar school areas. GL-style papers are typically multiple-choice, machine-marked, and cover some combination of Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning depending on the area. A distinctive feature of GL verbal and non-verbal reasoning papers is the sheer variety of question types within each section — a single paper might mix a dozen different puzzle formats, so familiarity with the format itself (not just the underlying skill) genuinely matters.
CEM-style tests
CEM (historically the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, based at Durham University) set a distinctive style of 11+ paper for a number of years, and although CEM itself stepped back from running 11+ tests, several areas still use CEM-style formats (sometimes via a different current provider). The hallmark of CEM-style papers is that Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning are often blended into the English and Maths sections rather than tested as separate standalone papers, and vocabulary tends to be pitched deliberately broad — including some words above the standard Year 5/6 curriculum — which is why wide reading matters even more for this format than for GL-style papers.
ISEB (Common Pre-Test)
ISEB — the Independent Schools Examinations Board — runs the Common Pre-Test, an adaptive, computer-based assessment increasingly used by selective independent schools as a shared first stage of admissions (a child can often sit it once and have the result shared with several schools they apply to). It covers English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, is adaptive (questions get harder or easier based on how the child is doing), and is usually sat earlier than grammar-school 11+ tests — often in the November or December of Year 6, sometimes even earlier for some schools. Because it’s on-screen and adaptive, comfort with computer-based testing (mouse/keyboard navigation, not just the question content) is worth practising specifically.
Side by side
| Format | Typical use | Style | Sections |
|---|---|---|---|
| GL Assessment | Many grammar school areas | Multiple-choice, paper or on-screen | Maths, English, VR, NVR (varies by area) |
| CEM-style | Some grammar school areas | Mixed format, wide vocabulary | VR/NVR blended into Maths & English |
| ISEB Pre-Test | Selective independent schools | Adaptive, on-screen | Maths, English, VR, NVR |
What this means for preparation
The underlying skills — number fluency, comprehension, pattern recognition, vocabulary — matter whichever format your target school uses, and practice in one format transfers meaningfully to another. What’s worth tailoring once you know the format is timing and presentation: how many question types to expect per section, whether reasoning is a standalone paper or blended in, and whether the test is on paper or on-screen. Confirm the format early, then weight your practice accordingly rather than guessing.
For a broader look at what the 11+ covers overall, see What Is the 11+? A Parent’s Guide.
Common questions
How do I find out which board my target school uses?
Check the admissions page of your target school or your local authority's 11+ admissions page directly — this is the only reliable source, since some areas have changed provider in recent years and generic guides (including this one) can go out of date.
Can a child prepare for more than one format?
Yes, and many do — the underlying skills (maths fluency, comprehension, reasoning) transfer across formats. What changes is the amount of extra practice needed on format-specific things like timing pressure or on-screen navigation.
Is one format easier than another?
Not inherently — they test overlapping skills in different packaging. A child who finds one format more comfortable usually does so because of how the questions are presented, not because the underlying difficulty is lower.