For years, the first question parents asked about the 11+ was "GL or CEM?" The answer decided which books to buy, which question types to practise and how much to worry about time pressure. In 2026 the question still gets asked, but the answer has changed. CEM's paper 11+ has disappeared from grammar schools, GL Assessment now sets the test in most areas, and a few schools have moved to newer providers or write their own papers.
This guide explains what changed, what each current test looks like, and how to find out which one your child will actually sit.
CEM, the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, began at Durham University and has been part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment since 2019. For about a decade its 11+ was used by grammar schools in areas such as Birmingham, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It had a reputation for being harder to tutor for: mixed papers, a heavy vocabulary load and more questions than most children could finish.
Over 2022 and 2023, CEM stopped supplying a paper 11+ and moved to computer-based testing. Running an on-screen test for thousands of children at once was out of reach for most state grammar schools, so the areas that used CEM switched providers. The King Edward VI grammar schools in Birmingham moved to GL Assessment from the test sat in September 2022, and Slough followed in September 2023. Buckinghamshire's Secondary Transfer Test is now set by GL Assessment too.
CEM's assessment lives on as Cambridge Select Insight (previously CEM Select), a computer-based test used mainly by independent schools. So if you see "CEM-style" practice materials for sale, check whether your target school uses anything like it before you buy.
GL Assessment sets the 11+ for most grammar school areas in England, including Kent, Buckinghamshire and Birmingham. It isn't one fixed paper. GL builds a test for each area or consortium, so the subjects, number of papers and timings vary from place to place.
Because the question types are predictable, GL tests respond well to steady, systematic practice. Once a child recognises each format, most of the remaining work is accuracy and pace.
Most GL areas report age-standardised scores, which adjust for the fact that a child born in September has had almost a year longer to learn than one born in August. The qualifying score is set locally, and in some areas places then go by rank or distance among the children who qualify.
FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise) is a not-for-profit set up by Reading School, which writes an 11+ for grammar schools. It's used by Reading School, Chelmsford County High School for Girls, Colyton Grammar School and several schools in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and more have announced plans to adopt it for future entry years.
FSCE papers are based on the Key Stage 2 national curriculum, English and maths above all, up to the end of Year 5. Instead of stand-alone verbal and non-verbal reasoning sections, they tend to test reasoning through curriculum content, mixing multiple-choice questions with short written answers, and some schools add a creative writing task. Formats aren't published in the same detail as GL's, so the schools' own familiarisation material matters even more.
Consortium papers are another route. The Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE), for example, writes its own English and maths papers for its member grammar schools, each lasting 60 minutes.
| GL Assessment | FSCE | Cambridge Select Insight (formerly CEM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who uses it | Most grammar school areas | A growing group of grammar schools | Mainly independent schools |
| Format | Paper, mostly multiple choice | Paper, multiple choice and written answers | On screen |
| Content | English, maths, VR, NVR in varying mixes | KS2 English and maths, reasoning through content | Reasoning, maths and English skills |
| Predictability | High, with well-known question types | Lower, with limited published detail | Limited published detail |
| Best preparation | Systematic practice of each question type, then timed papers | Secure KS2 English and maths, wide reading, written answers | Broad skills and comfort working on screen |
Don't rely on what a friend's child sat a few years ago, because providers have changed and may change again. Instead:
While you're there, note the key dates. Registration for grammar school tests usually closes in the spring or summer of Year 5. The test itself is most often in September of Year 6, although some schools are moving theirs to the summer term of Year 5, and results normally arrive in October, before the national deadline for secondary school applications on 31 October. Missing registration is the one mistake no amount of preparation can fix.
Work through each question type systematically, starting untimed and building speed later. Use the area's familiarisation booklet early so the answer sheet and layout feel normal. From the spring of Year 5, add timed papers every week or two and review mistakes together. Verbal reasoning deserves steady attention because it's rarely taught in school, and a strong vocabulary underpins it, so keep your child reading widely.
Make sure Year 5 English and maths are secure, especially arithmetic, fractions, grammar and punctuation. Practise explaining answers in writing, not just picking options, and read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction to build vocabulary and comprehension. Reasoning practice still helps with problem-solving, but it's less central than it is for a GL test.
Check whether the school uses Cambridge Select Insight, the ISEB Common Pre-Tests or its own papers, and whether the test is on screen. Practice with typing, on-screen questions and timed sections helps children feel at ease on the day.
"Practise CEM-style papers just in case." For state grammar schools this no longer makes sense, because none of them use the old CEM paper. Unless your target independent school uses Cambridge Select Insight, time is better spent on the format your child will actually meet.
"GL is easy because it's predictable." Predictable isn't the same as easy. Popular grammar schools are heavily oversubscribed, so the scores needed for a place can be high, and small slips under time pressure add up. Accuracy and pace still matter.
"You can buy the real past papers." Test providers rarely release real past papers. What you'll find are familiarisation booklets from schools and consortia, plus publishers' practice papers written in the same style. Use the official familiarisation material first, because it shows the real layout and answer sheet.
"Reasoning practice only matters for GL." Even where a test has no separate reasoning paper, the habits that reasoning practice builds, such as spotting patterns, reading instructions carefully and checking an answer against the question, help across English and maths.
It's easy to treat the choice of test as the thing that decides everything. In reality, the skills underneath are the same everywhere: a wide vocabulary, confident arithmetic, careful reading and the ability to think clearly under a bit of time pressure. Find out which test your child will sit, shape your practice around its format, and put the rest of your energy into keeping your child curious, rested and confident. For a broader plan, see our 11+ preparation guide for 2026.