Which schools use the ISEB Pre-Tests?

What the Pre-Test covers

ISEB describes the Common Pre-Test as an adaptive, computer-based assessment covering English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning. ‘Adaptive’ means the difficulty of later questions responds to how your child answers earlier ones, so two children sitting the same test can meet a different mix of questions depending on how they’re doing.

The mix of subjects is closer to a grammar-school 11+ than to a traditional school exam: English and maths alongside verbal and non-verbal reasoning in one sitting, rather than separate papers on separate days. There’s no science component at this stage, unlike ISEB’s Common Entrance exam.

The Pre-Test and Common Entrance are different things. Common Entrance is a separate, later assessment some schools use, sat in Year 8 for 13+ entry and testing a wider range of subjects. The Pre-Test is the earlier screening stage, and not every school that uses one also uses the other.

How it differs from a grammar-school test

A GL-style grammar-school paper is set once, on paper or online, for everyone applying to that consortium or area in a given year. The ISEB Pre-Test works differently: parents register directly with ISEB through its Guardian Portal, and once your child has sat the test the result is shared, using the child’s Applicant ID, with every ISEB member school on their application list. There’s often no need to sit it more than once.

It’s also less tied to a single fixed paper than a GL exam. Because it’s adaptive and draws on a large question bank, useful practice means breadth across all four sections rather than mastery of one past paper.

Who sets it, and when

Many senior independent schools use the Common Pre-Test for both 11+ and 13+ entry, though not all of them, and not always for the same subjects at each stage. It’s typically sat well before the point of entry, ahead of interviews or other parts of a school’s admissions process.

A Pre-Test score is usually one part of a wider admissions process. Interviews, a current school reference and, for some schools, an assessment day still follow, so a strong Pre-Test result takes your child to the next stage rather than deciding the outcome on its own.

Schools using the Pre-Test for 2027 entry include Caterham, James Allen’s Girls’ School, Woldingham, St Paul’s Girls’ School and Sevenoaks, and our ISEB Common Pre-Test guide covers their processes in detail. Participating schools change from year to year, so ISEB publishes the current member list on its own website, and your target school’s admissions page will confirm whether it’s part of the process this year.

Top tips

• Ask your target school directly whether it uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test or writes its own exam; not every independent school does.
• Check ISEB’s own website for the current list of participating schools rather than relying on an older list.
• If your child is applying to more than one senior school, ask each whether it accepts a shared Pre-Test result; your child may only need to sit it once.
• Practise general verbal and non-verbal reasoning alongside English and maths, since the adaptive test doesn’t reuse a fixed paper.
• Confirm which subjects apply at your child’s stage; 11+ and 13+ registrations aren’t always identical.
• Register in good time. Schools often set their own Pre-Test deadlines well ahead of the wider admissions round.

How to prepare

Because the Pre-Test covers English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning rather than one school’s specific format, the most useful practice is broad rather than area-specific: comprehension and vocabulary, core maths, and a solid grounding in both reasoning types.