After GL, CEM is the other name parents meet most often, and it has a reputation for being the trickier of the two to prepare for. There is an important update worth knowing first: CEM is now run by Cambridge University Press and Assessment, which moved the test online and rebranded it as CEM Select and Cambridge Insight. This guide explains what a CEM exam tests, how the computer-based format works, why it leans so heavily on vocabulary and speed, and how to prepare without chasing a moving target. CEM and Cambridge are independent providers, and Pip is not affiliated with them.
- CEM is now run by Cambridge and is computer-based (CEM Select / Cambridge Insight); the old paper tests stopped in 2023.
- It tests verbal ability, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, and is famously vocabulary and speed heavy.
- Sections are short and strictly timed, and you usually cannot go back, which is what makes it feel hard.
- Prepare broadly: wide reading and vocabulary, solid worded maths, and lots of timed practice.
What is CEM, and where does Cambridge fit in?
CEM, the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, began at Durham University and grew into one of the two big 11+ providers. It is now part of Cambridge University Press and Assessment, which retired the old paper format in 2023 and now delivers the test on a computer under the names CEM Select and Cambridge Insight. So if a school says it uses CEM, Cambridge, CEM Select or Cambridge Insight, it is talking about the same family of online tests.
What the CEM 11+ tests
Rather than four neatly separate papers, CEM blends its content into a smaller number of sections, but the underlying skills are familiar:
- Verbal ability is the heart of CEM: wide vocabulary, comprehension, cloze and word logic, which rewards children who read widely.
- Numerical reasoning is worded maths with multi-step problems, done at speed rather than long written method.
- Non-verbal and spatial reasoning uses shapes and patterns, rotations and relationships, often under time pressure.
Format and why it feels hard
CEM is taken on a computer in short, strictly timed sections, and in most versions a child cannot return to earlier questions. That pace is deliberate. CEM was designed to be harder to coach for than older formats, partly by drawing on a very wide vocabulary and partly by keeping the exact structure less predictable from year to year. The result is a test that rewards genuine breadth and quick, confident thinking over narrow drilling.
Where CEM / Cambridge is used
CEM-style tests are used by some grammar-school consortia and by many independent schools, where Cambridge Insight is a common entrance assessment. Because schools move between providers, and because the Cambridge versions are still settling in, always confirm the current test on each school's and local authority's admissions pages. For the full landscape, see our guide to every 11+ exam type, our GL Assessment guide, and the side-by-side GL vs CEM comparison.
How to prepare for a CEM 11+
Because CEM is built to resist narrow coaching, the best preparation is broad and steady. Make wide reading and vocabulary a daily habit, keep worded maths sharp, and practise non-verbal reasoning so the visual puzzles feel familiar. Above all, practise against the clock, so the pace of short timed sections does not come as a shock on the day.
Build the breadth a CEM 11+ rewards
Pip generates unlimited questions across English and vocabulary, worded maths, and verbal and non-verbal reasoning, with built-in timing, so wide skills and quick thinking become second nature.
Frequently asked questions
What is the CEM 11+ now?+
CEM was an 11+ provider originally based at Durham University. It is now run by Cambridge University Press and Assessment, which stopped paper tests in 2023 and offers computer-based assessments branded CEM Select and Cambridge Insight. When parents say CEM today, they usually mean these online Cambridge tests.
What does the CEM 11+ test?+
Verbal ability that is heavily vocabulary and comprehension based, numerical reasoning that is worded and multi-step, and non-verbal or spatial reasoning. It is taken on a computer in short, strictly timed sections.
Is CEM harder to prepare for than GL?+
CEM was designed to be harder to coach for, mainly through wide vocabulary and unfamiliar, time-pressured sections, so you cannot drill a fixed list of question types as easily. Broad preparation works best: reading and vocabulary, solid worded maths, and timed practice.
What is the difference between CEM and GL?+
GL is paper-based and mostly multiple-choice with separate subject papers. CEM, now Cambridge, is computer-based, very vocabulary-heavy and speed-focused, with short timed sections you usually cannot return to. See our GL vs CEM guide for a full comparison.
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