The FSCE 11 plus can test English, maths, science, geography, history, languages, computing, design and technology, art and design, music and PE in its four-paper version. The two-paper version tests English and maths only. Every question stays inside what was taught up to the end of Year 5. Looking for practice material? See FSCE past papers and free alternatives.
Which version your child sits depends on the school. This guide shows what each version covers, then lists what a Year 5 child should know in each subject, with links to the National Curriculum.
If your child is in Year 5 now, they sit FSCE in 2027 for September 2028 entry, so this is the content to secure this year. Year 4 now? They sit in 2028, and the Year 5 list below is next year's work.
- Four-paper schools (Reading School and Chelmsford County High School for Girls) may test 11 subjects, plus a creative response.
- Two-paper schools such as Lancaster Girls' Grammar test English and maths only.
- Content stops at the end of Year 5. Year 6 topics should not appear.
- There is no verbal or non-verbal reasoning paper in any version.
- Schools do not publish how many questions each subject gets, so don't ration revision by guesswork.
What subjects are in the FSCE 11 plus?
The FSCE 11 plus can include Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, English, Geography, History, Languages, Maths, Music, Physical Education and Science. That is 11 subjects, and a school's admissions pages show which of them it uses.
The word that matters is may. Reading School's children's guide says the test may include any of them. Nobody promises that every subject appears in every child's papers. The sections below show who tests what.
Do all FSCE schools test the same subjects?
No. FSCE comes in at least three versions, and the number of papers decides the subjects. Here's what each school group has published.
| Version | Schools | Papers | Subjects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four papers | Reading School, Chelmsford County High School for Girls (CCHS) | Adventure, Beacon, Compass, Discovery | Adventure, Beacon and Compass can each use any of the 11 subjects. Discovery is a creative response. |
| Three papers | The Gloucestershire grammars (2028 entry, test on 3 July 2027) | Adventure, Beacon, Compass | Adventure and Beacon cover English and maths. Compass can cover any listed subject, answered by multiple choice. |
| Two papers | Lancaster Girls' Grammar, with Skipton Girls', Clitheroe Royal and Ermysted's using the same consortium FAQ | Adventure, Beacon | English and maths only. |
For the full story on each paper, read our guide to the Adventure, Beacon, Compass and Discovery papers. To see which version your target school sets, use our list of schools that use FSCE, or the two-paper schools guide and Reading School guide.
Does the FSCE 11 plus stop at Year 5?
Yes. The familiarisation guides say the test covers Key Stage 2 content taught up to the end of Year 5 only. Chelmsford County High School's FSCE sheet says the same, and adds that content changes every year.
That limit matters more than it sounds. Most FSCE schools set the test in September of Year 6, when your child has been in Year 6 for only a few weeks.
Some sit even earlier: Reading School's main sitting was in July 2026, and the Gloucestershire grammars test Year 5 children on Saturday 3 July 2027. Either way, Year 6 topics in the National Curriculum, such as long division and numbers up to 10,000,000, are outside the brief.
One catch: only maths and science split their National Curriculum content by year. The other subjects are written for the whole of Key Stage 2, so "up to Year 5" there means whatever your child's school taught in Years 3 to 5. Ask the class teacher what they've covered.
Is there verbal or non-verbal reasoning in the FSCE 11 plus?
No. None of the FSCE papers is a verbal or non-verbal reasoning paper, and Lancaster's FAQ confirms there's no non-verbal reasoning. Some tutoring websites list reasoning papers for FSCE. The schools' own guides don't.
Reasoning-style thinking still turns up inside the subjects. The Reading School guide includes a made-up number language that children crack by spotting patterns, and a computing flowchart where one step is faulty. Those are Languages and Computing questions that happen to reward logic. A child who likes puzzles will enjoy them. A child who has never seen them can learn the idea in minutes.
If your target school used GL or CEM before, see our FSCE vs GL vs CSSE comparison for what changes.
What should my child know in each FSCE subject by the end of Year 5?
Your child should be comfortable with the Years 3 to 5 National Curriculum in each subject, and the table below turns that into a checklist. The left column links to the official programme of study. The middle column is what Reading School's parent guide says the test looks for.
| Subject | What school covers (National Curriculum) | What FSCE looks for |
|---|---|---|
| English | Years 5 and 6 share one programme. Relative clauses, modal verbs, commas for clarity, brackets, linking sentences together, consistent tense and the Year 5 and 6 spelling list. | Tenses, apostrophes, commas after fronted adverbials, paragraphs, pronouns, prefixes and suffixes, homophones. See English questions. |
| Maths | Numbers to 1,000,000 and negatives. Multi-step addition and subtraction. Factors, primes, squares and cubes. Long multiplication and short division with remainders. Fractions, decimals and percentages. Area, perimeter and volume. Angles including reflex. Line graphs and timetables. | The same Year 5 ideas in short problems, with no calculator. Practise with maths questions. |
| Science | Year 5: living things and habitats, animals including humans, properties and changes of materials, Earth and space, forces. Earlier years add light, sound, electricity, states of matter and magnets. | Classification keys, life cycles, food chains, dissolving and separating mixtures, shadows, circuits, gears and levers, and fair tests. |
| Geography | Maps and atlases, compass points, grid references, symbols and keys, fieldwork, and comparing places and regions. | Physical and human processes, reading maps, latitude and longitude, time zones, planning fieldwork. |
| History | A chronological sweep from the Stone Age to 1066, plus a study beyond 1066, ancient civilisations and a local study. Schools pick which units come in which year. | Timelines, cause and consequence, change over time, and judging sources. The guide says children needn't memorise kings and queens. |
| Languages | One language, ancient or modern, chosen by the school. Speaking, reading and writing simple sentences and learning the sounds. | No particular language. Questions suit any child who's met a language at school, including made-up ones. |
| Computing | Writing and debugging programs, using sequence, selection and repetition, and using technology safely. | Algorithms, flowcharts, finding bugs, breaking a problem into steps. |
| Design and Technology | Design, make and evaluate. Structures, mechanisms, simple electrical systems, and cooking and nutrition. | Design criteria, choosing materials and tools, making structures stronger, evaluating products. |
| Art and Design | Drawing, painting, sculpture and sketchbooks, plus the work of great artists, makers and designers. | Talking about line, shape, pattern, texture, colour and form, and comparing artists. |
| Music | Singing, playing, listening, and the elements of music: pitch, duration, loudness, tempo, timbre, texture and structure. | Listening and evaluating, and knowing what changing one element does. No instrument needed. |
| Physical Education | Running, jumping, throwing and catching, team games, gymnastics, dance, and comparing performances. | Basic skills, tactics and technique. It isn't a test of sporting ability. |
The National Curriculum links go to the gov.uk programmes of study. The right-hand column comes from Reading School's parent guide. Check the full collection for the exact wording.
English and maths come first
English and maths are the two subjects in every version, so they get the most practice time. Our FSCE 11+ explained guide has free samples of both, and the practice papers and practice questions go further.
Daily English and maths, pitched at your child's level
Pip covers English and maths only, the two subjects every FSCE school tests. It doesn't cover the other nine, so use school and the guides for those.
What do the non-English and maths questions look like?
They're short, everyday scenarios that ask children to apply what they know. Reading School's guide gives one sample multiple choice question for each subject, and a few patterns stand out.
- History: which of four items would be least useful as evidence about an old event.
- Geography: which fieldwork method would not help a study of a new road.
- Music: which change would make a cheerful song sound sadder.
- Science: which instructions make a fair test of how distance changes a shadow.
- Computing: which step in a flowchart is the bug.
Notice that none of these asks for a date or a fact to memorise. They ask children to choose a sensible method. That's why the guide tells parents to trust that children already have the knowledge they need.
How can I prepare my child for the FSCE subjects?
Talk it through at home, and skip the cramming. Spend most practice time on English and maths, then use everyday life for everything else. Three tips from the published guides:
- Ask "why" about everything. Questions reward choosing the best method or evidence. When your child answers anything, ask why the other options were weaker.
- Read your school's guide first. Find out whether it's a two-, three- or four-paper test before you spend a minute on geography. A two-paper school never asks.
- Stay out of Year 6. Don't teach long division or ten-million numbers for this test. Spend that time making Year 5 work fast and accurate, because no calculator is allowed.
Free official help exists. Reading School's parent guide and children's guide have sample questions and home activity ideas for every subject. The papers change each year, and no past papers are published, so see our test day guide for what to expect on the morning.
If your child's school sets a creative paper, the Creativity paper guide covers it. Marks, scores and standardisation are in our pass mark and scores guide, and the answer sheet guide shows how to fill in the sheet.
What hasn't FSCE published about its subjects?
FSCE schools haven't published how many questions each subject gets, or how long each paper runs at Reading School and CCHS. A consortium FAQ gives 45 to 60 minutes per paper for the two-paper schools. Published guides don't say how the subjects are weighted either.
That's why we don't give percentages. Frankly, if a tutor site quotes exact subject splits for FSCE, ask where they got them.
Frequently asked questions
What subjects are in the FSCE 11 plus?+
The four-paper version at Reading School and Chelmsford County High School for Girls may test 11 subjects: Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, English, Geography, History, Languages, Maths, Music, Physical Education and Science. The two-paper version tests English and maths only.
What is the FSCE 11 plus syllabus?+
There's no single syllabus document. FSCE tests Key Stage 2 National Curriculum content taught up to the end of Year 5. The schools' familiarisation guides list the skills for each subject.
Does the FSCE 11 plus have verbal or non-verbal reasoning?+
No. None of the FSCE papers is a verbal or non-verbal reasoning paper. Some questions inside subjects, such as a flowchart or a made-up language, reward logical thinking.
Does FSCE test Year 6 content?+
No. The guides say content stops at what is taught up to the end of Year 5.
Do I need to revise all 11 subjects?+
Only if your child's school uses the four-paper version or the Gloucestershire Compass paper. For two-paper schools such as Lancaster Girls' Grammar, English and maths are enough.
Can my child use a calculator?+
No. The guides say calculators, rulers and scrap paper aren't allowed, so mental and written methods need to be quick.
The Pip team builds Pip, the 11+ and KS2 practice app for children in years three to six. We write these guides from real exam formats and past papers.