If your child is applying to independent senior schools, the ISEB Common Pre-Test is the name you will meet first. It is the shared online entrance test that many of the best-known independent schools use as their opening stage, and its clever twist is that a child sits it just once: the results are then shared with every school on their list. This guide explains what the ISEB Pre-Test includes, how the online adaptive format works, why it is sat only once, and how to prepare. ISEB is an independent provider, and Pip is not affiliated with it.
- The ISEB Common Pre-Test is an online, adaptive test used by many leading independent senior schools.
- It has four multiple-choice sections: English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
- It is sat once (usually in Year 6) and the results are shared with every senior school your child is registered for.
- Because it adapts as your child answers, they generally cannot go back to change earlier answers.
What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test?
ISEB, the Independent Schools Examinations Board, runs the Common Pre-Test as a shared admissions assessment for independent senior schools. ISEB describes it as a series of four online, adaptive and shared entrance assessments. Most schools use it as the first stage of 11+ and 13+ admissions: a way to screen applicants before deciding who to invite to a school-specific assessment day, interview or written exam. Because so many schools accept it, your child can sit one test rather than a different paper at every school.
What the ISEB Pre-Test includes
The Pre-Test is split into four separately timed sections, all multiple choice and all taken on a computer:
- English tests reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary.
- Maths covers numeracy and multi-step problem solving from the primary curriculum.
- Verbal reasoning looks at word logic, codes and language patterns.
- Non-verbal reasoning uses shapes and patterns and spatial logic.
Scores are age-standardised, so a younger child in the year group is not disadvantaged against an older one, and the content is generally pitched at the National Curriculum up to the end of Year 5. The four sections usually total around two and a quarter hours, sat in one session with short breaks or split across sittings.
Adaptive and sat once: what makes it different
Two features set the ISEB Pre-Test apart from a paper exam like GL. First, it is adaptive: the difficulty adjusts as your child answers, so a run of correct answers brings harder questions and vice versa. That keeps the test efficient, but it also means a child usually cannot go back to change an earlier answer. Second, it is shared: the result is sent to every senior school your child is registered for, normally linked by a single Applicant ID, so one sitting covers the whole list. This is why preparing calmly for one test, rather than many, is such an advantage.
Where the ISEB Pre-Test is used
The Common Pre-Test is used by a wide range of independent senior schools, including many of the most selective, as the first filter in their 11+ and 13+ admissions. It is usually sat at the child's own school or a test centre in Year 6, and sometimes in Year 7 for 13+ entry. Note that the Pre-Test is a separate thing from ISEB Common Entrance, the written 11+ and 13+ exams some independents set later in the process. Schools change their arrangements, so always confirm the current requirements on each school's admissions pages. For the wider picture, see our guide to every 11+ exam type, the GL Assessment guide and the CEM / Cambridge guide.
How to prepare for the ISEB Pre-Test
Because the Pre-Test covers all four skills, balanced preparation works best: keep English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning all ticking over rather than over-drilling one. Two habits matter most for this format. Build a wide reading and vocabulary base, which underpins the English and verbal sections, and get comfortable working on screen and against the clock, since the test is timed, multiple choice and adaptive. Practising each question carefully the first time mirrors a test you cannot scroll back through.
Practise all four ISEB skills, free
Pip generates unlimited questions across English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, with timing built in, so the four sections of the Pre-Test feel familiar long before the day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test?+
An online, adaptive entrance test used by many leading independent senior schools as a shared first stage of admission. It covers English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, is usually sat in Year 6, and a child sits it only once because the results are shared with every senior school they have registered for.
What does the ISEB Pre-Test include?+
Four multiple-choice sections: Maths, English (reading comprehension and grammar), Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The sections are separately timed and usually total around two and a quarter hours, which can be sat in one go with short breaks or split across sittings.
What does adaptive mean, and can my child change answers?+
Adaptive means the difficulty adjusts as your child answers: get questions right and the next ones get harder, get them wrong and they get easier. Because the test adapts, children generally cannot go back to review or change earlier answers, so a steady first attempt at each question matters.
Is the ISEB Pre-Test sat once for several schools?+
Yes. A child sits it once and the results are shared with all of the senior schools they are registered for, usually linked by a single Applicant ID. Most schools use it to decide who to invite to a school-specific assessment day or interview.
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