--- type: "FAQ Page" title: "ISEB Pre-Test Practice Papers: Free PDF With Answers" description: "Free ISEB Common Pre-Test style practice papers with answers in English, maths and verbal reasoning, for independent senior school entry in Year 6." resource: https://pip11plus.com/iseb-common-pre-test-practice-papers tags: ["printables", "pip"] timestamp: 2026-10-13T19:42:37Z image: https://pip11plus.com/social/og/og-paper-iseb.png --- 📄 Free download · English, Maths and VR # ISEB Pre-Test Practice Papers A complete practice paper set matching **ISEB's own published test framework**: **English**, **Maths** and **Verbal Reasoning**, at the level and skills ISEB describes for its online adaptive test used by independent senior schools. Full answers included, all free. Prefer to practise on screen? Try our [free ISEB Pre-Test practice questions online](https://pip11plus.com/iseb-common-pre-test-practice-questions), marked instantly. [Download all three papers (PDF)](#dl-iseb-common-pre-test-practice-paper) [How the ISEB Pre-Test works →](#format) English + Maths + VR 30 questions Full mark schemes Sat once, shared with every school ISEB PRE-TEST · STYLE PRACTICE ### Get the 10-page ISEB Pre-Test practice paper with answers - 10 pages - Answers included - Printable A4 - Comprehension: retrieval, inference, vocabulary in context - Grammar tested as "what is correct", not tense names - Maths to the Year 5 ceiling, fluency and problem solving - Verbal reasoning with every rule proven in code - Full mark schemes with every answer explained Thanks! Your download is on its way. We'll only use your email to send this and, if you tick the box, our tips. ## What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test? An online, adaptive assessment shared by many independent senior schools. Sit it once, and the result goes to every school on your list. | Section | Timing | | --- | --- | | English | 40 minutes | | Mathematics | 40 minutes | | Non-Verbal Reasoning | 30 minutes | | Verbal Reasoning | 25 minutes | | **Total** | **2 hours 15 minutes** | **The feature no printed paper can copy.** The Pre-Test is genuinely adaptive: ISEB states the system "chooses the most suitable questions for each pupil based on their previously answered questions", adjusting difficulty in real time. That makes the test shorter and more accurate, but it also means a static PDF can only ever approximate the level and style of questions, never the live adaptive experience itself. Format and timings taken from ISEB's own published test framework and Common Pre-Tests support portal. ## What each section actually tests ISEB publishes a detailed skills framework for English and Maths, both capped at the Year 5 National Curriculum. **English comprehension** tests six specific skills: retrieval of information, making inferences, explaining word meaning in context, explaining how word and phrase choice affects meaning, summarising, and making comparisons across a text. **Grammar** is tested as "what is grammatically correct" rather than by naming tenses, alongside punctuation, spelling and formal versus informal language. **Maths** combines arithmetic fluency (the four operations, place value, fractions, decimals and percentages) with multi-topic problem solving across measurement, geometry and statistics. **Verbal Reasoning** uses letter, word and language-based questions testing logical working and trial and error. **Non-Verbal Reasoning** covers 2D pattern analysis (similarities, differences, completion, code matching) and 3D spatial manipulation. ## What is in these practice papers English, Maths and Verbal Reasoning, matched to ISEB's own published test framework, with full mark schemes. Ten pages. 1 ### Comprehension An original passage with questions covering retrieval, inference and vocabulary in context, matching ISEB's own stated skills. 2 ### Grammar and punctuation Six questions on correct usage, punctuation, spelling and register, testing the skill rather than terminology. 3 ### Maths, Year 5 ceiling Ten questions mixing arithmetic fluency with multi-step problem solving, across number, fractions, measurement, geometry and statistics. 4 ### Verbal reasoning Letter and number sequences, each defined by a rule proven in code, plus word analogies. 5 ### Answer sheet A clean printable answer sheet for all three papers. 6 ### Full mark schemes Every answer explained. Every maths and verbal reasoning answer is computed and checked in code, never typed by hand. ## What this paper does not cover, and where to get it The real Pre-Test gives 30 minutes to **Non-Verbal Reasoning**. It needs carefully built figures to be worth practising, so rather than reproduce it badly here, we point you to the real thing: | Skill | Where to practise it | | --- | --- | | Non-verbal reasoning | [Free 18-question Non-Verbal Reasoning paper](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-non-verbal-reasoning-papers) | | Spatial reasoning | [Spatial reasoning practice hub](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-spatial-reasoning) | ISEB also does not publish a familiarisation booklet with worked Verbal Reasoning examples, unlike Kent or Medway, so this paper's Verbal Reasoning section uses classic, well-established 11+ reasoning formats rather than an invented ISEB-specific style. ## How to use these papers 1. **Do not time this like a fixed paper.** The real test is adaptive and takes 2 hours 15 minutes across four sections. Use this paper to build skills and confidence, not to rehearse a fixed running order. 2. **Focus on comprehension skills by name.** Practise retrieval, inference, vocabulary-in-context and summarising separately, since that is exactly how ISEB frames the English test. 3. **In grammar, think "what sounds correct", not "what is the name of this tense".** That mirrors how ISEB itself says the questions are framed. 4. **Do not neglect Non-Verbal Reasoning** just because it is not in this paper: it is 30 of the test's 135 minutes. Use the dedicated resources linked above. 5. **Because it is sat once and shared with every school**, treat one calm, well-prepared sitting as more valuable than repeated cramming. **An honest word on this paper.** These are original Pip questions matched to ISEB's own published test framework. They are not past papers, and cannot reproduce the real test's adaptive, online format. Pip is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to ISEB, the Independent Schools Examinations Board. ## More free 11+ practice papers - [ISEB Common Pre-Test explained](https://pip11plus.com/iseb-common-pre-test-explained), the full parent guide - [Non-Verbal Reasoning practice paper](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-non-verbal-reasoning-papers) and [spatial reasoning hub](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-spatial-reasoning) - [Medway Test practice papers](https://pip11plus.com/medway-test-11-plus-practice-papers), a paper-based GL format for comparison - [Sutton SET practice papers](https://pip11plus.com/sutton-set-11-plus-practice-papers) - [All 11+ printables in one place](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-printables) [Pip 11+ Mock Tests: seven real exam formats including Kent, Buckinghamshire, CSSE, Medway, Sutton, ISEB and GL, with unlimited timed papers](https://apps.apple.com/app/pip-11-practice/id6775690698) Pip Mock Tests includes the **ISEB Pre-Test** format, alongside the other six. Real timings, the real subject mix, and a fresh paper every single sitting. [Download Pip on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/pip-11-practice/id6775690698) [Get Pip on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pip11plus.app) [Available at Amazon Appstore](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HKGJ4HTP) ## ISEB Common Pre-Test practice papers: FAQs ### What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test? The ISEB Common Pre-Test is a shared, online, adaptive entrance assessment used by many independent senior schools across the UK as the first stage of 11+ and 13+ admissions. ISEB, the Independent Schools Examinations Board, runs it. A child usually sits it once, in Year 6 or Year 7, and the results are shared with every school they have applied to, rather than sitting a different test for each school. ### What format is the ISEB Common Pre-Test? Four separately timed, multiple choice sections, all taken on a computer: English (40 minutes), Mathematics (40 minutes), Non-Verbal Reasoning (30 minutes) and Verbal Reasoning (25 minutes), totalling 2 hours 15 minutes. The four sections can be sat together on the same day or split across multiple days, and can be taken in any order, but once a section is started it must be finished in one sitting. ### What does adaptive mean for the ISEB Pre-Test? The test algorithm chooses each question based on how a child has answered the previous ones, so the difficulty adjusts in real time. ISEB describes it as choosing 'the most suitable questions for each pupil based on their previously answered questions', which means a child does not spend time on questions that are far too easy or far too hard for them. This also means no printed paper can fully reproduce the real test, since a fixed paper cannot adapt. ### What level of maths and English does the ISEB Pre-Test cover? Maths is based on the National Curriculum up to the end of Year 5, mixing arithmetic fluency with multi-step problem solving. English assesses reading comprehension (retrieval, inference, vocabulary in context, summarising), grammar tested as what is grammatically correct rather than technical terms like tense names, punctuation and spelling. ### Does the ISEB Pre-Test include verbal and non-verbal reasoning? Yes, both are separate timed sections. Verbal Reasoning (25 minutes) uses letter, word and language-based questions testing logical working. Non-Verbal Reasoning (30 minutes) uses figures and diagrams to test pattern recognition and spatial logic. ISEB does not publish a familiarisation booklet with worked examples for either section, unlike some regional 11+ tests, so preparation generally relies on general reasoning practice rather than test-specific formats. ### How is the ISEB Common Pre-Test scored? Results are age-standardised so that a child's score can be fairly compared with others regardless of exactly when they sat the test or how old they were on the day. ISEB shares the standardised results with every school a child has applied to, and each school then applies its own admissions criteria on top of that score, so there is no single national pass mark. ### When is the ISEB Common Pre-Test sat? For the 2026-27 testing window, live testing opens on Tuesday 1 September 2026 and runs until late May 2027. Exact registration and sitting dates depend on which senior schools a child has applied to, since each school manages its own registration process even though the test itself is shared. Always confirm the specific dates and deadlines with each school directly. ### Are these official ISEB Pre-Test papers? No. This is an original Pip practice paper written to match ISEB's own published test framework. It is not a past paper, and it cannot reproduce the real test's adaptive, online format on a printed page. Pip is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to ISEB, the Independent Schools Examinations Board. ## More independent school 11+ help ### [ISEB Common Pre-Test explained](https://pip11plus.com/iseb-common-pre-test-explained) The full parent guide: format, the adaptive scoring, sharing between schools and how to prepare. [Read the guide](https://pip11plus.com/iseb-common-pre-test-explained) ### [Non-Verbal Reasoning paper](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-non-verbal-reasoning-papers) The reasoning strand this paper does not cover, built and verified as its own resource. [Download free](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-non-verbal-reasoning-papers) ### [All free 11+ printables](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-printables) Every free Pip paper in one place, including the Bucks, CSSE, Tiffin, Sutton, Kent and Medway style papers. [See all printables](https://pip11plus.com/11-plus-printables) Pip is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to ISEB, the Independent Schools Examinations Board. These practice papers are original material matched to the published test framework and contain no official questions. The comprehension passage is our own writing.