GL Assessment vs CEM — which 11 Plus papers should we actually practise?

The 11 Plus isn't one test. It's a family of tests, and the two biggest publishers — GL Assessment and CEM — write questions in distinctly different styles. Children who practise extensively in one format and then sit the other typically lose 10–20% on their first attempt, just from format unfamiliarity. So the question of which papers to practise isn't trivia. It's the difference between a place and a near-miss.

This guide tells you how to know which format your child needs, and what to do when the answer is "both".

Quick refresher: what's actually different?

The deep dive is in our full GL vs CEM guide. The short version:

• GL Assessment tests are predictable. Each paper covers one subject. Question types repeat year-to-year. Children who learn the patterns do well — practice has high leverage.
• CEM tests are deliberately less predictable. Multiple subjects in one paper. Question types vary by year. The format rewards general fluency over pattern-matching.

Both are still 11 Plus tests, both test the same underlying skills (Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, Maths, English). The difference is in how questions are presented and how children should pace themselves.

How to find out which one your school uses

Most grammar school regions are dominated by one format:

• GL Assessment dominates: Kent, Buckinghamshire (most schools), Birmingham, Lincolnshire, Wirral, Trafford, Sutton (qualifying SET stage), Lancashire
• CEM is used in: Bexley, Gloucestershire, parts of South West Herts, a handful of others (CEM has been winding down in recent years — always check)
• Schools that set their own tests: Tiffin (Kingston), QE Boys (Barnet), Wandsworth (Graveney), Medway, the Sutton second-stage tests

The most reliable source is the school or consortium's own admissions page. Don't trust a blog post — formats do change between cycles. Our regions hub has the current format for the major UK 11 Plus areas with links to each consortium's official page.

The practice strategy when you know the format

If you're applying only to schools in one consortium and you know it's GL:

• Practise GL-style papers exclusively. The investment compounds — by the time of the test, your child will have seen most question types many times.
• Don't waste hours on CEM papers "just to broaden". The time is better spent going deeper on weak GL skills.

If you're applying only to CEM-style schools:

• Mix CEM-style papers with general reasoning practice. CEM rewards children who haven't over-tuned to a specific pattern.
• Build reading and vocabulary aggressively. CEM English sections lean on this.
• Practise mixed-subject pacing — children who only do single-subject papers struggle when a CEM paper jumps between numerical and verbal mid-test.

What to do when you're applying to both formats

Many families end up here. A child in west London might apply to Sutton (GL-style SET), Wilson's (own test post-SET), and Tiffin (own test entirely). A child in the south-east might apply to Kent grammars (GL) and Bexley (CEM-style multi-strand).

The trap is to alternate evenly — Monday GL, Tuesday CEM, Wednesday GL — assuming this is "balanced". It usually isn't. What works better:

1. Start in the dominant format for your primary target school. Pick the school you most want a place at. Practise its format for the first 3–4 months.
2. Add the second format once the first is strong. Once your child can comfortably do timed GL papers at the expected score, add a CEM paper every other week. Don't reduce GL practice.
3. In the final 6–8 weeks, alternate weeks. One week GL focus, one week CEM. By this point the underlying skills are solid; you're just keeping both formats fresh.

A common parent mistake: format-shopping mid-practice

Parents often buy a big stack of papers from various publishers without checking the format. Then they alternate randomly, which means children never spend long enough in one style to get comfortable.

Pick papers deliberately:

• GL-style papers are usually labelled as such. "GL-style" or "GL Assessment format" or just paper publishers known for GL (CGP's standard 11+ papers, Bond's GL-aligned series).
• CEM-style papers are labelled too. CEM publishers include Letts, some Bond series, and a few CEM-specific brands.

If a paper isn't labelled, default-assume it's GL-style. The vast majority of free 11 Plus papers online — including ours — use GL-format conventions by default.

What the actual difference looks like in a question

A worked example helps. Take a Verbal Reasoning skill like "complete the brackets" — where you find a word that completes one bracket and starts the next.

GL-style: predictable format, clear structure, marked answer sheet. > Find the word that completes both: take (__) house and (__) day > Options: A. light B. work C. school D. play E. open

CEM-style: same skill, but the test might mix three question types per minute, expect quicker pacing, and present without clear section markers.

Same underlying skill. Different game mechanics. A child who only practises one will be slower in the other on first encounter.

Free resources to test which format suits your child

You don't need to commit to a publisher before knowing how each format feels for your child. Most 11 Plus resources have free samples — try a GL-style paper and a CEM-style paper before deciding where to focus. Our free taster papers include both formats, so you can compare side-by-side without paying anything.

Whichever format you settle on, the underlying advice is the same: consistency over volume, weak-area focus over broad coverage, and time spent reading is never time wasted.