Quest Assessment Tutoring from specialist tutors

Quest Assessments is an exam provider used by schools across the UK and internationally, and the Quest Assessment is the entrance assessment it builds for individual schools for entry points from 7+ to 16+. Quest's admissions service builds entry assessments that are bespoke and branded to each school, on paper or online. Schools whose own admissions pages name Quest include Haberdashers' Girls' School, Mill Hill School at 13+, Forest School, Chigwell School, The Perse School Cambridge and Knightsbridge School. It is also the test provider for the London 11+ Consortium's shared 100-minute online assessment, used by 13 independent London schools, and Quest Assessments is the provider of the Bexley Selection Test papers for the four Bexley grammar schools. Our specialist tutors offer specialist Quest assessment tutoring tailored to the precise format each school deploys — including adaptive digital testing, creative comprehension, and timed creative writing. This guide explains what the Quest Assessment involves, which schools use it, how it differs by context, and how we structure preparation to give children the strongest possible chance of success.

Which Schools Use the Quest Assessment in 2026?

Quest's parent guidance says that a child's assessment is unique to the school they are applying to, and tells families to check the school's website for the subjects in it. Schools differ in the components they include, the time limits, whether the test is taken on paper or on screen, and how the Quest result is combined with interviews, references and group tasks. The table below shows six of these schools, plus the Bexley Selection Test, whose papers the council says Quest provides. Those differences are large enough to change how a child should prepare: Knightsbridge School says it uses Quest for its assessments, and Quest's page for the school shows four subjects over 70 minutes at 11+, with English taking 30 of them; the Perse follows 70 minutes of computer-based testing with a 40-minute creative writing task; and Haberdashers' Girls' set a paper assessment.

Always verify the current test arrangements directly with each school's admissions office before starting preparation, as schools occasionally adjust their assessment model between admissions cycles.

How Do Quest Assessment Formats Differ by School?

There is no single Quest format. Each school's assessment is built to that school's specification, so the structure, timings and mix of components vary from school to school, and some components are adaptive while others are not. At the Perse, for example, adaptive components adjust in difficulty based on responses and candidates cannot skip or revisit questions, while in the non-adaptive English component candidates can move back and forth and revise their answers. Knowing which components are adaptive at the school your child is targeting is essential for effective preparation, because the revision strategies required are meaningfully different. The table below sets out the six components of the London 11+ Consortium's assessment, which is shared by 13 schools.

The Consortium's assessment is 100 minutes in total and is taken online. Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are adaptive, so the questions are tailored to each candidate's performance; English, Problem Solving and Creative Comprehension are non-adaptive, so all candidates see exactly the same questions, with different content in the non-adaptive sections on each of the three exam days. Once a section has been completed, candidates cannot go back to amend it.

Other schools set different structures. The Perse follows its 70-minute computer-based Part 1 with a 40-minute creative writing task in which candidates write a short story inspired by a written prompt or an image; Haberdashers' Girls' set a paper assessment that includes Creative Comprehension and Creative Writing, 20 minutes each; and Forest adds a 30-minute paper-based Written English task to its digital on-screen assessment.

Preparing for the Maths, English, NVR and VR Components

Which of these components a child meets, and which are adaptive, depends on the school: the Consortium, the Perse and Mill Hill each list Maths, NVR and VR as adaptive and English as non-adaptive. Where a component is adaptive, the most important characteristic to build is broad competence across a wide difficulty range — not narrow drilling at one level. A child who is very strong in routine arithmetic but weak in mathematical reasoning will be exposed by an adaptive Maths section, because the difficulty of the questions adjusts to the child's responses.

English. At the Perse the English component (30 minutes) covers reading comprehension, spelling, punctuation and grammar, and in the Consortium assessment English (20 minutes) is a comprehension of a piece of fiction written for the Consortium, followed by identifying the correct use of standard English in context, with no extended writing. Children who read widely across a range of genres — including non-fiction, literary fiction and contemporary writing — develop the vocabulary and analytical instincts that comprehension rewards most. Beyond reading, targeted practice on comprehension question types helps children recognise what each question is actually asking: retrieving information, inferring meaning, identifying structural techniques, or explaining the effect of language choices. Where a school tests punctuation and grammar, as the Perse does, children should be secure on clause structures, apostrophes, commas in complex sentences, and the effects of different punctuation choices.

Maths. The Consortium bases its Maths questions on the National Curriculum for Year 5 and does not test anything on the Year 6 curriculum; the numerical reasoning in the Bexley Selection Test does not exceed what children are expected to learn by the end of Year 5; and Haberdashers' Girls' say their Maths and English questions are based on Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum. Maths is allotted 20 minutes in the Consortium assessment and at the Perse, so mental calculation speed matters considerably. Children who still rely on written column methods for routine arithmetic will run out of time — fluency with mental strategies is a core preparation target. Applied multi-step reasoning problems become the battleground at the higher difficulty levels.

Non-verbal Reasoning. NVR is 10 minutes and adaptive in both the Consortium assessment and the Perse's. NVR does not appear in the national curriculum, which means many academically strong children encounter it for the first time in preparation materials. The Consortium describes it as testing a candidate's ability to identify patterns and think logically, and the Perse describes it as spatial and visual reasoning. Because the section is only 10 minutes, speed and accuracy on familiar question types are critical. The Consortium recommends that all candidates look at its familiarisation materials and says: "We do not, however, recommend intense preparation as any gains quickly become very marginal."

Verbal Reasoning. VR is 10 minutes and adaptive in both the Consortium assessment and the Perse's. The Perse describes it as vocabulary usage and logical deduction, and the Consortium describes it as assessing a candidate's ability to understand vocabulary and use of language, exploring pattern recognition and critical thinking. Wide reading builds the vocabulary that VR draws on. The Consortium makes the same point about VR as about NVR: it recommends its familiarisation materials and does not recommend intense preparation.

Preparing for Problem Solving, Creative Comprehension and Written Tasks

Not every school sets components beyond Maths, English and reasoning: the Consortium includes Problem Solving and Creative Comprehension, Forest includes Puzzles and Problem Solving, and written tasks appear at the Perse, Haberdashers' Girls' and Forest.

Problem Solving and Creative Comprehension. In the Consortium assessment, Problem Solving (15 minutes) tests the ability to use words and numbers to solve multi-step problems, and candidates are likely to complete different numbers of questions in the time available. Creative Comprehension (25 minutes) asks candidates to use information from a variety of different sources, given in a range of formats, to answer questions, and they may have to look at several sources simultaneously. Both sections are non-adaptive. Preparation should develop the habit of working carefully through unfamiliar material, of moving on when a question is taking too long, and of articulating observations clearly and concisely under timed pressure.

Written tasks. The Consortium states that there is no extended writing required, so typing ability does not affect results. Where a school does set writing, it is set differently: the Perse's Part 2 is a 40-minute task in which candidates write a short story inspired by a written prompt or an image, structured in paragraphs and assessed on creativity, vocabulary and accuracy; Haberdashers' Girls' set a 20-minute Creative Writing paper; and Forest sets a 30-minute paper-based Written English task. The Perse says candidates are encouraged to read widely and practise creative writing regularly, and that pre-prepared phrases, imagery or memorised content are often easily identifiable and rarely enhance the quality of the writing. Practising different narrative voices, experimenting with atmosphere and setting, and receiving craft-level feedback from a skilled reader all build that habit.

The London Consortium — Quest Assessment for 13 Independent London Schools

The London 11+ Consortium is a group of 13 independent London schools that share a single 100-minute online entrance assessment, designed in collaboration with its test provider, Quest Assessments. A candidate sits the assessment once, however many Consortium schools they apply to: for September 2027 entry it is held on one of three dates, Friday 27 November, Tuesday 1 December or Thursday 3 December 2026, for pupils in Year 6 at that time, and the closing date for applications to any Consortium school is Friday 6 November 2026. It is taken in the candidate's current school where possible and otherwise at a Consortium school, and the results are shared with all the schools at which the candidate is registered.

The assessment has six components, taken in the order shown in the table above: Maths, Non-Verbal Reasoning, English, Verbal Reasoning, a break of up to 30 minutes, Problem Solving and Creative Comprehension. It is an online assessment that can be taken on iPads, PCs, laptops and Chromebooks, and the Consortium says that the device used makes no difference to a candidate's performance. Of the interview that forms part of selection, the Consortium says: "We actively discourage preparation for the interview."

The Consortium's own site names thirteen participating schools: Channing School, Francis Holland (Regent's Park), Francis Holland (Sloane Square), Godolphin and Latymer, More House, Northwood College for Girls, Notting Hill and Ealing High School, Queen's College, Queen's Gate School, South Hampstead High School, St Augustine's Priory, St Helen's School and St Margaret's School. Membership can change between admissions cycles, so families should verify the current list at london11plus.co.uk.

Each Consortium school decides how it uses the results when selecting for interview, and the interview is individual to each senior school. The Consortium's selection process also includes a reference from the candidate's current school; some Consortium schools select for interview and some do not, and Godolphin and Latymer and South Hampstead High School will select for interview from the assessment.

Bexley Grammar Schools — the Bexley Selection Test, with Papers Provided by Quest

The four Bexley grammar schools — Beths Grammar School (boys), Bexley Grammar School (mixed), Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School (mixed) and Townley Grammar School (girls) — share a single Bexley Selection Test, and the council states that its papers are provided by Quest Assessments. The test assesses verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning, and it is taken at the beginning of Year 6.

This test works differently from the online assessments used by several independent schools. The Bexley Selection Test consists of two separate booklets; each test is divided into sections with a set time allocated for each section, both tests are timed and consist of multiple-choice questions, and each paper lasts approximately 50 minutes plus additional time for instructions. The invigilator leads students through the test, instructing them when to move to the next section, and all working out must be done in the test booklet.

Children preparing for the Bexley Selection Test should therefore prioritise timed practice on multiple-choice verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning questions in paper format, working out in the booklet. Our tutors are familiar with paper and online formats and will tailor the preparation programme accordingly when Bexley is in the target list.

Bexley Council says the Bexley Selection Test is highly competitive, with approximately 30% of applicants deemed selective. In 2025, 5,866 children sat the test and 2,070 achieved the selective standard, with 800 grammar school places available; the top 180 highest-scoring children are placed in one of the highest priority groups for their preferred grammar school, and other selective pupils are not guaranteed a place because offers depend on each school's admissions criteria, such as distance and sibling priority.

What Parents Say About Our Quest Assessment Tutoring

"The Creative Comprehension task was something we hadn't properly focused on — we'd concentrated on Maths and NVR but underestimated the analytical writing element. Our tutor identified this gap in the first session and designed all her feedback specifically around close reading and inference under time pressure. Lily secured a place at Haberdashers' Girls' and we couldn't be more grateful for the support."

How Our specialist tutors Prepare Children for the Quest Assessment

Leading Tuition's tutors are subject specialists — not generalist tutors, but specialists in the specific admissions formats used by the schools we work with. Our Quest Assessment preparation is built around four principles that distinguish it from generic 11+ coaching.

School-specific targeting. The Quest Assessment is not a single fixed test — it is a platform configured differently by each school. The Perse follows 70 minutes of computer-based testing with a 40-minute creative writing task. The London Consortium runs a shared 100-minute online assessment with no extended writing. Haberdashers' Girls' set a paper assessment, and the Bexley grammar schools sit the Bexley Selection Test in test booklets. Preparation that ignores these distinctions wastes significant time on the wrong material. We begin every engagement by understanding precisely which schools the child is targeting and building the preparation programme around the specific format — and the specific competition — each school presents.

Adaptive test strategy. Where a component is adaptive, it is not like a fixed-paper exam. Because question difficulty responds to the child's performance, the psychological experience of sitting it is qualitatively different from sitting a fixed exam: correct answers lead to harder questions, which can feel disorienting to a child who expects consistent difficulty. Our preparation includes specific work on managing this dynamic — teaching children to recognise that harder questions are a sign of strong performance, to commit to answers confidently, and to develop the mental stamina needed to sustain quality through a rapidly escalating challenge.

Creative writing as a core skill, not an afterthought. At Leading Tuition, we treat creative writing and comprehension as core skills that require sustained development over time. Our specialist tutors provide the kind of specific, craft-level feedback on writing that is almost never available in a school setting: feedback on sentence rhythm, on the precision of a metaphor, on when a shorter paragraph creates more impact than a longer one, and on how to create a distinctive narrative voice under timed conditions.

Timed mock assessments with detailed debrief. Regular timed practice under realistic conditions is essential for Quest preparation. We design and administer mock assessments that replicate the specific components your child will face, and follow each session with a detailed debrief covering: which question types caused hesitation and why, where accuracy broke down under time pressure, how the creative writing scored against the marking criteria, and what to prioritise in the following week. This feedback loop — mock, debrief, targeted practice, mock again — is the most reliable way to produce measurable improvement in a defined timeframe.

Our tutors work with families across London, nationally, and internationally via online video sessions. Sessions are typically 60 or 75 minutes, one to three times per week depending on the preparation timeline and the child's current starting point. We do not offer group classes for Quest preparation — every child's programme is individual, because every child's strengths, gaps and target schools are different.

Frequently Asked Questions about Quest Assessment Tutoring

Related School Guides

We publish dedicated preparation guides for individual schools. Each guide covers the admissions process at that school.

• City of London School for Girls 11+ assessments
• Haberdashers' Girls' School — Quest Assessment Preparation Guide
• Mill Hill School — Quest Assessment Guide

For a school guide to another school using Quest, see our Perse School Cambridge guide. For Quest's own information for families, see Quest's parent guidance.