CGP vs Bond vs PiP: Which 11+ Books Should You Buy in 2026?

1. Home
2. ›
3. Blog
4. ›
5. CGP vs Bond vs PiP

If you type “CGP vs Bond” into the 11 Plus Exams Forum search bar, you will find hundreds of threads stretching back fifteen years. Parents debate which books are harder, which are better laid out, and which series gets children through to grammar school offers. More recently, PiP — a free 11+ practice app launched in 2025 — has entered that conversation. The question parents are now asking is not simply which physical book series to choose, but whether a well-designed digital tool deserves a seat at the table alongside the established publishers.

The honest answer is that all three have a role, but that role depends on what stage of preparation your child is in, which exam board they are targeting, and how they learn best. This guide compares CGP, Bond and PiP across the dimensions that actually matter: content breadth, GL and CEM coverage, difficulty progression, cost, and how each fits into a preparation plan that also includes specialist tuition. There are more than 160 grammar schools in England, with GL Assessment and CEM between them covering the majority of selective entry testing — knowing which resource is built for which format is the first step.

What Are CGP, Bond and PiP? A Quick Overview

CGP (Coordination Group Publications) has been producing educational books since 1996 and is one of the UK’s largest publishers of study and practice materials for children aged 5 to 18. Their 11+ and 13+ range covers both GL Assessment and CEM exam formats, with separate series for each. CGP books are well known for their accessible, lightly humorous style — engaging for children who find conventional textbooks dry — and for including worked examples and explanations alongside practice questions. The range includes Study Books (teaching content), Practice Books (question practice), 10-Minute Tests (short timed sessions) and full-length Assessment Tests.

Bond (published by Oxford University Press) is widely considered the market-leading 11+ preparation series, with a heritage stretching back to the 1960s. Bond produces books across all four 11+ subject areas — Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning — and also runs Bond Online, an adaptive digital platform that provides personalised practice alongside the physical books. Bond’s 10-Minute Test series is particularly well regarded for developing the time management and focused working habits that 11+ exams demand.

PiP (pip11plus.com) is a free digital app for iOS and Android, released in 2025, that takes an entirely different approach. Rather than providing a fixed bank of questions, PiP generates questions procedurally — meaning each session produces fresh content, so a child can never memorise the answers. The app covers all four 11+ subject areas, tracks progress across 26 individual skills including place value, synonyms, matrix non-verbal reasoning and comprehension, and adjusts difficulty automatically using a SmartScore system. Sessions are designed to take five minutes a day. PiP is free, carries no advertising, and stores no data outside the device.

CGP 11+ Books: Content, Strengths and Weaknesses

CGP’s greatest strength is that the books explain as well as test. The Study Books walk through each topic with clear examples before presenting practice questions, which makes them genuinely useful for children encountering unfamiliar question types for the first time. Our specialist tutors frequently recommend the CGP Study Book as the starting point for families beginning preparation in Year 4 or early Year 5, precisely because the explanatory content does part of the teaching work between sessions.

For GL schools, the CGP GL-format range covers Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning with separate papers that closely mirror the GL Assessment test structure. For CEM schools, CGP produces a dedicated CEM series that is widely regarded as the best commercially available match for CEM-style questions — mixed verbal and numerical reasoning presented in an unpredictable order, rewarding genuine breadth rather than topic-by-topic drilling. For FSCE-style papers (used in Kent, Medway and a small number of other areas), CGP also produces targeted preparation materials.

The books are not without limitations. Because they are structured topic-by-topic, they can inadvertently train children to expect questions in a predictable sequence — useful early in preparation, less useful in the final months when exam-readiness requires comfort with unpredictable mixed-topic papers. The solution is to follow the CGP Study Books with CGP’s own Assessment Tests and then move to full mixed-paper practice. Priced at roughly £6 to £10 per book, a complete CGP preparation set across four subjects typically costs £30 to £60.

Bond 11+ Books: Strengths, Gaps and the Online Platform

Bond books have earned their dominant market position through consistency and progression. Each subject series is structured to increase in difficulty across age-banded levels (typically 6-7, 7-8, 8-9, 9-10 and 10-11), allowing families to start below exam level and build up methodically. The 10-Minute Test series is the product most frequently cited by parents on preparation forums as the tool that actually moved the needle: the tight ten-minute format builds the habit of sustained focus under time pressure, which is one of the most important skills the 11+ tests.

Bond also runs Bond Online, a subscription digital platform that complements the physical books with adaptive assessments and personalised learning paths. The platform identifies weak areas from practice results and prioritises those topics in subsequent sessions — a meaningful feature for families managing preparation without a tutor. Bond Online is priced separately from the physical books.

One frequently noted difference between CGP and Bond is difficulty calibration, particularly in Maths. Forum discussions consistently report that Bond Maths books present more complex multi-step calculations than CGP at the same age band, which some parents find valuable for high-attaining children targeting highly selective grammar schools, but which can discourage less confident children earlier in preparation. Our specialist tutors generally suggest using CGP Maths for the teaching phase and adding Bond Maths practice papers once a child has solid conceptual foundations — the combination produces better outcomes than either in isolation.

Bond books are similarly priced to CGP at roughly £7 to £10 per book. A full four-subject Bond preparation set — one 10-Minute Test book and one practice paper book per subject — typically costs £50 to £80.

PiP 11+: How Does a Free App Compare to Physical Books?

PiP occupies a different position from CGP and Bond because it is not trying to do the same thing. Physical books provide a fixed content bank: a child who works through the whole book has exhausted its questions. PiP generates questions procedurally, so the question bank is effectively infinite — a child can practise the same skill type hundreds of times and never see the same question twice. This makes PiP ideal for the kind of daily repetition that builds automaticity: answering synonym questions, number sequence completions or matrix non-verbal reasoning questions quickly and without deliberate effort.

PiP tracks progress across 26 individual skills using a SmartScore from 0 to 100. When a child's SmartScore for a particular skill reaches 90, PiP marks it as mastered and shifts the focus to weaker areas. This adaptive mechanism means preparation effort naturally concentrates where it is most needed, without requiring a parent or tutor to identify gaps manually. The app covers Maths (including number, money, data handling and reasoning), English (spelling, grammar, punctuation and comprehension), Verbal Reasoning (synonyms, antonyms, word codes) and Non-Verbal Reasoning (matrix, sequences, analogies, rotations and mirror images).

The core app is free with no advertising and no data collected outside the device. An optional Pip Pro subscription adds timed 50-question mock papers and parent reports. The app works offline after installation. PiP does not include subject teaching content — it assumes the child already understands the question types and is building speed and fluency. This means PiP should be introduced once a child has covered the relevant content through CGP Study Books or a tutor, not at the outset of preparation.

GL vs CEM: Which Series Works Best for Each Exam Board?

The single most important question in choosing 11+ preparation materials is which exam board the target school uses. GL Assessment and CEM have different formats, different difficulty profiles and different question styles, and not all books are equally well matched to both.

For GL schools, the exam uses separate papers per subject with a consistent, predictable format. Both CGP and Bond are well matched, and the choice between them is more about learning style than exam-board fit. Our specialist tutors tend to recommend CGP Study Books for the initial teaching phase, followed by a combination of Bond 10-Minute Tests and CGP full-length Assessment Tests for the final term. PiP is a reliable daily complement throughout.

For CEM schools, the exam presents mixed verbal and numerical questions in a less predictable order, testing reasoning flexibility rather than subject knowledge in isolation. CGP’s CEM series is the most tightly matched commercially available option. Bond also produces CEM books, but independent tutor feedback consistently rates CGP’s CEM series as closer to the actual exam in style and difficulty. PiP’s adaptive mixed-topic format is particularly valuable for CEM preparation precisely because it prevents children from anchoring too firmly on topic boundaries.

How to Build a Preparation Plan Using All Three

The most effective 11+ preparation plans our specialist tutors have seen are not CGP-only or Bond-only — they use the right tool for each phase of preparation. Here is the approach that works well for children targeting grammar school entry in Year 7:

Year 4 to early Year 5 (12–18 months before the exam): Begin with CGP Study Books for the subjects your child will be assessed on. Work through the teaching sections before attempting practice questions. Add PiP for five minutes daily from the start — it builds early familiarity with question types at a low cognitive load. No Bond books yet; they are better suited to the final months when speed and accuracy under pressure are the focus.

Mid Year 5 to early Year 6 (6–12 months before): Introduce Bond 10-Minute Tests alongside CGP practice books. The combination of CGP’s topic-specific practice with Bond’s timed format develops both knowledge and pace. Continue PiP daily. If using a tutor, this is the phase where tutor sessions do the most work — bridging gaps identified from book practice and mock papers, and introducing exam technique.

Final term (3 months before): Shift to full-length mock papers — CGP Assessment Tests and Bond mock papers — under timed conditions. PiP remains useful for daily morning warm-up sessions. This phase is about stamina and confidence, not learning new content. A child sitting four separate GL papers needs to sustain focus across approximately two hours of testing; regular full-paper practice builds that capacity.

For families using specialist 11+ tuition, books and apps are the between-session practice layer — the tutor identifies what the child needs and directs them to the right CGP or Bond titles. For families preparing independently, CGP Study Books plus Bond 10-Minute Tests plus PiP is a well-balanced combination that covers teaching, timed practice and daily fluency. You can learn more about the 11+ exam structure in our complete guide to the 11 Plus, and check registration deadlines in our 11+ exam dates guide.

Our Specialist Tutors' Verdict: Which Should You Buy?

There is no single winner in this comparison because CGP, Bond and PiP are not competing for the same role. Here is our distilled verdict by scenario:

If you are starting 11+ preparation from scratch: Buy the CGP Study Books for each subject your child will be assessed on. They are the best teaching resource available at this price point for children who are encountering 11+ question types for the first time. Download PiP at the same time for daily five-minute practice sessions.

If your child has already covered the content and needs timed practice: Move to Bond 10-Minute Tests and CGP Assessment Tests. The Bond format is better for building pace; the CGP Assessment Tests are better for identifying specific topic gaps. Continue PiP daily for warm-up practice.

If your child is targeting a CEM school: Prioritise CGP’s CEM series over Bond for the main book programme. The CGP CEM content is more closely matched to CEM-style assessment. Bond’s CEM books are a worthwhile supplement, not the primary resource.

If budget is a constraint: One CGP Study Book plus PiP gives you teaching content and unlimited daily practice for under £10. Add Bond books in the final term when timed mock practice becomes the priority.

If you are unsure what your child’s exam will look like: Check with the target school or local authority first. The preparation strategy depends heavily on whether the school uses GL, CEM or a bespoke paper. Our specialist tutors can help you identify the right format and choose the right books — book a free consultation using the link below.

Frequently Asked Questions