Quest Assessment Part 1: The Complete Parent Guide (2026)

Quest Assessments builds entry assessments for individual schools, on paper or online (Quest Admissions). Some schools label the computer-based first stage “Part 1”: at The Perse it is a 70-minute assessment “delivered by Quest” covering Maths, English, Non-verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning (The Perse). Quest's parent guidance says a child's assessment “is unique to the school they’re applying to” (Quest parent guidance), so subjects, timings and parts vary by school.

This guide covers how each section works, which schools name Quest on their own admissions pages, how adaptive and non-adaptive testing differ, the paper-based Quest tests (the Bexley Selection Test and the Haberdashers' first round), how the London 11+ Consortium's shared assessment is built, and what Quest, the Consortium and the schools themselves say about preparation.

What Quest Assessment Part 1 Looks Like in Practice

Quest Assessments describes itself as “an exam provider used by schools across the UK and internationally” (Quest parent guidance). Its admissions service builds entry assessments that are “Bespoke and branded to your school”, in “Paper and online” form and “For ages 7+ to 16+” (Quest Admissions), so what a family meets depends on the school: a computer-based test at The Perse, a paper assessment at Haberdashers' Boys' and Girls' schools, and a shared online assessment designed with Quest for the London 11+ Consortium.

At The Perse, Part 1 has four components: Maths (20 minutes), English (30 minutes), Non-verbal Reasoning (10 minutes) and Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes), and it is followed by Part 2, a 40-minute creative writing task (The Perse). Forest School's Part 1 has five components, with Maths taking 20 minutes, Non-Verbal Reasoning 10, Verbal Reasoning 10, English 15 and Puzzles and Problem-Solving 15, and its Part 2 is a 30-minute paper-based written English test (Forest's exam guidance for parents). Two schools can therefore both use Quest while running different tests.

What follows Part 1 also varies, and it is not always online: the Perse's Part 2 and Forest's Part 2 are both writing tasks. This guide focuses on the computer-based first stage; see also our Quest Assessment Part 2 guide.

Quest is separate from the ISEB Common Pre-Tests, which ISEB describes as “four online, adaptive and shared entrance assessments” (ISEB), and from GL Assessment, which says “We offer both digital and paper tests” (GL Assessment). Because each Quest school or consortium sets its own subjects and timings, check which system your target school uses before choosing practice materials.

The Four Sections of the Perse's Part 1: A Detailed Breakdown

The table shows the four components of the Perse's Part 1 as the school publishes them (The Perse). On question format the Perse says “Most questions are multiple-choice. A few may require a short, typed response (a word or number)”. Timing and inclusion of individual sections vary by school, so always verify the exact format with your target school.

The Perse's Part 1 totals 70 minutes (English 30, Maths 20, NVR 10, VR 10), and Quest's page for Royal Russell School likewise lists “4 subjects over 70 minutes” in the same split. Other schools differ: Forest's Part 1 is also 70 minutes but has five components, with a 15-minute English section and 15 minutes of Puzzles and Problem-Solving (Forest's exam guidance for parents); Quest's page for Ewell Castle School lists “4 subjects over 75 minutes” (English 30, Verbal Reasoning 10, Maths 20 and Puzzles and Problem Solving 15); and the London 11+ Consortium's assessment is 100 minutes with six components (see below).

The English Section: What It Tests and How to Prepare

The English section of the Perse's Part 1 is non-adaptive. Quest's walkthrough says that in non-adaptive tests “all children see the same questions in the same order” and can go back to previous questions, and the Perse says candidates “can move back and forth and revise their answers” (The Perse). At Forest, the English and Puzzles and Problem-Solving sections are both non-adaptive (Forest's exam guidance for parents), so at some schools more than one section allows this. It is worth practising deliberately.

The Perse describes what its English component assesses as “Reading comprehension, spelling, punctuation, grammar” (The Perse). In the Consortium's assessment, English uses “a piece of fiction specially written for the Consortium examination” and is followed by an assessment of a candidate's ability to identify the correct use of standard English in context; the Consortium adds that candidates “should not be thrown by vocabulary they do not know as one of the things we are assessing is the ability to infer meaning from context”.

Reading widely is what both the Consortium and Quest point to. The Consortium says “candidates who read widely will be well prepared for this section” (the Consortium), and Quest's guidance for children says “Reading books, newspapers, and articles will improve your vocabulary and comprehension skills”.

Grammar is covered differently from school to school: the Perse lists “spelling, punctuation, grammar” within its English component (The Perse), whereas the Consortium says its standard-English part “does not require any recall of grammar” (the Consortium).

The Mathematics Section: Adaptive Questioning and What to Expect

The Maths section of the Perse's Part 1 is adaptive and runs for 20 minutes (The Perse); it is also 20 minutes at Forest, at Royal Russell and in the Consortium's assessment. Quest's walkthrough explains that in adaptive tests “the questions adapt to your child’s performance”: correct answers make questions “more challenging”, incorrect answers make them “a little easier”, and there is “no back button in these tests”.

On content, the Consortium says its Maths questions “are based on the National Curriculum for Year 5 and we do not test anything on the Year 6 curriculum” (the Consortium); Haberdashers' say their Maths and English questions cover topics “based on the Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum” (Haberdashers' Girls'); and the council says the Bexley Selection Test's numerical reasoning has content “not exceeding what children are expected to learn by the end of Year 5” (Bexley Council).

Because correct answers make questions more challenging, a child who meets harder questions is not doing badly. Forest tells parents that “It is not expected for candidates to finish all the questions in each section” (Forest's exam guidance for parents), and Magdalen College School says “We want to stretch able candidates, which is why the Maths test is adaptive” (Magdalen College School).

The Perse describes the focus of its Maths component as “Arithmetic and mathematical reasoning” (The Perse), and Forest's guidance says its Puzzles and Problem-Solving section “encourages your child to think deeply about a scenario and apply mathematical techniques to solve a problem” (Forest's exam guidance for parents).

Non-Verbal Reasoning (NVR): Patterns, Sequences, and Spatial Thinking

The NVR section is 10 minutes and adaptive at the Perse, in Forest's Part 1, at Royal Russell and in the Consortium's assessment. The Consortium describes it as assessing “the candidate’s ability to identify patterns and think logically” (the Consortium), and the Perse lists its focus as “Spatial and visual reasoning” (The Perse).

The Consortium adds that the questions “can seem strange to candidates who have never seen those sorts of questions before”, 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.”

For the adaptive sections, Forest's guidance says “Candidates should prioritise accuracy and work carefully to answer what they can” (Forest's exam guidance for parents).

Verbal Reasoning (VR): Word Logic and Language Patterns

The VR section is also 10 minutes and adaptive at the Perse, in Forest's Part 1, at Royal Russell and in the Consortium's assessment. The Consortium describes it as assessing “the candidate’s ability to understand vocabulary, and use of language” and exploring “pattern recognition, and critical thinking” (the Consortium), and the Perse lists “Vocabulary usage and logical deduction” (The Perse).

As with NVR, the Consortium says VR questions “may feel unfamiliar to candidates who have not encountered this style of assessment before”, and gives the same advice about familiarisation materials and not recommending intense preparation (the Consortium).

Which Schools Name Quest on Their 11+ Admissions Pages?

Schools whose own admissions pages name Quest for 11+ entry include those below. Always verify directly with each school, as configurations can change year on year.

London and surrounding-area independents: Forest School, whose 11+ page calls its digital on-screen assessment “a Quest assessment which lasts one hour and ten minutes”; Chigwell School, whose 11+ entry section links “Quest Assessment Information”; Royal Russell School, whose admissions page lists “Assessments in English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning (via the Quest platform)”; Ewell Castle School, whose admissions page says it “uses Quest Online Assessments to assess all applicants”; Wetherby Senior School, whose admissions page says “Quest Assessments is the provider of Wetherby Senior's admissions tests”; and Haberdashers' Boys' School and Haberdashers' Girls' School, whose pages say “Habs Boys and Habs Girls will use the same QUEST first round assessment”.

Configurations differ far more than the shared name suggests, and the differences change what a child should practise. Quest's page for Ewell Castle School lists four subjects over 75 minutes (English 30, Verbal Reasoning 10, Maths 20 and Puzzles and Problem Solving 15), while Quest's page for Royal Russell lists four subjects over 70 minutes (English 30, Verbal Reasoning 10, Maths 20 and Non-Verbal Reasoning 10). The Haberdashers' first round is “a paper assessment”: Maths and NVR (45 minutes), English and VR (40 minutes), Creative Comprehension (20 minutes) and Creative Writing (20 minutes). Magdalen College School's online assessments “last for 115 mins, split into two parts”, with a 45-minute written paper. The thirteen schools in the London 11+ Consortium share an assessment designed in collaboration with Quest Assessments (see below).

National independents: The Perse School Cambridge (see our Perse School 11+ guide), whose assessment page describes Part 1 as “delivered by Quest”, and Magdalen College School in Oxford, whose 11+ page says “The online tests are provided by a company called Quest Assessments”.

Quest also builds exams for grammar schools: its parent guidance says “Grammar schools use Quest Admissions assessments to identify pupils who are naturally suited to a grammar school environment” and that “Every school will use different papers and follow different structures for their assessments”. The Bexley Selection Test, covered next, is one example, and it is sat in booklets.

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) — use a single test, the Bexley Selection Test, and the council states that “Bexley Selection Test papers are provided by Quest Assessments” (Bexley Council). It assesses verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, and is taken at the beginning of Year 6.

Unlike the computer-based assessments above, the Bexley test is sat in booklets: it “consists of two separate booklets”, both papers are “timed and consist of multiple-choice questions”, and “each paper lasts approximately 50 minutes, plus additional time for instructions”. The council adds that “the invigilator will lead students through the test, instructing them when to move to the next section” and that “all working out must be done in the test booklet” (Bexley Council).

Bexley says that “familiarisation exercises and information on preparation for the test can be found on the Quest website” (Bexley Council). For the 2026 test, online registration ran from 1 March to midnight on 31 March 2026, and the test ran at the four grammar schools (7 to 10 September 2026) or at children's own Bexley primary schools (2 to 10 September 2026); check the council's page for the next dates.

The London 11+ Consortium: One Shared 100-Minute Online Assessment

The London 11+ Consortium is a group of 13 independent London schools that share one assessment for Year 7 entry: 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. The Consortium says the assessment “is a collaboration between the Consortium and Quest Assessments” and “is 100 minutes long (1 hour 40 minutes)”, with a break of up to 30 minutes after Verbal Reasoning.

It has “six distinct components”, taken in this order:

Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are adaptive, so “the questions will be tailored to their performance”; English, Problem Solving and Creative Comprehension are non-adaptive, “meaning all candidates see exactly the same questions but with different content on each of the three exam days”. “Once a section has been completed, candidates cannot go back to amend it” (the Consortium).

In English, “There is no extended writing required”, and the Consortium says that typing ability will not affect results. In Creative Comprehension, “Candidates have to use information from a variety of different sources to answer questions”, given “in a range of different formats”, and they “may have to look at several different sources simultaneously”. Problem Solving “tests the ability of candidates to use words and numbers to solve multi-step problems”, and “candidates are likely to complete different numbers of questions in the time available” (the Consortium).

A candidate sits the assessment once, however many Consortium schools they apply to, and “The results will be shared with all schools at which the candidate is registered”. It is taken in the candidate's current school where possible, and otherwise at a Consortium school the family has applied to. For September 2027 entry it is held on one of Friday 27 November, Tuesday 1 December or Thursday 3 December 2026; registrations close on Friday 6 November 2026, offers are due on Friday 12 February 2027 and the deadline to accept is 12 noon on Wednesday 3 March 2027 (the Consortium).

Each Consortium school decides how it uses the result. The Consortium says “Some Consortium schools select for interview, and some do not”, and that “Godolphin and Latymer, and South Hampstead High School will select for interview from the assessment”. The interview is “individual to each senior school”, and each Consortium school asks the head of the candidate's current school for a reference (the Consortium).

On preparation, the Consortium recommends that all candidates look at its familiarisation materials but says “your daughter does not need special tuition or intensive practice for this assessment”; of the interview it says “We actively discourage preparation for the interview” (the Consortium). It names Quest Assessments as its “test provider” and describes the assessment designed for it as “almost entirely bespoke”, so families should treat it as its own format rather than a longer version of Part 1.

How Quest Results Are Scored and Used

Quest lists “Automated marking” among its features and says “All reporting and analysis is automated” (Quest Admissions). Some Quest-built tests report age-standardised scores: Forest's guidance says “All results will be age-standardised to ensure parity between candidates” (Forest's exam guidance for parents), the Consortium describes its test as “An age-standardised measure of ability” (the Consortium), and the Bexley Selection Test uses a “total weighted age-standardised score” (Bexley Council). GL Assessment likewise says its test results are age-standardised (GL Assessment).

Scales differ between tests. At Bexley the papers are “marked externally”, and the total score is weighted “50% from the verbal ability score”, “25% from the numerical ability score” and “25% from the non-verbal ability score”, with “the average total weighted age-standardised score” at 200 and “approximately two-thirds of candidates scoring between 170 and 230” (Bexley Council).

How a result is used also differs by school. Haberdashers' Girls' says “On the basis of the assessment results, around half of the students are invited to come back for an interview” (Haberdashers' Girls'); the Consortium says that how a school decides who to invite to interview, and how many, are “matters at their discretion” (the Consortium); and the Perse says its entrance assessments “involve a combination of tests, a group activity and a short informal interview with a Perse teacher” (The Perse).

Quest Part 1 vs ISEB Common Pre-Test and GL Assessment

Families new to selective school admissions often encounter all three of these systems at once, and the differences matter for preparation. Here is a clear comparison.

Quest Part 1 vs GL Assessment: GL Assessment is a separate provider of admissions tests for state and independent schools, and says “We offer both digital and paper tests” (GL Assessment). Quest likewise builds entry assessments in “Paper and online” form (Quest Admissions), so the format depends on the school: the Perse's Part 1 is computer-based with adaptive components, while the Haberdashers' first round and the Bexley Selection Test are on paper. Where a test is taken also varies: the Perse says “All candidates must attend in person” (The Perse), Wetherby Senior says most applicants “will be able to sit the assessment in their current school” (Wetherby Senior), and Consortium candidates sit in their current school where possible (the Consortium). A child preparing for both Quest and GL Assessment tests needs to check each school's format.

Quest Part 1 vs ISEB Common Pre-Test: The ISEB Common Pre-Test is, in ISEB's words, “four online, adaptive and shared entrance assessments”, “Often taken in Year 6 or Year 7”, and “Senior schools can use the tests for entry into Year 7, or for deferred entry into Year 9” (ISEB). Epsom College's Year 7 (11+) page says “all children sit the ISEB Common Pre-Test” and that the tests are “usually taken at your child’s school”, so some Year 7 entry runs through the ISEB tests. Both ISEB's tests and the Perse's Part 1 cover English, Maths, VR and NVR.

Preparing for Part 1: What Quest and the Schools Say

Quest, the Consortium and the schools publish guidance on preparation, and it is worth reading before starting a plan.

What the schools and the Consortium say. The Perse states that “No formal preparation is expected beyond viewing the familiarisation materials” (The Perse). The Consortium says “your daughter does not need special tuition or intensive practice for this assessment” (the Consortium). Magdalen College School says candidates “will not need any special tuition or intensive practice” (Magdalen College School), and Forest says its test is “designed to discourage excessive tutoring” (Forest's exam guidance for parents).

What Quest says. Quest's 11+ guidance for parents, written for grammar-school entry, says “The best preparation is steady, meaningful learning over time — not last-minute cramming or excessive tutoring”, and its guidance for children suggests practising “little and often”, getting “used to timed questions”, working on topics that feel tricky and reading widely.

Use Quest's familiarisation materials. Quest offers a familiarisation assessment that “covers all subjects delivered at 11+”, subject booklets and a walkthrough of what an assessment looks like (Quest parent guidance). The Perse cautions that its sample questions “are illustrative and not indicative of actual content” (The Perse).

Treat adaptive and non-adaptive sections differently. In a non-adaptive test Quest tells children to “try to answer all the questions” because “You will not lose any points for answering incorrectly”, and to use spare time to go back to tricky questions. In an adaptive test “you cannot go back to questions you’ve tried before”, so they should “give your best guess and then move on to the next one” (Quest's guidance for children). The Perse sets out the same split: Maths, NVR and VR are adaptive and English is non-adaptive (The Perse).

Know your school's specific configuration. Check the school's admissions page for the exact list of sections and time allocations. Some schools include Puzzles and Problem Solving, as Forest does; some set a written paper afterwards, such as the Perse's 40-minute creative writing task or Forest's 30-minute written English test; and the Consortium requires no extended writing.

Frequently Asked Questions About Quest Assessment Part 1