GL Assessment 11+ Syllabus
The complete topic-by-topic breakdown for the GL Assessment 11+. Used across Kent, Buckinghamshire, Medway, Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Birmingham, Warwickshire, West Midlands and Lincolnshire.
English
Reading Comprehension
Based on a 2-page passage (fiction, non-fiction, or poem). Questions test understanding of the text.
Literal retrieval
Find information stated directly in the passage
Inference
Deduce meaning not explicitly stated
Vocabulary in context
Choose word closest in meaning to a word as used in the passage
Author's purpose and technique
Why did the author use this word/phrase? What effect does it create?
Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)
Standalone sentence questions. No passage required.
Complete the sentence
Choose the correct word or phrase to fill a gap so the sentence is grammatically accurate
Spot the mistake
Identify the spelling, punctuation or grammar error in a given sentence
Spelling
Choose the correctly spelled word from 5 options. Includes homophones, common tricky words, suffixes/prefixes
Punctuation
Choose the correctly punctuated version of a sentence. Tests apostrophes, commas, speech marks, colons
Mathematics
Number questions appear most frequently — approx 5x more than any other single topic. Harder questions at the end test Year 6 content children may not yet have covered at school.
Number
~15 questionsArithmetic
~8 questionsFractions, Decimals and Percentages
~8 questionsAlgebra
~5 questionsRatio and Proportion
~4 questionsGeometry — Properties of Shape
~5 questionsGeometry — Position and Movement
~3 questionsStatistics and Data
~4 questionsMeasures
~3 questionsWord Problems (applied)
~8 questionsThese combine multiple topic areas. Hardest questions in the paper. Require careful reading.
Verbal Reasoning
GL uses 21 defined question types. Not all 21 appear in every paper — typically 15-18 types per exam. GL does not disclose in advance which types will appear. All 21 must be in the question bank.
Letter codes (alphabetical shift)
A word is given with its code. Decode another word or find the code for a word using the same alphabetical shift pattern.
e.g. If CAT = FDW, what is DOG?
Two-letter series
Find the next pair of letters in a sequence following an alphabetical pattern.
e.g. AB, CD, EF, __?
Letter series
Find the missing or next letter in a sequence following a pattern.
e.g. A, C, F, J, __?
Number codes (letter-number)
Words are given numeric codes. Decode words or encode them using the given pattern.
e.g. If 1=A, 2=B... what word is 3, 1, 20?
Synonyms
Find the word closest in meaning to the given word.
e.g. SWIFT: A) Slow B) Fast C) Bright D) Heavy E) Sharp
Antonyms
Find the word most opposite in meaning to the given word.
e.g. BRAVE: A) Cowardly B) Strong C) Quick D) Tall E) Calm
Odd one out
Five words are given. Find the one that does not belong with the others.
e.g. Oak, Elm, Rose, Birch, Ash — Rose (not a tree)
Word analogies
Complete the word analogy: A is to B as C is to ?
e.g. Puppy is to Dog as Kitten is to __?
Hidden words
Find a hidden 4-letter word that spans the end of one word and the start of the next in a sentence.
e.g. She CARTED the bags — hidden word: ARTE or find the 4-letter word hidden across two words
Move a letter
Move one letter from the first word to the second word to make two new words. Letters must not be rearranged.
e.g. PLANE + CAR → PLAN + CARE (move E)
Compound words / connecting word
Find a word that joins two word halves or completes two compound words.
e.g. BOOK + ? + WORK → BOOKCASE + CASEWORK
Word connections
Find a word that can follow the first word and precede the second to make two new words or compound words.
e.g. FIRE + ? + LIGHT
Anagrams
Rearrange the letters to make a new word.
e.g. TESCA = CASTE
Alphabet position
Use the numerical position of letters in the alphabet to solve problems.
e.g. What is the alphabet position of the middle letter of ORCHESTRA?
Number series
Find the next or missing number in a numerical sequence.
e.g. 3, 6, 12, 24, __? Answer: 48
Number analogies
Apply the same mathematical operation to complete the analogy.
e.g. (3→9) (5→25) (4→?) Answer: 16
Related numbers (number groups)
Find the rule linking three numbers in a group, apply to find the missing number in the final group.
e.g. [2, 6, 4] [3, 9, 6] [5, ?, 10] — rule: multiply first by 3 to get second, divide by 1.5 to get third
Complete the sum
Fill in missing numbers to make the equation balance.
e.g. 3 × ? + 6 = 21 Answer: 5
Mixed codes (letters + numbers)
More complex codes combining alphabetical shift with number patterns.
e.g. Advanced version of Types 1 and 4 combined
Word grid / matrix
Find which word fits in a grid where each row and column follows a word relationship rule.
e.g. 3×3 word grid where each row shares a category and each column shares another property
Related words (extended group)
Four words are given that share a specific property. Find the fifth word that fits the SAME specific property (harder than odd-one-out).
e.g. Bath, ocean, puddle, rain — which fits? Sea (all are water, but ocean/sea = large natural body of water)
Non-Verbal Reasoning
Structure: 4 separately timed sections of 20 questions × 10 minutes each
Section 1:
Matrices / grids
A 2×2, 3×2 or 3×3 grid of shapes with one missing. Find which of 5 options completes the grid following the row/column rules.
Series / sequences
A sequence of 4 or 5 shapes. Find the next shape in the sequence following the transformation rule.
Section 2:
Rotation and reflection
A shape is shown. Identify which of 5 options shows the shape correctly rotated (90°, 180°, 270°) or reflected (horizontal, vertical, diagonal axis).
Shape codes
A table of shapes with letters codes is given. Decode the rule linking shapes to codes, then apply to an uncoded shape.
Section 3:
Odd one out (shapes)
5 shapes are shown. Identify the one that does NOT follow the same rule as the other 4.
Shape analogies
Shape A is transformed to give Shape B. Apply the same transformation to Shape C to find Shape D.
Section 4:
3D nets
Which 2D net folds to make the given 3D shape? Or: what 3D shape does this net make? Tests spatial awareness.
Cubes and faces
A cube is shown with marked faces. Which of 5 options shows the same cube from a different angle / after rotation?
Fold and punch (spatial)
Paper is folded in a sequence then hole-punched. Which option shows the paper correctly unfolded? (Used by Gloucestershire and some others.)
Gloucestershire adds this as spatial reasoning. Also appears in some other GL papers.
Spatial Reasoning
Spatial reasoning is a subset of NVR used by Gloucestershire and some other GL counties. It is included in Paper 2 alongside NVR and Maths. The question types overlap significantly with NVR Section 4.
Used by: gloucestershire
2D to 3D shape building
Which 3D shape can be built from this 2D net?
Shape rotation in 3D
Identify the same 3D shape after rotation
Fold and punch
Paper fold and hole punch — which option shows it unfolded?
Hidden shapes / embedded figures
Which of the 5 options contains the given small shape hidden within it?
Kent only — Creative Writing task
Kent 11+ includes a 40-minute creative writing task (10 min planning + 30 min writing). It is only marked for borderline cases — children who score near the qualifying threshold. Our Kent mocks include this task with a self-assessment checklist.
View Kent 11+ full details →