The Quest Assessments 11 plus

Who uses it

Bexley, Wirral and Plymouth's grammar schools; Tiffin School, Colyton, Bishop Wordsworth's; the Borden and Dover tests in Kent

Switching to Quest

For entry in September 2028 (tests in autumn 2027): the Kent Test, the Slough consortium and the Dorset (BCP) consortium

When

September of Year 6, after registering in the summer of Year 5, as before

Subjects

Some or all of English, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, chosen by each school or area

Format

Usually paper tests, multiple choice, with answers marked on a separate answer sheet

What is Quest Assessments?

Quest Assessments is an 11+ test provider owned by Atom Learning, an online 11+ practice company. Like GL Assessment, it writes a version of the test for each school or area, which then decides the subjects, the number of papers and how scores are used.

Quest has grown quickly. Bexley's selection test and Wirral's council test moved to Quest from the 2026 tests, and several single schools use it for their own tests. For entry in September 2028, three large areas follow: the Kent grammar schools (through the Kent Test), the Slough consortium and the Dorset consortium in Bournemouth and Poole.

What the papers look like

• Subjects. Quest writes English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning papers, and each area picks a mix. The Dorset consortium, for example, uses three papers: maths, English and verbal reasoning.
• Multiple choice. Most papers are multiple choice. Answers usually go on a separate answer sheet that a machine reads, so practising with an answer sheet helps.
• Several shorter papers. Areas typically use two or three papers of around 40 to 50 minutes.
• Writing. Some schools add their own writing task alongside the Quest papers.

If your area is switching to Quest

A change of provider does not change what your child needs to know: the tests still draw on Key Stage 2 maths and English, and on the same kinds of reasoning questions. What changes is the layout, the timing and the style of some question types.

• Keep practising the core skills as before. They matter far more than any one provider's style.
• Read your area's familiarisation material as soon as it is published, usually with registration in the spring or summer of Year 5.
• Treat older practice papers labelled for your area's previous test as useful practice, not a copy of the new one.
• Check each school's page in our list of grammar schools for its test and dates.

Other 11+ tests

• GL AssessmentMost of EnglandEnglish, maths, verbal and non-verbal reasoning on paper.
• Quest AssessmentsGrowing; Kent from 2028Paper multiple-choice tests; Kent, Slough and Dorset switch to it for 2028 entry.
• FSCEAbout ten schoolsMaths, English and, at some schools, the wider curriculum and creative writing.
• CSSEEssexWritten maths and English papers, including a writing task.
• SEAGNorthern IrelandThe transfer test: two papers of English and maths in November.
• ISEB Pre-TestIndependent schoolsAn adaptive on-screen test, sat once a year.
• CEMSome independent schoolsShort timed sections. No longer used by grammar schools.

Read the full 11+ guide for parents