The ISEB Common Pre-Test: A Complete Guide for International Families (2026–27)

6 Aug

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The ISEB Common Pre-Test is the first formal assessment step in the admissions process at Eton College, Harrow School, Radley College, Wycombe Abbey, Benenden, Downe House and over seventy other leading independent schools. Cheltenham Ladies' College uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test for 11+ entry but not for 13+ entry. This guide covers what the test is, how it works, how to register from overseas, where to sit it internationally, what scores mean, how to prepare your child, and what to do if something goes wrong on the day.

If your child is applying to Eton College, Harrow School or Radley College, to Wycombe Abbey, Benenden or Downe House, or to any of the more than seventy leading independent senior schools in England that use the same shared assessment, the ISEB Common Pre-Test will be the first formal examination they sit as part of the admissions process. Cheltenham Ladies' College uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test for 11+ (Year 7) entry but uses Common Entrance or its own papers at 13+. It is taken in Year 6, typically when a child is ten or eleven years old, usually two to three years before they join their senior school. For international families overseas, the test can be sat at an approved local centre, without any need to travel to England.

Understanding the Pre-Test matters for three reasons. First, it is the gateway through which every applicant to these schools must pass before any interview or school-specific assessment. A strong result opens the door; a weak one may close it. Second, the test is unlike almost every other examination your child will have encountered. Its adaptive nature, its specific philosophy, and the particular way it measures ability all demand a different approach to preparation. Third, the results go directly to schools and not to parents, which means families navigate this process without the visibility they might expect. This guide explains everything.

What Is the ISEB Common Pre-Test?

ISEB stands for the Independent Schools Examinations Board, a body founded in 1903 to design and deliver common entrance examinations for the independent school sector. It was established by the three organisations that remain its patron associations today. These are the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS) and the Girls' Schools Association (GSA). For over 120 years, ISEB has sat at the heart of independent school admissions in the United Kingdom.

The Common Pre-Test is ISEB's shared online admissions assessment for children in Years 6 and 7. It is used by senior schools for both 11+ (Year 7) and 13+ (Year 9) entry; this guide focuses primarily on the 13+ admissions pathway to which Eton College, Harrow School and Radley College belong for boys, and to which Wycombe Abbey, Benenden and Downe House belong for girls, alongside more than sixty additional senior schools. Cheltenham Ladies' College uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test for 11+ entry, but at 13+ requires Common Entrance or its own papers. The word "common" is precise and important. As the test is shared across more than seventy senior schools, a child sits it once and the results are shared simultaneously with every school they have applied to. One test, one set of results, available to all.

The test is taken online. It is fully adaptive. It covers four subjects, English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. It takes two hours and fifteen minutes in total. Results go directly to senior schools and are not released to parents by ISEB.

One important distinction for families applying to Winchester College: Winchester uses its own General Ability Testing (GAT), which is a separate proprietary assessment administered online by Winchester College staff. It is not the ISEB Common Pre-Test. Families applying to Winchester should refer to Winchester's own admissions guidance. The other leading boys' schools covered in these guides, including Eton, Harrow, Radley, Tonbridge and Wellington, use the ISEB Common Pre-Test at 13+. Among the girls' schools, Wycombe Abbey, Benenden and Downe House all use the ISEB Common Pre-Test at 13+. Cheltenham Ladies' College uses the ISEB Common Pre-Test at 11+ (Year 7 entry) but not at 13+, where it requires Common Entrance papers or its own entrance examinations in English, Mathematics and Science instead. Families applying to multiple schools across these groups register once with ISEB and share one Applicant ID with every school that uses the test.

The Purpose of the Test

The ISEB Common Pre-Test is designed to measure two things simultaneously, and understanding this distinction is the single most useful thing a parent can take from this guide.

The English and Mathematics sections measure attainment, meaning what your child has been taught and how well they can recall and apply it. These sections are curriculum-aligned, broadly following the National Curriculum to the end of Year 5. They assess a child's existing academic foundation.

The Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning sections measure potential, meaning analytical ability, pattern recognition, logical reasoning and problem-solving capacity. These abilities are not taught as part of any school curriculum. They cannot be crammed in the week before the test. They indicate how capable a child is of acquiring new knowledge and applying it to unfamiliar situations. This is precisely what senior schools care about most, because what they are really asking is whether this child will thrive here over the next five or seven years.

This distinction has a direct implication for preparation, which this guide addresses in the preparation section below.

ISEB's own description of the test's purpose is precise. The Pre-Test enables "pupils to demonstrate their ability and potential" and provides senior schools with "detailed and accurate information about prospective pupils' attainment and potential." It is not a knowledge examination. It is an assessment of who a child is academically, not merely what they have been taught.

The Format: What the Test Looks Like

The ISEB Common Pre-Test comprises four online, adaptive, multiple-choice tests. The sections and their confirmed timings are as follows.

Section	Standard time	With 25% extra time (SEND)
English	40 minutes	50 minutes
Mathematics	40 minutes	50 minutes
Non-Verbal Reasoning	30 minutes	37.5 minutes
Verbal Reasoning	25 minutes	31.25 minutes
Total	2 hours 15 minutes	2 hours 48.75 minutes

The four sections can be taken on the same day in a single sitting or split across multiple days, at the invigilation centre's discretion. Once a section is started, it must be completed in that sitting. Sections can be taken in any order. When a section ends, the child is taken back to the main test menu to choose the next.

All questions are multiple choice. No written answers are required. Pen and paper for rough working are provided by the invigilation centre and are permitted throughout all four sections. The working paper is not marked or seen by schools.

How Adaptive Testing Works

The adaptive nature of the Pre-Test is its most distinctive feature, and it is the thing that families find most difficult to understand initially. Understanding it properly will help your child approach the test in the right frame of mind.

In a conventional examination, every child answers the same questions in the same order. In an adaptive test, the questions presented to each child are unique. The system assesses the child's ability after each response and selects the next question to have the most appropriate level of difficulty. If a child answers correctly, the next question will be slightly harder. If a child answers incorrectly, the next question will be slightly easier. The system is constantly calibrating its understanding of where the child's ability level lies.

Several consequences follow from this.

No two children sit the same test. As question paths are unique, it is highly unlikely that any two candidates will see the same series of questions.

The number of questions each child sees is variable by design. It is different for every child and is not published in advance. This is not something to worry about.

Children cannot go back and change previous answers. Once a question is submitted, it is final. This is a feature of adaptive design, not an oversight.

The system can identify random guessing. The algorithm can detect patterns in answers that are inconsistent with the general level of ability a child has demonstrated, and will adjust accordingly.

The most important point for children and parents to understand: when the questions become harder, that is a sign that the test is going well. A child who encounters very difficult questions is almost certainly performing at a high level. A child who finds the test straightforward throughout may not have reached the upper reaches of the difficulty scale. Children should be told this before they sit, because the experience of facing increasingly hard questions can cause unnecessary anxiety if they do not understand what it means.

The adaptive system also accounts for early nervousness. ISEB confirms that the test is designed to ensure that "early nervousness or occasional inconsistencies do not negatively impact the final score, as the system adjusts dynamically to provide an accurate evaluation." A child who stumbles on the first one or two questions because they are nervous is not penalised by the architecture of the test.

What Each Section Covers

English

The English section has two distinct components. These are Reading Comprehension and Grammar.

Reading Comprehension presents several short passages of between 300 and 500 words each. Passages may be fiction, non-fiction or poetry. Both the passages and the questions are adaptive, providing a personalised route through the comprehension. Questions assess retrieval of information, making inferences, explaining the meaning of words in context, explaining how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and literary devices (including personification, alliteration, similes and metaphors), summarising main ideas, and making comparisons across the text, between characters, or between formal and informal language.

Grammar covers four areas. Vocabulary tests knowledge of word meaning, word families, prefixes and suffixes. Punctuation tests how punctuation should be used. Grammar covers knowledge of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions, clauses, formal and informal language, verb agreement, and sentence structure. Importantly, most grammar questions ask what is grammatically correct rather than requiring children to recall the names of specific tenses. Spelling tests knowledge of spelling patterns and common exception words. Specific question types include Cloze Sentences (where a keyword is omitted from a sentence and the child must identify it from context), Shuffled Sentences (where the words of a sentence have been jumbled and the child must reconstruct the correct order), and SPaG questions testing spelling, punctuation and grammar simultaneously.

Mathematics

The Mathematics section covers the National Curriculum Programme of Study up to the end of Year 5. Topics include number and place value, calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), fractions, decimals and percentages, measurement, geometry and statistics. There is no algebra. Some questions test mathematical fluency through arithmetic; others require multi-step problem solving drawing on several topics at once. Calculators are not permitted. Pen and paper for working are provided and permitted.

Verbal Reasoning

The Verbal Reasoning section measures comprehension, reasoning and logic using language-based questions. It assesses vocabulary and definitions, problem-solving techniques, trial-and-error skills, working logically and recognising suitable solutions. Question types include word meaning, antonyms, word combinations, letter transfer and number codes. The free ISEB Test Walkthrough provides examples of the question styles used.

Verbal Reasoning is not taught as part of any school curriculum, so it cannot be revised through standard schoolwork. Familiarity with the question types and practising systematic approaches to logical puzzles is the appropriate form of preparation.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

The Non-Verbal Reasoning section assesses logic, critical thinking and problem-solving using figures and diagrams rather than words. It contains two types of questions. Non-Verbal Reasoning questions require analysis of 2D figures and diagrams to identify patterns, including similarities and differences between shapes, completing a diagram by identifying the missing element, and code matching. Spatial Reasoning questions require the child to mentally manipulate 3D figures and visualise them in a different orientation.

Instructions are provided before each type of question, so children know what they are being asked to do. The ISEB Test Walkthrough provides examples of both question types.

Like Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning is not a school subject. Preparation involves building familiarity with the question format and practising the kind of spatial and analytical thinking these questions demand.

The Registration Process for 2026–27

Since 2023, all registration for the ISEB Common Pre-Test is completed directly by parents and guardians, not by the senior school. Registration is free and takes place via the ISEB Guardian Portal. A child need only be registered once, regardless of how many senior schools they are applying to.

The 2026–27 testing session. The Guardian Portal opened for registration on 9 June 2026. Testing begins 1 September 2026 and runs until late May 2027. Guardian registration closes in early May 2027.

The registration process has seven steps.

Step 1: Create an account. Open the ISEB Guardian Portal and create a parent or guardian account. The email address used must not already be associated with another Guardian account.

Step 2: Create the Applicant Profile. Enter the child's personal information, including their legal name exactly as it appears on their birth certificate (not a nickname or shortened name), date of birth, gender and current school.

Step 3: Select the invigilation centre. This is where your child will sit the test. Begin typing the centre's name and select it from the dropdown menu if it appears. If the centre does not appear, it may not yet be registered with ISEB. You can select "Answer Later" and return to complete this step once a centre has been confirmed. If you cannot identify a suitable centre, ISEB can assist through its own website.

Step 4: Declare SEND status. Every parent must answer Yes or No. If Yes, you will be prompted to upload supporting documentation (typically an Educational Psychologist's report) and to request 25% extra time or other adjustments. If you do not yet have this documentation, select "Answer Later," but note that the application cannot progress until this section is completed.

Step 5: Declare EAL status. Every parent must answer Yes or No. If Yes, provide details of your child's first language and English skills. EAL adjustments such as a bilingual dictionary can be requested here.

Step 6: Review and confirm. Check all details carefully. Once confirmed, the Applicant ID is generated.

Step 7: Share the Applicant ID. The Applicant ID must be shared with every senior school your child is applying to. Contact each school to confirm how they wish to receive it. This step is essential. Without it, the school cannot view the results.

ISEB maintains a map of all registered invigilation centres worldwide on its website. Families who cannot find a suitable overseas centre can request support through ISEB directly.

Where Your Child Can Sit the Test

At their current school (UK prep school)

If your child attends a UK prep school, this is the simplest and most common route. The school registers as an invigilation centre and manages the booking through the ISEB Invigilation Centre Portal. Many prep schools sit their pupils in a supervised computer room on a single day, managing the logistics on the family's behalf. ISEB recommends this route because familiar surroundings reduce anxiety and eliminate travel disruption.

At the senior school applied to

Some senior schools offer candidates the option of sitting the test on site, particularly where a family is visiting for an open morning or event. Check with each school individually whether this option is available.

At an approved overseas centre

This is the route for most international families. The test can be sat anywhere in the world, at any approved school, educational institution or governmental venue that has registered as an ISEB invigilation centre. The test cannot be taken at home under any circumstances.

For families in Hong Kong, confirmed ISEB-approved venues include the British Council Hong Kong, alongside other approved local invigilation centres. The British Council's entrance examination service administers ISEB tests; families should contact the school being applied to first to confirm approval, then submit an exam request form to the British Council directly.

For families in Singapore, the British Council Singapore is an established ISEB-approved invigilation centre. Several British international schools in Singapore also operate as invigilation centres for their own pupils. Families can confirm current options and availability in Singapore with ISEB directly.

For families in Mainland China, some British international schools in major cities are registered ISEB invigilation centres. ISEB can help identify approved centres in your city.

For families in Thailand, the British Council Thailand administers ISEB tests, and several British international schools in Bangkok and elsewhere operate as invigilation centres. Families should contact the school being applied to first to confirm approval, then confirm current options and availability in Thailand with ISEB or the British Council directly.

For other locations, ISEB can help source an approved local centre.

The process for overseas families is as follows. First, identify and confirm your invigilation centre. Second, register on the Guardian Portal and select that centre from the dropdown. Third, share your Applicant ID with each senior school. The invigilation centre then schedules the test date, downloads the test codes from the ISEB Invigilation Centre Portal, and administers the test under standard examination conditions. Results are available to senior schools immediately upon completion.

There is no additional fee charged by ISEB for sitting overseas. However, the invigilation centre itself may charge a venue and invigilation fee. This varies by centre and should be confirmed in advance.

Timing and School Deadlines

The testing window runs from 1 September to late May each academic year. Within this wide window, individual senior schools set their own deadlines. Families must check each school's specific requirements.

For 13+ entry to Eton College, Harrow School and Radley College, the standard expectation is that the Pre-Test is sat between October and January of Year 6. In practice, school-specific deadlines fall significantly earlier within that window. Harrow School requires all applicants to have sat the Pre-Test by 20 November of Year 6. Families should confirm the precise deadline with each school at the time of registration rather than relying on the broad window. In practice, most families whose children attend UK prep schools sit in October or November. Overseas families whose children sit at a British Council or other international centre often sit in the same October to December window.

The test can only be sat once per academic year. It does not matter when within the year the test was taken. A child who sits in September of Year 6 and a child who sits in April of Year 6 are compared on the same scale, because results are age-standardised to account for both the child's exact age and the time of year the test was taken.

Late applicants. If a senior school receives an application from a child who has already sat the Pre-Test in the current academic year, the school can access the existing results immediately. If a late applicant has not yet sat the Pre-Test, ISEB can support the school to arrange a sitting at any point within the testing window, and the age-standardisation ensures the results remain fully comparable with those of earlier sitters.

Year 7 sitters. Although most 13+ applicants sit in Year 6, the test is also designed for Year 7. If a child misses the Year 6 window entirely, a Year 7 sitting is the standard alternative. The Year 6 and Year 7 sittings are entirely independent. A child can sit once in Year 6 and, if necessary, sit again in Year 7 without any conflict.

What Happens If Something Goes Wrong

Families rightly worry about what happens if a child falls ill or the test is disrupted. ISEB's own administration guide addresses these scenarios directly.

If a child is taken ill during the test. The invigilator can pause the test immediately using the Invigilator Code. The timer stops. The test remains paused until the end of the testing window. When the child has recovered, the next day or whenever he is well enough, he can return to the same invigilation centre, log in with their test code, and continue from where he left off. The invigilator enters the Invigilator Code to resume. The circumstances must be recorded on the Centre Declaration form, which senior schools can view alongside the results.

If the child is unable to return within the testing window, the family should contact ISEB directly, including the child's Applicant ID, to discuss whether the test can be reset.

If the test is disrupted by an external event. If a fire alarm, internet outage or other external disruption forces the test to be abandoned, the invigilation centre submits a ticket to ISEB selecting "Technical difficulties during a test." ISEB investigates and advises whether the test can be rescheduled. In extenuating circumstances, tests can be reset. It is unlikely the test can be retaken on the same day. ISEB informs the centre of any rescheduling.

The practical implication for international families. Since the testing window runs from September to late May, a child who misses a scheduled sitting due to illness almost always has the opportunity to sit later in the same year. Families should contact the invigilation centre and the relevant senior schools immediately if illness prevents attendance.

Scoring, Results and What Schools See

The Standardised Age Score

Every child who completes the Pre-Test receives a Standardised Age Score (SAS) for each of the four sections and an overall mean SAS. The SAS is calculated based on the accuracy and consistency of the child's answers, adjusted for their exact age in years and months at the time of sitting. This age adjustment is important. A child who sits in September of Year 6 and a child who sits in April of Year 6 are not disadvantaged relative to one another, because the scoring accounts for the difference in their ages.

The SAS is benchmarked against a standardisation sample drawn from the independent schools sector, not from the national school population. This matters for international families. Your child is being compared with the cohort of children applying to independent senior schools, not with the general Year 6 population of England.

The average SAS is 100. Approximately two-thirds of pupils score between 85 and 115. The scale is widely reported to have a maximum of approximately 142. Practitioners working with this test consistently indicate that a score of 120 or above across sections places a candidate in a strong position for the most academically selective schools, including Eton, Harrow and Radley. There is no universal pass mark. Each school sets its own criteria, and what constitutes a competitive score will vary between schools and between cohort years.

What schools receive

Senior schools see the following data for each candidate through their portal. They see the time and date the test was taken, the total test duration, the child's age at the time of testing, the SAS for each section and the mean SAS, the Stanine score (a scale from 1 to 9, where 9 is highest), the Percentile Rank, the Group Rank, and any Centre Declaration notes recorded by the invigilation centre.

Results are available to schools in real time, immediately upon completion. Every senior school to which a family has provided the Applicant ID receives the results simultaneously. There is no sequencing, no family choice about which schools see results first, and no mechanism to withhold results from any school in the registered list once the test is complete. A family applying to five schools will have all five schools see the results on the same day the test is sat.

It is also worth understanding how the Pre-Test is funded. Registration is free to families. ISEB charges the senior schools a fee per result accessed. This is why registration costs the family nothing. The financial relationship is between ISEB and the schools, not between ISEB and the family.

Parents do not receive the results

ISEB states this directly in its own support portal. The organisation confirms that it does not release Pre-Test results to parents and that parents should ask the senior school if they wish to understand how their child performed.

This means your child will sit a significant examination, go home, and you will hear nothing directly. What you will hear, in due course, is whether the school has invited them to the next stage of its admissions process. That invitation, or its absence, is the only indicator parents typically receive.

How schools use the results

Schools use the Pre-Test as one element of a broader admissions picture. Results are considered alongside school references, interviews and, in many cases, school-specific second-stage assessments. No school offers or refuses a place on the basis of the Pre-Test alone. However, for the most selective and oversubscribed schools, only candidates whose Pre-Test results meet a threshold will be invited to the next stage. The Pre-Test is a filter. Performing well does not guarantee progression; performing poorly will typically end the application at this point.

SEND and EAL Provisions

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Children with identified SEND can receive 25% extra time across all four sections. The with-extra-time durations are confirmed as English 50 minutes, Mathematics 50 minutes, Non-Verbal Reasoning 37.5 minutes and Verbal Reasoning 31.25 minutes.

Evidence, typically an Educational Psychologist's report or equivalent documentation from a suitably qualified professional, must be uploaded during Guardian Portal registration. The senior school reviews and approves or appeals the request. Families should check with the relevant senior school what specific documentation they require before completing registration, as requirements may vary between schools.

Families applying from outside the United Kingdom should be aware that EP report formats and professional qualifications differ between countries. A report produced by a psychologist overseas may be accepted, but families should confirm this with each senior school before registration. If there is any doubt about whether overseas documentation meets the school's requirements, it is worth commissioning a UK-format EP report from a chartered educational psychologist ahead of registration.

The ISEB testing platform has three built-in accessibility features available to all candidates regardless of SEND status. A coloured overlay can be selected to improve the visibility of questions, particularly for children who experience visual disturbance when reading. The font size can be adjusted. The countdown timer can be hidden from view by clicking on it, for children who find the visible countdown creates anxiety.

Additional adjustments such as rest breaks between sections or a test reader can also be arranged upon request with senior school approval.

English as an Additional Language

Children for whom English is an additional language can request the use of a standard bilingual paper dictionary during the test. There is no extra time provision for EAL. EAL adjustments are at the discretion of the senior school and can be requested during Guardian Portal registration.

Families whose children's primary language of schooling is not English should accurately declare their situation in the EAL section of the registration, and should also consider carefully what the test's English-language demands mean for preparation. The Reading Comprehension and Grammar sections require genuine command of written English. A child whose English is limited will be disadvantaged not only in those sections but also in the Verbal Reasoning section, which uses language-based questions.

How to Prepare Your Child

ISEB's own preparation guide is careful and precise on this point. It confirms that additional test practice is not a requirement of the Pre-Tests, while acknowledging that some families may benefit from preparation work to reduce test anxiety. ISEB acknowledges that preparation has value. It is saying that the test is designed to measure potential, not coaching outcomes, and that preparation should be approached in a way that supports the whole child rather than generating pressure.

With that philosophy clearly in mind, there are practical things a family can do.

Familiarise your child with the format

The most important preparation step is familiarisation, not revision. The adaptive format, the multiple-choice structure, the one-way-only rule (no going back), and the experience of questions that become progressively harder are all things a child should encounter for the first time in a practice setting, not on the actual test day.

ISEB provides a free Test Walkthrough. This shows the look and feel of the platform, the accessibility features, and sample question styles for each section. Every child should spend time on this before sitting the test.

ISEB also provides a free downloadable Test Framework, which sets out the content of each section in detail.

English and Mathematics

These sections can be prepared for through standard curriculum study. The Mathematics section covers National Curriculum content to the end of Year 5, so consolidating number work, fractions, measurement, geometry and statistics at that level is appropriate. Times tables are particularly important. Reading widely, building vocabulary, and practising reading comprehension are the most valuable things for English preparation. ISEB's own preparation guide recommends BBC Bitesize for Maths and English SPaG, and word-based games such as Scrabble, Boggle and Bananagrams as natural, low-pressure ways to build vocabulary.

For the Grammar component, the question types include Cloze Sentences and Shuffled Sentences, both of which benefit from specific practice. Bond and CGP workbooks at Years 4 and 5 level cover this material directly.

Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning

These sections are not covered by any school curriculum and are the most important to practise specifically. Familiarity with the question types, not memorisation of answers (which is impossible in an adaptive test), is what preparation can actually deliver.

For Non-Verbal Reasoning and Spatial Reasoning, ISEB's own preparation guide recommends playing SET (a card game that develops attention to shape, number, colour, shading and patterns simultaneously), building with LEGO or Meccano for spatial awareness, Q-Bitz for rotation and symmetry, and Spot the Difference puzzles. These are useful in practice, not merely reassuring suggestions.

For Verbal Reasoning, reading widely, building vocabulary actively through word games and discussion, and working through specific VR question-type practice papers are all appropriate. The most effective way to build vocabulary is through repetition and context, putting words into use rather than memorising lists in isolation.

Why prep school children have a structural advantage

The preparation described above assumes a child is navigating the Pre-Test as an individual, managing their own readiness with family support and external tutoring. A child at a UK prep school is in a materially different position. Prep schools embed Pre-Test preparation into the curriculum across Years 5 and 6 as a matter of routine. The Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning skills that cannot be crammed are developed over years through consistent intellectual habit. The school's Future Schools Adviser manages the registration process, sets mock Pre-Tests under timed conditions, and communicates with senior school admissions offices directly. For international families considering the choice between sending a child to a UK prep school and applying to senior school from overseas, this structural advantage is one of the most significant factors to understand. The separate guide to UK boarding prep schools explains this in full and profiles twelve leading boarding prep schools.

When to start preparing

Most practitioners recommend a preparation timeline of six to twelve months before the test for building subject skills and subject confidence, narrowing to three to six months before the test for specific adaptive mock practice and timed work under test conditions. For a child sitting in October or November of Year 6, beginning focused preparation at the start of the Summer Term of Year 5 (approximately eighteen months before) is appropriate without being excessive.

Preparation should be steady and calm, not intensive and pressured. The test measures potential. The most important thing a parent can do is ensure a child arrives at the test rested, confident in the format, and not anxious.

Different Situations International Families May Face

My child is at a UK prep school

This is the simplest situation of all. The prep school will almost certainly register as an invigilation centre and organise the test for all its Year 6 pupils. Many schools book a block sitting day in October or November, often in a familiar IT suite or classroom. Parents register on the Guardian Portal, the school coordinates the rest. If there is any doubt about whether the school is registered, ask the Director of Studies or Registrar directly.

My child attends a school elsewhere in Asia or overseas

Register on the Guardian Portal. Approved invigilation centres, including British Council offices and British international schools, operate across many countries in Asia and beyond; if your child's own school is not a registered centre, ISEB can help identify the nearest one based on your location, and maintains a map of all registered centres worldwide on its website. Where an overseas centre needs to be newly registered, it must complete ISEB's invigilation centre registration form and receive written confirmation from each senior school the candidate is applying to.

My child will be in Year 7 when they sit, not Year 6

Some families miss the Year 6 window, or apply later to schools. The test is designed for both Years 6 and 7, and a Year 7 sitting is perfectly valid for 13+ entry applications. The age-standardisation ensures results are fully comparable regardless of the year of sitting.

My child sat the test last year and is applying again this year

The Pre-Test can only be sat once per academic year. If your child sat in one academic year and is applying to a school in the following year, the previous year's results can still be shared with that school by providing the Applicant ID. The school then requests the results from ISEB directly. Only if the school requires a fresh sitting will you need to create a new Applicant Profile in the Guardian Portal. When you do, the previous profile is archived and the same details can be re-entered to generate a new Applicant ID.

My child has SEND requirements

Register on the Guardian Portal, select SEND = Yes, upload the required documentation, and request the appropriate adjustment (25% extra time, rest breaks, or other arrangements). Contact the senior school(s) you are applying to in advance to confirm what documentation they require and to ensure the adjustment will be approved. The ISEB SEND guidance document is available as a free PDF download from ISEB's website.

My child is anxious about tests

This is something ISEB has specifically considered. The test is designed to account for early nervousness, so a child who stumbles initially will not be penalised by the system. The ISEB Test Walkthrough allows them to familiarise themselves with the platform in advance so there are no surprises. The accessibility features, including the option to hide the timer and the progress bar, can reduce in-test anxiety. Arriving having practised in the correct format on a similar platform reduces the unfamiliarity that drives anxiety. And talking to your child about what the adaptive format means, including the reassurance that harder questions are a sign of good performance, removes one of the most common sources of mid-test distress.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test and why does my child need to sit it? The ISEB Common Pre-Test is the shared online admissions assessment used by over seventy leading independent senior schools, including Eton College, Harrow School and Radley College. It covers English, Mathematics, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. It is taken in Year 6 or Year 7 and must be sat as the first stage of the admissions process at any school that uses it.

Is the ISEB Common Pre-Test the same test that Winchester College uses? No. Winchester College uses its own General Ability Testing (GAT), which is an entirely separate assessment administered online by Winchester College staff. Families applying to Winchester should consult Winchester's own admissions guidance.

Can my child sit the test overseas without coming to England? Yes. The test can be taken at any approved school, educational institution or governmental venue registered as an ISEB invigilation centre anywhere in the world. Approved centres operate in many countries; the British Council administers ISEB tests at a number of its overseas offices, alongside other approved local invigilation centres. ISEB can help if you need to find a centre.

How much does it cost to register? Registration on the ISEB Guardian Portal is free. The invigilation centre may charge a venue or invigilation fee, which varies. There is no fee charged by ISEB for overseas sittings.

When should my child sit the test? Check the specific deadline set by each senior school your child is applying to, as schools set their own deadlines within the September-to-May testing window. For 13+ entry at Eton, Harrow and Radley, the standard expectation is October to January of Year 6.

Can my child sit the test more than once? A child can only sit the Pre-Test once per academic year. If they sit twice in the same academic year (which would be unusual), only the first result stands. They can sit in Year 6 and, if needed, sit again in Year 7 of the following academic year.

Will we receive our child's scores? No. ISEB does not release Pre-Test results to parents. Results go directly to the senior schools. Parents can ask the senior school if it is willing to share context on the results, but there is no right to see the scores.

What does a Standardised Age Score mean? The SAS is a score that compares your child's performance with a sample of pupils applying to independent schools, adjusted for their exact age at the time of sitting. The average is 100. Approximately two-thirds of pupils score between 85 and 115. The scale is widely reported to have a maximum of approximately 142. There is no pass mark. Each school uses results differently.

What score does my child need? There is no universal pass mark and no published threshold. Practitioners working with the most selective schools, Eton, Harrow and Radley, generally indicate that a mean SAS of 120 or above places a candidate in a strong position. However, schools consider the Pre-Test alongside school references and, in some cases, school-specific second-stage assessments, so no single score guarantees or prevents progression.

What happens if my child is ill on the day of the test? The invigilator can pause the test immediately and the timer stops. The test remains paused until the end of the testing window. Your child can return the next day or when they have recovered to complete it. If the testing window closes before they can return, contact ISEB directly with their Applicant ID to discuss a reset.

Does the test have to be taken on a specific date? No. The testing window runs from 1 September to late May each academic year. Within that window, the invigilation centre schedules the test. You must, however, check the individual deadline set by each senior school and ensure the test is taken before that date.

How should my child prepare? Familiarise them with the format using the free ISEB Test Walkthrough before anything else. For English and Mathematics, consolidate National Curriculum content to the end of Year 5. For Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning, build familiarity with question types through specific practice. ISEB's own preparation guide states that additional test practice is not a requirement, but that preparation can help reduce test anxiety.

Does my child need extra English language support if they are not a native English speaker? EAL candidates can request a bilingual paper dictionary during the test. There is no extra time for EAL. A child whose English is limited will be disadvantaged in the English and Verbal Reasoning sections. Ensuring strong English before applying is important for any child whose schooling has not been primarily in English.

How does the test differ from Common Entrance? The ISEB Common Pre-Test is taken in Year 6 or Year 7, is online, adaptive, multiple-choice, and measures potential as well as attainment. Common Entrance is taken at the end of Year 8, is a set of written subject papers, and is curriculum-based. The Pre-Test selects candidates; Common Entrance in most cases confirms a conditional place already offered. They are separate assessments serving different purposes at different stages of the admissions journey.

Is the ISEB Common Pre-Test Something to Worry About?

The short answer is no. Or at least, not in the way that many families worry about it.

The Pre-Test is designed to reveal who a child is, not to trick them. The adaptive format means the questions will find their level, and they will spend most of their time answering questions calibrated to that level rather than struggling with questions far beyond them or breezing through questions far beneath them. A child with genuine ability, reasonably familiar with the format and relaxed on the day, will produce results that reflect them accurately.

What would cause a genuinely able child to underperform is primarily anxiety and unfamiliarity. Both of those are things a family can address through calm and proportionate preparation, not through intensive drilling.

The Pre-Test is also not the end of the admissions process. It is the beginning. A strong Pre-Test result invites a child to the next stage, where the school gets to meet them. That meeting is where many admissions decisions are ultimately made: the interview, the assessment day, the impression a child makes in person. Families who focus entirely on the Pre-Test at the expense of preparing a child to represent themselves well in person are missing the larger picture.

What that next stage looks like depends on the school. At Eton College, boys whose Pre-Test results meet the threshold are invited to the Stage 2 Assessment at Eton, which includes an individual interview and an online predictive assessment of academic ability. At Harrow School, successful Pre-Test candidates are invited to the Harrow Assessment, which includes a Housemaster interview, a computerised English and Mathematics assessment, and a classroom-based group activity. At Radley College, shortlisted boys attend an Assessment Day involving a senior staff interview and a short written exercise.

At Wycombe Abbey, girls who perform strongly in the Pre-Test are invited to an Assessment Day at the school in January of Year 8 involving English, Mathematics, humanities and modern foreign language papers, a personal interview, and a practical science assessment. At Benenden, shortlisted girls are invited to a Preview Weekend at the school, an overnight stay involving an English and Mathematics assessment, an informal interview with a member of staff, and an immersive experience of boarding life, with unconditional offers made on the basis of the whole process. At Downe House, successful Pre-Test candidates are invited to an Assessment Day at the school involving an interview with the Headmistress, a collaborative task, and a piece of creative or persuasive writing, with unconditional offers made by the end of December.

Each school is different and each has its own character and approach. For families applying to both Winchester and an ISEB school simultaneously, it is worth noting that the Winchester GAT and the ISEB Common Pre-Test are entirely separate registrations with different timelines, so a child in this position manages two parallel processes. The individual guides to each school explain the full admissions process in detail.

This guide is accurate as of July 2026. Test format, section timings, the registration process and scoring information are drawn from ISEB's own published framework, information pages and support portal. Testing session dates are for the 2026–27 academic year. Registration deadlines and procedures change annually. All families are advised to verify current requirements directly with ISEB and with each school before taking any action.

Apto Schola provides bespoke, personalised admissions guidance to international families seeking places at the leading boarding schools of England. Behind the guidance is a deep, current understanding of the schools in these guides, their character, their admissions processes and the children they admit. We are pleased to discuss with families the Pre-Test, their child's specific situation, and how to approach the admissions process as a whole. To start that conversation, please contact us.

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