CEM Select is an online exam used by independent schools across the country as part of their admissions process. The exam is designed to assess how fast your child can work whilst maintaining the accuracy of their work. Your child will be tested on their verbal, numerical, and non-verbal ability.
Our approach to CEM Select Mock Exams
The exam itself will be a computer test and it is possible to buy computer-based mock exams which mimic the real thing, however these cost £50+ per sitting and you are only allowed to sit each test once.
Our solution to help children familiarise themselves with the question types, difficulty level and time constraints is to produce paper-based mocks. Children can sit four paper-based mocks for the same price as one sitting of an online mock. They will be exposed to four times as many questions and be able to get a real feel for what will be required on the day itself.
Having done this, if parents also wish to buy a computer-based mock from a supplier, they can do so in the knowledge their child can make best use of it as they will have had time to improve their skills and get used to the different question types and time constraints.
To buy our realistic CEM Select mock exams, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Format of the CEM Select Exam
The exam is split into either five or six short sections, with the whole exam taking around an hour to complete. Practice questions are included before the start of each section. Three or four of the sections will test verbal ability, one or two will test numerical ability, and only one section will test non-verbal ability. The following table provides an example of what the sections could look like:
| Section 1 | Verbal Ability | English Comprehension | 23 Questions
~ 13 Minutes |
Answer questions about one passage of text. |
| Section 2 | Verbal Ability | Anagrams* | 21 Questions
~ 8 Minutes |
Unscramble the anagram in each sentence. |
| Section 3 | Verbal Ability | Missing Words | First passage = 25 missing words. Second passage = 20 missing words.
~ 8 Minutes |
Fill in the missing words of two passages. |
| Section 4 | Verbal Ability | Related Words* | 21 Questions
~ 8 Minutes |
Find the synonym for each word. |
| Section 5 | Numerical Ability | General Maths | 30 Questions
~ 13 minutes |
Answer questions that test a variety of skills, for example: calculations, fractions, area and statistics. |
| Section 6 | Non-Verbal Ability | Pictures | 25 Questions
~ 8 minutes |
Recognise patterns in each grid of eight pictures, and choose which picture is missing from the grid. |
* These sections are the most likely to change year-to-year. Our four mocks cover 4 different types that could occur in these sections: Anagrams, Related Words, Shuffled Sentences, and Multiple Meanings.
Schools Currently Using the CEM Select Exam
- AKS Lytham
- Bancroft’s School
- Cheadle Hulme School
- City of London School for Girls
- Dunottar School
- Edgbaston High School for Girls
- Farnborough Hill School
- Guildford High School
- Heathfield School
- Hymers College
- Kirkham Grammar School
- Leicester Grammar School
- Moreton Hall
- Newcastle High School for Girls
- Our Lady’s Abingdon
- Pangbourne College
- Princethorpe College
- Queen Anne’s Caversham
- Rendcomb College
- St Columba’s College
- St Edmund’s College
- St George’s School, Ascot
- St George’s College, Weybridge
- St Mary’s School, Cambridge
- St Nicholas’ School, Fleet
- St Paul’s Girls’ School
- The King’s School, Gloucester
- The Royal Masonic School
- Warwick School
Learning Street’s CEM Select Mock Exam Packs
We are the only provider of affordable, paper-based mocks for the CEM Select exam. We believe that giving your child multiple mock exams is the best way to familiarise your child with the wide range of question types they may come across during the real thing. This is especially important for CEM Select, which is highly time pressured.
CEM Select- Time Pressure
Like many assessment tests of this nature CEM follow a process where the questions themselves are not very complex however the time allowance is extremely restricted. The test differentiates between children based more on their processing speed ( their ability to work quickly and accurately) than on the depth or complexity of their knowledge. This means at 11 Plus that many children may not score much more than 50% but will still be successful. When you do the mock tests you will be able to see how time pressured they are, we give guidance on how to handle this and that is very important because it prepares children for the day itself. Children need to get used to working at the best speed possible while still delivering accurate work and the most effective way to do that is to do some of these paper based CEM Select mocks prior to thinking about purchasing computer based tests.
Our mock packs are designed to give your child a realistic exam experience and are priced reasonably so that you can buy multiple mocks. They give your child an improved chance to succeed in the real exams. The mock packs include everything you need: all answers, invigilation notes and marking guidance including advice on how to interpret the results in terms of your child’s chances of success.
Click on the links below to access our mock packs.
CEM Select Mock Exams 1-4 Bundle (20% off)
