1.1 Purpose, Entry Years & Registration

What the Common Pre-Tests are

The ISEB Common Pre-Tests are four online, adaptive, multiple-choice assessments used by independent senior schools as part of their admissions processes. They cover English, mathematics, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning, including spatial reasoning. OpenExamPrep provides independent teaching and original exercises. This guide is not an ISEB publication, and its quizzes do not reproduce the live adaptive test or predict an admissions score.

Keep two different year groups clear. The sitting year is the school year your child is in when taking the tests, usually Year 6 and sometimes Year 7. The entry year is the year group they hope to join at senior school: Year 7, or deferred Year 9 entry. Taking the tests during Year 6 does not mean applying for entry into Year 6. Ask every prospective school which assessment and entry route it requires.

The current session and standard times

Facts checked on 18 October 2026. ISEB's current session pages give registration opening on 9 June 2026, testing beginning on 1 September 2026, and testing ending in late May 2027. Check the current page for a precise closing date and each school's earlier deadline. The linked framework retains an October-to-June sentence; the specific 2026–27 session dates on the current admissions pages take precedence for scheduling.

The standard times total 135 minutes, or 2 hours 15 minutes. This is testing time, not a promise that the whole visit, including instructions and breaks, will take exactly that long. The four tests may be taken together or on separate days. The invigilation centre schedules them with the relevant school deadlines in mind. Adaptive tests can finish before their time limit.

Registration and sharing results

A parent or guardian creates an Applicant Profile in the Guardian Portal. Check the child's legally recorded name, date of birth, current school and SEND/EAL information carefully. A wrong date of birth matters because results are age-standardised. Follow the portal's current requests for information rather than assuming every family needs the same supporting documents.

Registration creates a unique Applicant ID. Copy it accurately and send it to each senior school to which you have applied, using that school's requested method. You do not add prospective senior schools yourself by ticking them in the Guardian Portal. The senior school uploads the ID; the school then appears on the applicant profile. ISEB says an invigilation centre cannot schedule tests until at least one senior school has uploaded the ID.

The Applicant ID connects applications with a single set of results. It is different from the Test Code used to sign in on test day. Keep the centre's joining instructions available so these two identifiers are not confused.

One sitting, several school applications

The tests may be sat once in an academic year. A family applying to another school later in the same session shares the existing Applicant ID rather than arranging a fresh attempt to improve a score. The framework says the first set of results stands if a candidate takes the tests more than once. Illness, an interrupted test or a technical incident should be reported to the invigilator and ISEB; families should not organise an unofficial retake themselves.

Registration through the Guardian Portal is free to parents and guardians. Senior schools can charge separate application fees, and an independent invigilation venue may have its own charges. Ask the relevant organisation for its current fee; there is no single school application price to memorise.

Choose a venue and prepare calmly

Tests can be hosted at a current junior/prep school, a prospective senior school or an approved independent invigilation centre, including overseas venues. Confirm availability with the centre: appearing on a venue list does not guarantee it accepts external pupils. Let the centre handle the testing equipment and technical checks.

A useful family checklist is:

1. Confirm that each chosen school requires the Common Pre-Tests for the intended entry year.
2. Complete the profile and share the Applicant ID with every relevant school.
3. Agree an invigilation centre, dates and any access arrangements well before the earliest deadline.
4. Explore the free official walkthrough so the child can practise selecting answers and using screen settings.
5. Keep ordinary reading, classroom learning, sleep and leisure in the preparation routine.

Worked planning example: Suppose one school asks for results by 10 November and another by 2 December. These are invented deadlines for illustration. The centre must schedule all required tests in time for 10 November. The later school's deadline does not give permission to miss the earlier one, and a second sitting is unnecessary.

Use ISEB's current families page, its Applicant ID instructions and the official walkthrough. These are the places to confirm administrative details; the subject chapters below teach the skills to practise.

Continue with the subject chapters and independent practice questions. Use the worked explanations to review a method after each attempt.