What is the CEM Select Exam?
CEM Select is a computer assessment designed for selective independent schools, partially-selective state schools and grammar Schools. They are used for 11+, 13+ at Year 7 entry and in other year groups for late transfer.
CEM Select enables children to demonstrate their academic potential and achievement ensuring a fair school admissions process and without the need for excessive preparation. There are no past papers, but there are familiarisation materials.
The test is online and lasts one hour. It is administered by your child’s school, and your child will be given instructions and support in school to access the test. It is non-adaptive meaning that the questions are not modified during the assessment to take account of the candidate’s ability. All the questions have been pre-selected and all candidates complete the same questions. Students are able to move back through questions to check back on answers.
Which subjects are tested in CEM Select?
The test is split up into:
- Verbal reasoning
- Mathematics
- Non-verbal reasoning
Within these sections, the following is tested:
- Comprehension – this section is within the verbal reasoning part and children need to work through 23 questions which will assess their understanding of a short passage.
- Anagrams – this is another part of the verbal reasoning section and students work through questions where, within a sentence, there is one word which is jumbled up. Children need to drag the letters into the correct order.
- Missing Words – this is another part of the verbal reasoning section and students will be shown two passages containing missing words. The first passage has 25 missing words and the second passage has 20 missing words.
- Shuffled Sentences – the final part of the verbal reasoning section which students are given 20 sentences where there is a jumbled word and an unrequired word. Children have to rearrange the words and dispose of the unrequired word.
- General Maths – with this section, there are 30 questions from the KS2 curriculum that students are required to answer.
- Pictures – non-verbal reasoning is tested here and the students have 25 questions to answer. Children must work out the missing picture from the given set of pictures.
Which schools are using CEM Select?
The schools using the CEM Select test include:
- Bancroft’s School
- Brentwoord School
- Cheadle Hulme School
- City of London Girls School
- Dunottar School
- Edgbaston High School
- Exeter School
- Farnborough Hill School
- Guildford High School
- Haberdashers Boys
- Heathfield School
- Holme Grange School
- Hymers College
- King’s Ely Junior School
- Mill Hill Belmont
- Millfield School
- Moreton Hall
- Mount St Mary’s College
- Newcastle High School
- Nottingham High School
- Pangbourne College
- Princethorpe College
- Queen Anne’s School
- Rendcomb College
- St Edward’s School
- St Nicolas’ School
- St Paul’s Girls’ School
- Sutton High School
- The Cathedral School
- The Grange Sschool
- The King’s School
- The Royal Masonic School
- Warwick School
- Worth School
How can your child prepare for the CEM Select Exam?
- Ensure your child has a good grasp of the Key Stage 2 national curriculum for maths and comprehension.
- Some schools do not cover verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning so make sure your child has had plenty of practice of these. Have a read of our page about verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
- Ensure your child has gone through the familiarisation tests that CEM Select have published.
How can Bright Light Education help to prepare your child for the CEM Select Exam?
Bright Light Education runs a friendly and effective Tutor Referral Agency in which Bright Light Education UK LLP acts as agents on behalf of the tutor and introduces the tutor to the client.
We have a range of tutors who can support children with CEM Select preparation, who tutor both online and face-to-face. These tutors are qualified teachers. We have a strict selection process and interview all tutors. We request all tutors to have an enhanced DBS check and to be signed up to the DBS Update Service. All tutors are self-employed.
Are you looking for a Tutor?
Please click here to search for a tutor to suit your child’s individual educational needs.
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