11+ guide · By BrightEleven editorial · Last reviewed 16 September 2026
The shift from CEM to GL: what changed, and what it means for your child
For years the question was GL or CEM. Since 2023 it mostly is not - and a lot of advice online has not caught on. What changed, and what a parent does about it.
What happened
For many years two providers set most of England's grammar-school tests: GL Assessment, and CEM, the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, which later became part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment. In 2023 CEM stopped setting paper 11+ tests, and most of the areas that had used it moved to GL-style tests.
Source for that date: CEM's own announcement of its withdrawal from paper-based 11+ tests, and the admissions pages of the areas that subsequently named a new provider. We have not typed a list of which areas moved and when, because the region data we hold is not yet verified against each admissions authority's own published arrangements; the which-test lookup shows what we currently understand, with a verification label on every entry.
Why older advice reads out of date
Search for the 11+ and you will still find articles, forum threads and book listings built around “GL vs CEM”, because for a long time that was the first question a parent needed to answer. Most of it was written before the change and has not been revisited. The practical risks are buying CEM-specific practice material for a test that is now GL-style, or following a preparation plan built around a format your child will not sit.
The tell is the date. If a page, a book or a friend's advice describes CEM as a live option for an area, check the area's admissions page for what it says now. Formats have changed recently even where the schools have not.
How the two formats differed
GL-style tests, which most areas now use
Four subjects - English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning - set as clearly labelled papers or sections, each with its own timing. The question types are well established and documented in the familiarisation material schools point to, which is what makes practice by question type effective. The papers are mostly multiple choice, with answers marked on a separate sheet.
CEM-style tests, as they were
As they were generally described, CEM papers mixed subjects within a paper, leaned more on vocabulary and on working quickly, and varied the question styles from year to year so that they were harder to practise for by type. That difference is the reason the old GL-vs-CEM advice existed. It is now of historical interest for most families, and we mention it only so that the old advice makes sense when you meet it.
What it means for preparation
- Confirm the provider first, from the school or council's admissions page, and check the year on anything else you read.
- If the test is GL-style, practise the GL-style question types in the four subjects, and use the familiarisation material the school points to for the exact format.
- Set aside CEM-specific books and papers. Much of the underlying maths and English transfers, but the paper format and the question styles do not.
- Vocabulary and reading still matter - they always did - but as part of English and verbal reasoning, not as the whole game.
For the sequence of a calm year, see when to start and how much practice is enough.
The areas that do not use GL
Not every area moved to GL-style tests, and some never used CEM. Essex uses its own consortium test (CSSE), with written answers and a writing task. A group of selective schools, mainly in the West Midlands, uses FSCE. Many independent schools use the ISEB Common Pre-Tests, which are online and adaptive. BrightEleven is built for GL-style tests only and is not the right choice for those tests; our guide to which exam board your school uses says plainly who it is not for, and what the 11+ is gives the wider picture for 2026/27.
Practise this adaptively
BrightEleven's practice and mock papers are written in the style of GL Assessment papers, across the four subjects, with an explanation on every question. There is no CEM mode, because there is no longer a CEM test to prepare for.
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