Quest Assessment Scoring: What Score Do You Need in 2026?

The score your child needs depends on which Quest-provided test they are sitting. Quest says that every school uses different papers and follows different structures for its assessment. Bexley Council names Quest Assessments as the provider of the Bexley Selection Test for its four grammar schools, Wirral Council says Quest provides the assessment for Wirral's non-Catholic grammar schools, and the London 11+ Consortium names Quest as its test provider. Bexley publishes how its test is scored: a weighted age-standardised total that averages 200. This guide sets out that formula, what Wirral, the Consortium and the independent schools that name Quest say about their tests, and the 2026 sitting dates.

How Is the Quest Assessment Scored? It Depends on Who Sets the Test

"Quest Assessment" is not one exam with one scoring scale. Quest's guidance for families tells parents to check the school's or local authority's website for specific information about their child's exam, so the first step is to find out which test your target school sets.

The scoring that is published differs by test. Bexley ranks every child on a total weighted age-standardised score that averages 200. Wirral Grammar School for Boys' 2027–2028 admissions policy says each child's score is adjusted to take account of their exact age, so that nobody is disadvantaged by their date of birth. The London 11+ Consortium describes an age-standardised measure of ability taken as an online assessment.

Format differs as well. Bexley and Wirral use paper-based Quest tests (Bexley, Wirral), the Consortium test is taken online, and examples of independent schools that name Quest are set out school by school below.

What Score Do You Need for Bexley Grammar Schools in September 2026?

The Bexley Selection Test covers the four Bexley grammar schools — Beths Grammar School, Bexley Grammar School, Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School, and Townley Grammar School — and is administered by Bexley Council. A child's result is the total weighted age-standardised score: 50% from the verbal ability score, 25% from the numerical ability score and 25% from the non-verbal ability score. Bexley describes verbal ability as assessing vocabulary, comprehension and verbal reasoning skills, and that component carries double the weight of either of the other two.

The average total weighted age-standardised score is 200, and approximately two-thirds of candidates score between 170 and 230. All children who take the test are ranked by total age-standardised score, and the Council, in conjunction with the four grammar schools, determines the selective score. In 2025, 5,866 children sat the test, 2,070 achieved the selective standard and 800 grammar school places were available; Bexley says approximately 30% of applicants are deemed selective. Achieving the selective standard does not guarantee a place: the 180 highest scorers are placed in one of the highest priority groups for their preferred grammar school, and for other selective pupils offers depend on each school's admissions criteria, such as distance and sibling priority (Bexley Council).

Bexley names Quest Assessments as the provider of the test papers and points families to the Quest website for familiarisation exercises. See our dedicated Bexley Quest Assessment guide for the full format breakdown.

What Score Do You Need for Wirral Grammar Schools in September 2026?

The Wirral assessment is for entry to the four non-Catholic Wirral grammar schools — Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby Grammar School, Wirral Grammar School for Boys and Wirral Grammar School for Girls (Quest) — and is provided by Quest Assessments for Wirral Council. The assessment has two papers taken on the same day, with questions on verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning and mathematics, and Quest describes it as a paper test in which all questions are multiple choice.

Children must still meet the grammar school standard, and the council says that meeting the standard does not guarantee a place: if a school is oversubscribed, it uses other criteria set out in its admissions policy (Wirral Council). Wirral Grammar School for Boys' admissions policy adds that each child's score is adjusted to take account of their exact age.

The assessment was held on Tuesday 15 September 2026 for children starting secondary school in September 2027. Registration closed at 12 noon on 1 June 2026, with an exception for children who moved to Wirral after that date, and all parents must apply for a school place by 31 October 2026 (Wirral Council). Wirral's admissions timetable has the non-Catholic grammar school assessment results sent to parents on 21 October 2026.

Which Independent Schools Name Quest, and What Do Their Tests Involve?

Most of the independent schools below set their own Quest tests, so the format differs from school to school; the Consortium's 13 schools share one test (next section). Examples of independent schools that name Quest on their own admissions pages:

• Habs Boys and Habs Girls: the two schools use the same Quest first-round assessment, which is a paper assessment of Maths and NVR (45 minutes), English and VR (40 minutes), Creative Comprehension (20 minutes) and Creative Writing (20 minutes). For Year 7 entry the first round is on Friday 20 November 2026 at Habs Boys and Monday 23 November 2026 at Habs Girls.
• Forest School: the 11+ digital on-screen assessment is a Quest assessment lasting one hour and ten minutes and including Mathematics, English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning, and Puzzles and Problem Solving, alongside a separate 30-minute paper-based Written English task. The 11+ entrance exam day is Thursday 17 December 2026.
• The Perse School: Part 1 is a 70-minute computer-based assessment delivered by Quest, with Maths (20 minutes, adaptive), English (30 minutes, non-adaptive), Non-verbal Reasoning (10 minutes, adaptive) and Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes, adaptive). Part 2 is a 40-minute creative writing task, typically handwritten. Assessments for Year 7 and Year 9 entry in September 2027 take place on Saturday 16 January 2027.
• Chigwell School: the 11+ entrance examination takes place on Saturday 9 January 2027, and the school's admissions page points families to Quest Assessment information about its online assessment process.

For families weighing a Quest-tested independent school against the ISEB Common Pre-Test route for 13+ entry, our Quest vs ISEB comparison guide sets out how the two differ in scoring and timing. For specialist preparation across every Quest-tested school, see our Quest Assessment tutoring hub.

How Does the London 11+ Consortium Assessment Work?

The London 11+ Consortium is made up of 13 London independent schools: Channing School, Francis Holland (Regent's Park), Francis Holland (Sloane Square), Godolphin and Latymer, More House, Northwood College for Girls, Notting Hill and Ealing High School, Queen's College, Queen's Gate School, South Hampstead High School, St Augustine's Priory, St Helen's School and St Margaret's School. It runs one shared online assessment, designed in collaboration with its test provider, Quest Assessments, and candidates sit it once however many Consortium schools they apply to.

The assessment is 100 minutes in total, in six components taken in this order: Maths (20 minutes), Non-Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes), English (20 minutes), Verbal Reasoning (10 minutes), a break of up to 30 minutes, Problem Solving (15 minutes) and Creative Comprehension (25 minutes). Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning are adaptive; English, Problem Solving and Creative Comprehension are non-adaptive. The Consortium says no extended writing is required (London 11+ Consortium).

Candidates sit the test at their current school where possible, and otherwise at a Consortium school to which they have applied. For September 2027 entry, registration closes on Friday 6 November 2026 and the assessment is held on one of Friday 27 November, Tuesday 1 December or Thursday 3 December 2026, with offers on Friday 12 February 2027. The results are shared with all schools at which the candidate is registered, and the Consortium says some of its schools select for interview and some do not (London 11+ Consortium).

Quest Assessment Sitting Dates for 2026: Bexley, Wirral and the Consortium

Bexley's test was held between 2 and 10 September 2026 and Wirral's on Tuesday 15 September 2026; the London 11+ Consortium's sittings take place in late November and early December 2026 (Bexley, Wirral, Consortium).

Bexley emailed each child's test date, time and location to families from Monday 3 August 2026. The test was held at the four Bexley grammar schools between Monday 7 and Thursday 10 September 2026 or, for children testing at their own Bexley primary school, between Wednesday 2 and Thursday 10 September 2026 (Bexley Council). Wirral told parents which venue their child would attend by the end of August 2026 (Wirral Council). The Bexley test was for children born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016, who start secondary school in September 2027, and Wirral Grammar School for Girls gives the same birth dates for Wirral's September 2027 entry.

What Is in the Bexley Selection Test Papers?

Bexley says its test assesses verbal ability and English comprehension, numerical reasoning, and non-verbal reasoning, with both papers taken in the same session. The test is made up of two separate booklets; each paper lasts approximately 50 minutes plus time for instructions, and both are timed and consist of multiple-choice questions (Bexley Council). Quest describes them as two non-adaptive paper assessments: paper one covers Verbal Ability and English comprehension, and paper two covers Numerical Reasoning and Non-verbal Reasoning.

On content, Bexley says verbal ability assesses vocabulary, comprehension and verbal reasoning skills; numerical reasoning does not go beyond what children are expected to learn by the end of Year 5; and non-verbal reasoning assesses the ability to recognise patterns, understand relationships between objects and make logical deductions. Each test session lasts from two and a half to three hours, including instructions, both papers and a short break (Bexley Council).

How Does Quest Standardisation Work Across These Tests?

Standardisation is described differently by each source. Bexley ranks all children by their total age-standardised score (Bexley Council). Wirral Grammar School for Boys says each child's score is adjusted to take account of their exact age. The London 11+ Consortium describes an age-standardised measure of ability and says its results are standardised across its three sitting dates to ensure parity between candidates taking the assessment on different days.

Adaptive sections change with performance. The Consortium says its adaptive Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning sections tailor the questions to each candidate's performance, while in its non-adaptive sections every candidate sitting on the same day sees the same questions (London 11+ Consortium). The Perse School adds that candidates cannot skip or revisit questions in its adaptive sections.

For a broader explanation of how age standardisation works across GL and Quest-marked 11+ tests generally, see our 11+ standardised scores guide and our overview of what score you need to pass the 11+. For the online Part 1 sections that some independent schools use, see our Quest Assessment Part 1 guide, and for the Creative Comprehension and Creative Writing components some schools add, see our Quest Assessment Part 2 guide.

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