11+ verbal reasoning practice for Year 5

Practice at Year 5 level for children starting the 11+ prep year now, sitting the test in autumn 2027 for September 2028 entry. Every question below is taken from PipPrep's own bank, from the 8,788 verified verbal reasoning questions tagged for Year 5.

Year 5 verbal reasoning at a glance

What to focus on in Year 5

Verbal reasoning is the classic reason to start in Year 5. Nothing in the primary curriculum prepares a child for letter codes, move-a-letter questions or word analogies, so the first encounter is always a shock, and there is no reason for that shock to happen in Year 6.

These are pattern-recognition puzzles with a finite number of question types. Once a child has seen each type twenty or thirty times, the format stops being the obstacle and the paper becomes a test of care and speed instead.

How much, how often

Fifteen to twenty minutes on a school day is a realistic target for the autumn term of Year 5, done at a consistent time so it stops being a negotiation. Consistency matters more than volume at this stage - a child who does twenty minutes five days a week covers far more ground over the year than one who does two hours every other Sunday, and hates it.

Keep at least one day a week clear. Reading for pleasure counts for more than another worksheet, especially for the English and verbal reasoning papers, where vocabulary is doing most of the work.

Watch what's actually going wrong rather than the raw score. A child getting 60% because they're rushing needs something different from a child getting 60% because they haven't met the topic. Any decent practice tool should show you which of those it is.

Try real Year 5 verbal reasoning questions

Pulled straight from PipPrep's own question bank, from the questions tagged for Year 5 - not written for this page.

Question 1
What comes next in this letter sequence? M N O P ?
Answer: Q. Each letter moves forward 1 place in the alphabet. After P comes Q.
Question 2
If BARN is written as DCTP, what word does BARN stand for?
Answer: BARN. Reverse the shift of 2: D→B, C→A, T→R, P→N = BARN.
Question 3
Which word does not belong with the others? holly ivy fern tulip
Answer: tulip. Holly, ivy, and fern are evergreen plants. Tulip is a flowering bulb.
Question 4
FH is to GI as IM is to ?
Answer: JN. FH → GI (each letter moves forward 1 place). Applying the same rule: IM → JN.
Question 5
Using A=1, B=2, C=3... what is the value of ARCH?
Answer: 30. A=1 + R=18 + C=3 + H=8 = 30.

Start the prep year properly

PipPrep adapts to your child's target school with 80,000+ questions across maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Free to start, no card needed.

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Frequently asked questions

Is this at the right level for a Year 5 child?

Yes. Every question on this page is drawn from the questions tagged for Year 5 in PipPrep's bank, at the lower difficulty bands, so they suit a child at the start of the prep year rather than one sitting the test next month.

How many of these should my child do a day?

Fifteen to twenty minutes on a school day is a sensible target in the autumn term of Year 5. That is usually eight to fifteen questions depending on the subject, and it matters more that it happens most days than that any one session is long.

Do all 11+ areas test this subject?

No. The papers vary by area: Essex CSSE schools test English and maths only, Hertfordshire's consortium schools test maths and verbal reasoning, and most GL Assessment areas test all four. Check what your target schools actually set before building a plan around any one subject.

Are the answers checked?

The questions used here are drawn only from rows marked verified in our own bank, and each carries its own worked explanation. If you ever spot an error, report it in the app and it gets fixed at source.