Get a real piece of paper, fold it, punch a hole, then open it one fold at a time. That is the method, and nothing on a worksheet replaces it.
What the question asks
A square of paper is folded once or twice, a hole is punched through it, and the child picks the option showing where the holes are once it is unfolded.
One fold gives two holes. Two folds give four. The difficulty is not counting them, it is knowing where they land.
Do they appear here? An honest answer
Worth being straight about this, because it changes how much time it deserves.
These questions are a standard part of GL papers nationally, and they vary between GL tests around the country. But the partnership's familiarisation guide contains no folded paper question at all. Its non-verbal section shows other types, and nowhere in the document is there a folded paper question, a cube net or a block count.
The guide does say that not all the types it shows will definitely appear, and that the real test may contain types it does not show. So the fair position is:
- Plausible, not evidenced. It may come up. It is not confirmed.
- Worth knowing, not worth building a programme on. An hour of folding paper, not six weeks.
- The confirmed types come first.
See our guide to spatial reasoning and what the guide actually confirms.
The method: use real paper
With that caveat made, the teaching is genuinely simple, and it is the same approach that works for cube nets: do it with your hands before you do it in your head.
- Copy the question with real paper. Fold it exactly as the picture shows.
- Punch the hole where the question punches it. A hole punch, or a pencil through the sheet.
- Open it one fold at a time. Not all at once. This is the whole point.
- Look at each stage. After the first unfold, two holes. After the second, four.
- Then fold it back up. Going backwards is what builds the mental picture.
Ten minutes of that teaches more than a page of printed questions, because the child sees the rule happen instead of being told it.
The rule children miss
Once they have folded a few, name the rule, because it is what they will actually use under time:
Each unfold mirrors the holes across the fold line. The new holes are a reflection of the old ones, the same distance from the crease, on the other side.
So the holes always come in a symmetrical pattern. A child who knows that can reject most of the wrong options immediately, because the wrong options are usually not symmetrical about any fold line.
The common mistake
Children count the holes correctly and put them in the wrong place.
They assume the holes spread out evenly, or sit in the middle, rather than mirroring across the crease. It happens because they pictured the final sheet in one jump instead of tracking each unfold, which is exactly what the physical exercise prevents.
The fix is the same every time: go back to real paper, open it one fold at a time, and let them see where the hole actually lands.
See where your child stands today
Timed sections in the GL Assessment format, marked instantly, with a topic-by-topic breakdown. No sign-up to start.
Give them the paper and the hole punch
Hole punch and paper folding questions are very unique non-verbal questions. They are part of spatial reasoning, and it differs for different tests, the GL tests around the nation. What I can say is that there is a specific style to the questions.
The way for students to really grasp it is you show them how to use a piece of paper and the hole punch themselves, and they fold it according to how the picture is, to get them using that idea of knowing how things unfold and fold again. So do the physical exercise with paper, imitating the question.
First put the hole punch through, then open it up again. They can see the steps of the unfold, section by section, and how the punched hole is replicated in symmetrical form. Once they have seen that happen with their own hands, the picture stays.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
How do you teach 11+ hole punch questions?
With real paper. Fold a sheet exactly as the picture shows, punch a hole through it, then open it one fold at a time rather than all at once. Then fold it back up, because going backwards is what builds the mental picture.
Do hole punch questions appear in the West Midlands 11+?
They are a standard GL question type nationally, but the partnership's familiarisation guide contains no folded paper question at all. The guide also says the real test may include types it does not show, so treat these as plausible rather than confirmed.
What is the rule for hole punch questions?
Each unfold mirrors the holes across the fold line: the new holes are a reflection of the old ones, the same distance from the crease on the other side. So the final pattern is always symmetrical, which rules out most wrong options immediately.
Why does my child get hole punch questions wrong?
They usually count the holes correctly and place them wrongly, assuming the holes spread out evenly or sit centrally instead of mirroring across the crease. It comes from picturing the final sheet in one jump rather than tracking each unfold.
How many holes appear after folding?
One fold doubles a single punch to two holes, and two folds give four. Counting them is the easy part: the difficulty is knowing where they land, which is a question of symmetry rather than arithmetic.