What spatial reasoning means in this test
Parents ask me about spatial reasoning more than any other part of the West Midlands 11+, usually after buying a stack of non-verbal reasoning workbooks and finding nothing in them that matches the name.
In its Entrance Test Familiarisation Guide the partnership sets out three separate strands of reasoning. The reasoning questions, it says, test how well a child can apply rules and work out relationships "between words and letters (VR); between shapes and patterns (NVR); and between shapes and space (SR)".
That single sentence is the clearest official definition available, and it draws the line precisely. Non-verbal reasoning asks what rule connects a set of shapes. Spatial reasoning asks what happens to a shape when it is turned, folded, moved, or looked at from somewhere else. Patterns versus space.
It matters because the national workbooks sold in every bookshop drill the first of those hard and treat the second as an afterthought.
It is not a separate section
The most common misconception I meet is that spatial reasoning is a paper, or at least a section, of its own. It is not. The guide is explicit: "Each paper is divided into four types of questions: Verbal Reasoning; Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning; English; and Mathematics."
Spatial reasoning is bracketed together with non-verbal into one combined question type. There are two papers, each covering all four types, and each test "will take around an hour, including the instructions", which are delivered on an audio soundtrack rather than read out by an invigilator.
How the four question types are weighted
The published weighting on the partnership's entrance test page splits the marks 50% for English and verbal reasoning, 25% for non-verbal reasoning, and 25% for mathematics. Notice that spatial reasoning does not appear as its own line at all.
| Question type | What it tests | Share of the score |
|---|---|---|
| English | Comprehension, grammar, vocabulary | 50% combined |
| Verbal Reasoning | Relationships between words and letters | |
| Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning | Shapes and patterns (NVR), shapes and space (SR) | 25% |
| Mathematics | Classroom maths, plus some harder problem solving | 25% |
So spatial reasoning lives inside that 25% non-verbal share. It cannot be worth more than a quarter of the marks, and in practice it is a slice of that quarter. That is worth holding on to, because it sets a sensible ceiling on how much of your child's preparation time it deserves.
The partnership does not publish how many spatial questions appear. If a tutor or a website quotes you a precise number, they are guessing. I would rather tell you that than invent a figure.
What the official guide shows, and what it leaves out
Here is the part almost nobody checks. The familiarisation guide runs to twelve pages and works through example questions for every section. Its non-verbal reasoning section contains exactly two question types:
- Figures alike. Two figures on the left share a property, and the child picks which of five figures on the right is most like them. The worked example turns on quadrilaterals, so the property is simply having four sides.
- Hidden shapes. A target shape is concealed inside one of five diagrams. The guide notes that it is exactly the same size but "may have been rotated (spun round)", and that all of its sides must be visible.
Both are flat. Hidden shapes is the closest thing to a genuine spatial task, because mental rotation is exactly what it demands, but it is rotation in two dimensions.
Nowhere in the guide is there a cube net, a block count, a folded paper question or a view from above. Not one example of the three dimensional work that "shapes and space" would normally imply. There is no question type anywhere in the document labelled spatial reasoning.
The guide also warns against treating it as a syllabus. In its own words, not all of the question types presented "will definitely be included in the real tests, and there will be some types of questions in the real tests that are not included here". Combine that with the flat statement on Preparing for the Test that "none of the schools keep past papers", and there is no back catalogue against which to check.
That is the honest position, and I think parents deserve it plainly: spatial reasoning is named and defined by the partnership, but it is not demonstrated by the partnership. Prepare for the possibility, not for a specification that does not exist.
The equipment rule that changes everything
This is the detail I wish more families knew, because it quietly reshapes what the test is actually measuring. The guide lists what a child brings: an HB pencil, an eraser and a sharpener. It then lists what is not allowed: a ruler, a calculator, a protractor, and scrap paper.
No ruler and no protractor means a child cannot measure a side or an angle to check whether two shapes really match. No scrap paper means no sketching a net out flat on a separate sheet. Working out has to happen in the test booklet itself, which is permitted, or in the child's head.
A child who has practised these questions at the kitchen table with a ruler in hand has been practising a different task from the one they will sit.
One more mechanical point. Answers go on a separate computer-marked sheet, and the guide asks children to draw a line through the box and to rub out mistakes rather than cross them out, because the scanner cannot read a crossing out. A child who transfers answers in one block at the end can lose a whole run of marks to one mis-numbered row.
How to prepare without over-coaching
The partnership takes a firm line on this, and since I run a tuition centre you can weigh it however you like. Its Preparing for the Test page states that "intensive coaching or tuition is not in the long term best interests of your child".
I think that is broadly right, and I read it as guidance on volume rather than an instruction to do nothing. Familiarity is fair: no child should meet a question format for the first time under timed conditions. Drilling a child into a school where they will then struggle helps nobody. For spatial reasoning specifically:
- Start with familiarity, not volume. Work through the official guide together before buying anything.
- Prioritise two dimensional rotation. Hidden shapes is a confirmed question type. It is the safest thing to be fluent in.
- Cover three dimensional work properly, but keep it proportionate. Nets, cube views and block counts are plausible rather than evidenced, so they should not become the whole programme. They do deserve real time, because they are the hardest question type to pick up late.
- Practise without a ruler. Match the real conditions.
- Rehearse the answer sheet. Transfer answers as you go, not in a block at the end.
Three free official resources most parents miss
- The Entrance Test Familiarisation Guide (PDF), with worked examples and answers for every section.
- The GL Assessment free materials library, from the company that writes the test.
- Free familiarisation for Pupil Premium pupils. The partnership has arranged support through Atom Learning for children eligible for Pupil Premium, with a registration link on its Preparing for the Test page. This is genuinely under-publicised, and if your family qualifies it is the single best value thing on this list.
For how the test is scored once it is sat, including the age-weighted standardisation around a median of 200, see our guide to the standardised score.
Papers are coming
GrammarPath practice papers for the West Midlands test are on the way, written to the real format including the non-verbal and spatial section. Join the list and we will email you the moment they launch.
The part parents overlook is the part hardest to teach
Spatial reasoning is the element families misjudge most, and they misjudge it in both directions. Plenty of parents arrive not realising it matters at all. The ones who do know it is there have no way of gauging how much of their time it deserves. The CGP materials most families own break non-verbal reasoning into ten subtopics, which gives you some idea of how much sits beneath that one heading.
It is also the hardest thing on the paper to teach. You cannot talk a child through a rotation on a flat page. At GrammarPath we work these on 3D software, turning the shape on screen until a child sees why the answer is the answer, and that is not something a workbook can replicate.
No tutor can predict the exact weighting, and I would be wary of anyone who tells you they can. Given the competition for grammar school places, my honest position is that I would rather a child met these questions confidently than gambled on them being rare.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
Is spatial reasoning a separate section in the West Midlands 11+?
No. The partnership's familiarisation guide states that each paper is divided into four types of questions: Verbal Reasoning; Non-Verbal and Spatial Reasoning; English; and Mathematics. Spatial reasoning is combined with non-verbal reasoning rather than sat as its own section or paper.
How many spatial reasoning questions are in the test?
The partnership does not publish this. Non-verbal reasoning as a whole carries 25% of the marks, and spatial reasoning sits inside that share, so it cannot be worth more than a quarter of the total. Any more precise figure you are quoted is an estimate, not an official number.
What is the difference between non-verbal and spatial reasoning?
The partnership defines non-verbal reasoning as working out relationships between shapes and patterns, and spatial reasoning as working out relationships between shapes and space. In practice non-verbal asks what rule connects a set of shapes, while spatial asks what happens to a shape when it is rotated, folded or viewed from a different angle.
Does my child need to learn 3D shapes, nets and cube questions?
Cover them, but lightly. The official familiarisation guide contains no three dimensional examples at all: its two non-verbal question types, Figures alike and Hidden shapes, are both flat. The guide does warn that the real test may contain question types it does not show, so some exposure is sensible insurance rather than a priority.
Can my child use a ruler in the 11+ test?
No. The guide allows an HB pencil, an eraser and a sharpener only. Rulers, calculators, protractors and scrap paper are all prohibited, though children may do working out in the test booklet itself. It is worth practising spatial questions without measuring tools for that reason.
Where can I get free official spatial reasoning practice?
Download the partnership's Entrance Test Familiarisation Guide, which is free and includes worked examples and answers, and use the free materials library published by GL Assessment, who write the test. Families eligible for Pupil Premium can also register for free familiarisation support through the partnership's Atom Learning arrangement.