Non-verbal reasoning for the 11+.
Puzzles with shapes and patterns instead of words: spotting what changes, what stays the same and what comes next. A guide to every kind of question in the 11+, CAT4 and the ISEB Pre-Test.
- 15 topics, each with a guide
- 13 Rush games
Two of the 13 NVR games are free.Every non-verbal reasoning topic.
Each question is a set of figures. A child finds the rule, such as a change of shape, size, shading, number or direction, and picks the figure that follows it. Some tests add spatial questions too: picturing shapes turned, folded or seen from above.
- Odd one outFour figures share a feature. Find the one that doesn't.In Rush: Doesn't Belong, Most Like
- AnalogiesSee how one figure changes into another, and make the same change to a third.In Rush: Shape Analogies
- SeriesA row of figures changes step by step. Find the one that fills the gap.In Rush: What Comes Next
- MatricesA grid of figures with one square empty. The rows and columns follow rules that say what goes there.In Rush: Complete the Grid
- CodesEach figure has a letter code. Work out what each letter means, then code a new figure.
- Hidden shapesFind which of several busier figures has a given shape hidden in its lines.In Rush: Hidden Shapes
- Missing pieceChoose the piece that fits exactly into the gap cut from a shape.In Rush: Missing Piece
- Combining shapesChoose the shape that two or more pieces make when they are joined edge to edge.In Rush: Join Shapes
- RotationPick the shape that has been turned. Watch for one that has been flipped over instead.In Rush: Turned Shapes
- ReflectionPick how a figure looks in a mirror line.In Rush: Reflections
- Fold and punchA sheet of paper is folded and punched. Picture where the holes are once it's opened out.In Rush: Fold and Punch
- Nets and cubesWork out which faces of a flat net end up opposite each other, or which cube it folds into.In Rush: Cube Nets, Shape Facts
- Plan viewsPick how a model made of blocks looks from straight above.In Rush: Top View
- Counting cubesCount the blocks in a stack, including the ones hidden behind or underneath.
- Building 3D shapesPick the set of blocks that would build a given model.
Types Rush practises show the games that practise them. Codes, 3D rotation, counting cubes and building models take longer than Rush’s ten seconds a question, so practise them on paper, with a handful of real building cubes for the 3D ones.
How each exam tests non-verbal reasoning
- 11+
- A non-verbal paper of shape puzzles: series, matrices, odd one out, analogies and codes, usually with five options.
- CAT4
- Two parts: non-verbal (sorting figures and finishing grids) and spatial (folding paper and finding hidden shapes).
- ISEB Pre-Test
- Non-verbal reasoning on screen, and the questions get harder or easier as your child answers.
- Common Entrance
- No non-verbal paper.
Good places to start
Following one change at a time, and telling a turn from a flip: the skills every other shape puzzle uses.
Questions.
What age do children start NVR?
The 11+ is usually taken at the start of Year 6, and most children build the basics first: spotting shapes, turns and mirror images quickly, a few minutes a day in Year 3 and Year 4. Full papers usually start at the beginning of Year 5. See when to start 11+ preparation. NVR needs no reading, so younger children can try the puzzles too. Rush is for ages 7 and up.
Is NVR taught at school?
No, it isn’t part of the national curriculum. That’s why it helps to meet the question types before the test, so they’re familiar on the day.
How many types of non-verbal reasoning question are there?
Lists disagree, mostly over the spatial questions, so the totals vary. We count 17: six that ask for a rule in a set of figures, and eleven that ask a child to picture shapes moving. The 15 guides above teach all 17, as most like shares a guide with odd one out, and 3D rotation with rotation. Many papers use the rule types and a few of the spatial ones.
What’s the difference between non-verbal and spatial reasoning?
Non-verbal reasoning is finding a rule in a set of figures. Spatial reasoning is picturing a shape move: turned, folded or seen from another side. Some tests score them separately.
Why is non-verbal reasoning so hard?
There’s nothing to read, so a child can’t lean on what they already know, and one figure can change in several ways at once. Most marks are lost by spotting one change and stopping there. The changes come from a short list (shape, size, shading, number, position and direction), so checking them one at a time, then looking for a second rule, catches most of them.
Rush: 11+ Practice & KS2 SATsPractise non-verbal reasoning in Rush.
- 13 non-verbal reasoning games, 100 seconds each, easy at first and harder as your child improves
- Every miss kept with the right answer and why
- Free to start, with a new family game every day
On the App Store for iPhone and iPad
Turned Shapes and Reflections are free, and four more games too, plus a new family game every day. All 41 games are £24.99 a year after a free week1, or £3.99 a month.