Verbal and Non-verbal Reasoning: What It Is and How It Prepares Children for 11+

In one paragraph: verbal reasoning (VR) is problem-solving with words: analogies, codes, hidden words, vocabulary logic. Non-verbal reasoning (NVR) is problem-solving with shapes and patterns: sequences, rotations, odd-one-out. Neither is part of the National Curriculum, but many selective secondary schools (grammar schools and independent schools) include them in their 11+ entrance tests. Children who have met these question types calmly and regularly walk into the exam hall able to show what they can actually do. That is the honest case for teaching them at primary school, and it is why reasoning lessons are part of the timetable at Daffodil.

Verbal reasoning

VR questions test how a child handles language and logic together. Typical types:

• Analogies: "hand is to glove as foot is to ___"
• Odd one out: which word doesn't belong, and why
• Letter and number codes: if CAT is written DBU, how is DOG written?
• Hidden words and compound words: finding a word concealed across two others
• Logic puzzles in words: who sits where, who is oldest, what follows

Under the surface, VR leans heavily on vocabulary. A child cannot find the odd one out among words they have never met. This is why the deepest VR preparation is not a workbook. It is years of reading widely and talking about words.

Non-verbal reasoning

NVR strips language out and tests pattern-thinking with shapes:

• Sequences: which figure comes next?
• Matrices: complete the grid
• Rotations and reflections: which option is the same shape turned?
• Codes and categories: which shapes belong together, and by what rule?

NVR is sometimes called the fairer test because it does not depend on English fluency, a point worth knowing for bilingual families. It rewards careful looking, working memory and methodical elimination.

Why selective schools use them at 11+

Grammar schools, state secondaries that select their pupils by academic ability, and many independent secondaries want a measure of how children think, not only what they have been taught. English and maths papers test curriculum knowledge; reasoning papers were designed to get closer to underlying aptitude. Most 11+ assessments therefore combine some mix of English, maths, VR and NVR, with the exact blend varying school by school. Always check the format each target school publishes.

Can you actually prepare for reasoning tests? An honest answer

Yes, within limits. Three things are true at once:

1. Familiarity genuinely helps. Reasoning question types follow conventions a child will not have met in ordinary lessons. The first time anyone sees a letter-code question, they spend precious minutes decoding the format. A child who knows the fifteen or so standard types spends those minutes on the actual problem. Steady, low-pressure practice removes the surprise. Surprise, under time pressure, is what costs marks.
2. Technique is learnable. Elimination strategies, time management, knowing when to skip and return: these are ordinary study skills applied to an unusual paper.
3. There is a ceiling. Reasoning tests draw on vocabulary, number sense and spatial thinking built over years. Cramming cannot substitute for that foundation, and no honest school or tutor will promise a particular score. Be wary of anyone who does.

The sensible conclusion: preparation should be regular, modest and started early: a strand of normal school life, not a Year 6 emergency.

How we approach it at Daffodil

Verbal and non-verbal reasoning lessons are built into the school week as part of our preparation for 11+ and secondary transfer: timetabled, unhurried and taught in classes of no more than 15, where a teacher can see exactly which question types each child finds hard. Around those lessons sits the foundation that actually powers reasoning performance: daily reading, weekly literacy and numeracy quizzes, one-to-one reading assessments and a curriculum that includes logic puzzles, chess and Latin word-root work, which is vocabulary-building by another name.

Because we review progress weekly, monthly and termly, and meet parents every half term, you will know how your child is developing long before any entrance test is on the horizon. You can see where reasoning sits in the wider programme on our curriculum page, and how we track progress on our assessment and results page.

What parents can do at home

No workbooks required for most of it:

• Read, and talk about words. Vocabulary is the single biggest VR asset. "What do you think reluctant means? What's the opposite?"
• Play the right games. Chess, sudoku, tangrams, spot-the-difference and pattern blocks are NVR training wearing plain clothes; word games and codes do the same for VR.
• Keep it light. Ten calm minutes beats an hour of tension. A child who associates reasoning with dread will underperform whatever they know.
• Mind the timeline. If you are considering selective schools, note that 11+ tests are usually sat early in Year 6, before the 31 October secondary application deadline, so gentle preparation belongs in Years 4 and 5, not the final month.

Frequently asked questions