Verbal reasoning worksheets

Verbal reasoning is a key part of many grammar and private school entrance exams. Here are our favourite free verbal reasoning worksheets and questions for you to download! We've crafted a full-length free verbal reasoning practice paper to help your child prepare.

Why practise verbal reasoning at home?

Verbal reasoning is not taught at primary school as part of the English Key Stage 2 national curriculum. Some private prep schools will prepare children for entrance exams – but this is not compulsory, and is rare in state primary schools.

So, if your child is applying to grammar school or a selective private school, be aware that they are not likely to have seen this style of problem-solving exercise at school before.

Reasoning exams often aim to measure 'natural' ability. But the reality is that children who are familiar with these question styles will be at a strong advantage compared to children who are encountering them for the first time on exam day.

Using verbal reasoning practice papers at home can help your child develop this familiarity so that on exam day they can focus on answering the questions to the best of their ability, rather than puzzling out what is being asked of them.

Verbal reasoning helpsheets

The exact content of the verbal reasoning test will vary depending on the exam board and paper configuration your child's school has chosen.

Here is an overview of some of the main topics and subtopics assessed in most verbal reasoning exams. We've also included some free helpsheets to introduce your child to key topics:

Looking to make sure your child understands every topic they will come across in the exam? Check out Atom Nucleus. It's an award-winning online learning programme that gives you over 90,000 interactive practice questions and test papers, all automatically marked.

Explore some questions, helpsheets and videos on Atom below: