CEM vs GL Assessment 11+ (2026): Why the Comparison Is Now Outdated
Search "CEM vs GL 11+" and you'll find dozens of guides comparing the two side by side — question styles, timing, how to prepare for each. Almost all of them are out of date. CEM, as a paper-based grammar-school exam, effectively stopped existing several years ago, and the organisation behind it doesn't even go by that name anymore.
If you're planning 2026 or 2027 entry preparation, "CEM vs GL" isn't really the question to be asking. This guide explains what actually happened, what (if anything) replaced CEM, and — more usefully — how to find out with certainty which test your own child will actually sit.
Quick summary
Quick tips:
- Don't buy "CEM 11+" preparation books until you've confirmed your target school still uses a CEM-descended format.
- Check your school's or consortium's admissions page directly for the current year — this is the only reliable source.
- If in doubt, GL Assessment is the safer default to prepare for, since it's now the largest single provider by a clear margin.
What actually happened to CEM
Here's the timeline, as far as it's consistently corroborated across independent sources:
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2019 | CEM (the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, historically linked to Durham University) was acquired by Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press. |
| Late 2022 | CEM announced it would stop supplying standard paper-based 11+ exams to grammar schools. |
| From September 2023 | Most affected grammar school consortia sat a different exam for the first time — the large majority moved to GL Assessment; some moved to their own bespoke papers instead. |
| April 2025 | CEM was rebranded Cambridge Insight, and its selective-schools computer assessment — previously CEM Select — was renamed Cambridge Select Insight. |
Before the 2022–23 change, CEM-set tests were commonly cited as covering somewhere around 40% of UK state grammar school 11+ exams — a widely repeated figure, though not one we've found published as an exact official statistic. Whatever the precise number, it was a genuinely major share, which is exactly why the change mattered so much and why so much still-circulating "CEM vs GL" content was written before it happened.
So is CEM completely gone?
Not entirely — but what remains is a different thing from what most "CEM 11+" guides describe. The old CEM test was a paper booklet, non-adaptive, sat alongside GL as one of the two dominant grammar-school formats. What exists now, under the Cambridge Insight brand, is Cambridge Select Insight: a computer-based, adaptive assessment still used by some selective and independent schools — not by the grammar-school consortia that switched away in 2023.
If your target school is one of the smaller number still using a Cambridge-Insight-descended test, "CEM-style" preparation logic (strong vocabulary, quick verbal and numerical reasoning, comfort under time pressure) is still broadly relevant — but the exact format, and specifically whether it's on paper or on-screen, has changed. Confirm this detail directly; don't assume from an old guide.
What replaced it for most families
GL Assessment is now the main provider for the large majority of UK grammar schools, having absorbed most of the consortia that moved away from CEM. GL papers are paper-based, non-adaptive, and multiple choice, marked by Optical Mark Recognition — a different rhythm from the old CEM format, and worth practising in its own right rather than assuming CEM-style prep transfers directly.
Areas commonly cited as having moved from CEM to GL (or to a bespoke local paper) after 2022–23 include several regional consortia across England — but adoption is set locally and can still change, so this list should be treated as a starting point for your own research, not a final answer:
- Several Berkshire-area consortia (e.g. Slough)
- Parts of Kent's consortium arrangements
- Gloucestershire's grammar school consortium
- Warwickshire — the county's five grammar schools moved from CEM to GL for 2023 entry
- Trafford
- Wolverhampton, Shropshire & Walsall areas
Some areas — including Essex, which uses its own CSSE-designed papers, and the Sutton zone's shared SET test — were never CEM-based in the first place, so this whole "CEM vs GL" question has simply never applied to them. If you're in Essex, see CEM and the 13+ exam: what Essex parents actually need to know for why "CEM Essex" practice material is a mismatch, and the complete Essex 11 plus (CSSE) parent guide.
How to actually find out what your child will sit
Skip the guides (including this one) as your final source, and go directly to:
- Your target school's admissions page, for the current admissions year specifically — not an older cached version.
- Your local authority's 11+ or grammar school admissions guidance, if the test is run as a shared consortium exam rather than by an individual school.
- The school or consortium directly by phone or email, if the published information is unclear or you can't find a recent update — this is a completely reasonable question to ask, and admissions offices field it regularly.
Parent advice
Don't buy exam-board-specific materials before confirming the format. "CEM 11+" branded books and apps may still be sold — some genuinely useful for general reasoning practice, others built entirely around an exam format your child won't sit. Confirm first, buy second.
If your child's target schools use GL (the most likely case for 2026/27 grammar-school entry), prepare for GL directly rather than starting from CEM-style materials and hoping the skills transfer perfectly — the underlying reasoning skills overlap, but pacing, question style and format differ enough to be worth targeted practice.
Mistakes to avoid
- Assuming "CEM" and "GL" are still the two main options to choose between — for most families, GL is now the default, not one of two roughly equal choices.
- Buying CEM-branded preparation materials without checking whether your target school still uses a CEM-descended format.
- Relying on an older blog post's snapshot of "who uses which exam board" without checking the current year.
- Treating precise historic market-share percentages as official statistics rather than commonly cited estimates.
Tutor notes
- Update your own reference materials. If your practice library still frames "CEM vs GL" as a live, roughly 50/50 choice, it predates the 2022–23 change and is worth revising before the next intake of families arrives with that assumption.
- Distinguish "CEM-style reasoning skills" from "the old CEM paper format" when advising families. The underlying skills (vocabulary, verbal and numerical reasoning speed) remain relevant broadly; the specific paper format most families prepared for no longer exists for the majority of grammar-school candidates.
- Flag Cambridge Select Insight explicitly for independent-school families, since it's the context where a genuinely CEM-descended, computer-based test is most likely still relevant — and confirm whether it's adaptive/on-screen before assuming paper-style practice transfers directly.
Frequently asked questions
Is CEM still used for the 11+?
Not in its old paper-based form. CEM announced in late 2022 that it would stop supplying standard paper-based 11+ exams, and most affected grammar school consortia moved to GL Assessment or their own bespoke papers from the September 2023 admissions cycle onward. A computer-based descendant of the CEM test, now called Cambridge Select Insight, is still used by some selective and independent schools, but it is a different format from the old paper CEM test.
What happened to CEM?
CEM (the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, historically associated with Durham University) was acquired by Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press in 2019. In April 2025, the organisation was rebranded from CEM to Cambridge Insight, and its selective-schools exam — previously called CEM Select — was renamed Cambridge Select Insight.
Is Cambridge Select Insight the same as CEM?
Cambridge Select Insight is the current name for what was CEM Select, run by the same organisation (now called Cambridge Insight) that owns the CEM legacy. It's a computer-based, adaptive assessment rather than the older paper-based CEM 11+ test, so preparation materials built around the old paper format may not fully match the current online format.
How do I find out which exam board my child will actually sit?
Check your target school's or local authority's admissions page directly — this changes by area and can change year to year, so a generic guide (including this one) should never be your final source. Look specifically for the current year's admissions or 11+ information page rather than relying on older cached pages or forum posts.
Should I still buy CEM-style practice books?
Only if you've confirmed your target school still uses a CEM-descended format (Cambridge Select Insight) or a genuinely CEM-style paper. For the large majority of grammar schools that moved to GL Assessment after 2022–23, GL-style practice is the better match. Buying CEM-branded materials without checking first is one of the most common wasted-money mistakes families make.
Related SharpY Mind resources
Where to go from here
Once you've confirmed which exam board your child is actually preparing for, SharpY Mind adapts its Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning practice to match — including GL Assessment, ISEB Pre-Test, Sutton SET and other bespoke formats.
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