Checked 16 October 2026. All examples are from Civil Service Careers pages for 2027 entry (the online-tests example question and the Fast Stream Assessment Centre guide), read on 16 October 2026. The official pages say the real exercises will have different content.
The Civil Service publishes a small number of Fast Stream example questions, spread across different pages: one online-test item with its answers, and one example each for two of the three assessment-centre exercises, each followed by a list of what a good response looks like. This guide brings them together, stage by stage. For each one it summarises the official material, gives the official answer or the official description of a good response, and shows how to work through it. Where nothing is published, it says so. If you want to be scored on the online-test formats, our free Fast Stream practice test does that.
A note from us
Applying to the Fast Stream is a big step, and there is a lot to take in. We have tried to set out what is published as plainly as we can. Take it one section at a time, and come back whenever it helps.
Civil Service Careers, online-tests example question and Fast Stream Assessment Centre guide (read 16 October 2026).
Every official Fast Stream example question, by stage
| Stage | Official example? | Official answers? | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online test: Work-based scenarios | Yes: one scenario with four actions | Yes: a rating and explanation for each action | Example-question page linked from the online-tests page |
| Online test: Case Study assessment | No | No | The online-tests page describes the format only |
| Additional information (some schemes) | No example questions | No | The page says it may include motivational questions and academic details |
| Assessment centre: Written Exercise | Yes: a full brief with 7 items and the tasks | No model answer; a list of what a good candidate response looks like | FSAC guide, Written Exercise page |
| Assessment centre: Oral Briefing Exercise | Yes: a full brief with 8 items, the task and sample assessor questions | No model answer; a list of what a good candidate response looks like | FSAC guide, Oral Briefing Exercise page |
| Assessment centre: Personal Development Conversation | No example questions; the types of question are described | No | FSAC guide, Personal Development Conversation page |
The official pages say the real exercises will have different content. The examples show the format, the kind of material and what is assessed, not the questions you will get.
Online test example: a work-based scenario, with the official answers
You lead a team on a National Survey project that shares IT equipment with another department. Kamala, a member of your team, says your team has been unable to use the equipment because the other department has been booking a lot more time with it, that she hears they have recently taken on more work, and that some other teams have similar equipment that is not in use right now. You rate each of four actions on the four-point scale: counterproductive, ineffective, partially effective or effective.
| Action (summarised) | Official answer | Official explanation (paraphrased) |
|---|---|---|
| A. Ask the other department’s manager to find alternative equipment | Ineffective | Restricts the use of shared equipment, though the other team may be able to get extra resources |
| B. Talk to the other manager about your concerns and share a contact with underused equipment | Effective | Opens a dialogue and offers a constructive alternative |
| C. Ask colleagues to tell the other manager your project takes priority | Ineffective | May free up some resources, but places the burden on colleagues rather than solving the issue |
| D. Ask colleagues to book as much equipment time as possible | Counterproductive | Limits the other team’s work, opens no dialogue and creates conflict |
The example-question page notes that the actual test uses video and audio content. For a step-by-step method that reaches these answers, and a practice scenario answered in full, see our work-based scenarios answers guide. The Case Study assessment has no published example; our Case Study guide describes its two answer types and works through a situation from our practice set.
Practise the online tests: 12 scenarios in the real format
Original scenarios written to the published four-point scale. Rate each action, then see the reason behind every rating. Start with the free one below.
Stage 1 for all of them: the online tests. 2026 intake, GOV.UK recruitment data.
£31,554 starting salary · earning potential of £45,000 to £55,000 after the scheme (Civil Service Careers).
- 12scenarios
- 48actions to rate
- 24case-study situations
- 72answers explained
Every rating comes with its reason, written against the published four-point scale and the Civil Service Code.
FreeTests: Working Together
The figure in the minister's box
Read the situation, then rate each of the 4 actions from Counterproductive to Effective. You then see the right rating and the reason for each. About 3 minutes · free · no sign-in.
You are a policy officer working on a joint briefing with a partner team. At noon, Grace, who leads the partner team, sent the finished briefing to the minister's private office. It goes into the minister's box at 5pm, ready for a radio interview tomorrow morning. At 1pm you notice that the paragraph on rural households, which you wrote, still says 120,000 households. Your team corrected that figure to 80,000 last week, and the version Grace sent was taken before the correction. Grace starts two weeks' leave at 2pm today. Her deputy, James, is in the office all afternoon and can send material to private office. Only that one paragraph is affected.
Opens when you unlock all
- An error in your figures · Managing a Quality Service
- A colleague falling behind · Developing Self and Others
- Legal advice missing overnight · Making Effective Decisions
- A spreadsheet for the train · Managing a Quality Service
- An angry trade association · Communicating and Influencing
- A quiet voice in meetings · Working Together
- A vague request in passing · Communicating and Influencing
- Leaving a post on Friday · Managing a Quality Service
- Testing dropped to hit launch · Making Effective Decisions
- Data promised by another department · Working Together
- Spending the underspend · Managing a Quality Service
- Case study: Open Door Hubs: a practice Case Study · 7 background documents, 24 situations
- 11 more work-based scenarios with 44 actions to rate on the four-point scale
- A full case study: 7 background documents and 24 situations, in order
- The reason behind every rating, so you learn the scale and not the answers
- Your rating pattern: whether you mark too generously or too harshly, and what to fix
- Same length as the real tests: 12 scenarios and 24 situations
Independent practice material. Not written or endorsed by the Civil Service; the real tests use video and no answer key is published beyond the one worked example. For 2027 entry the real Case Study mixes two answer types; this set practises both: four-point ratings in the scenarios, most and least effective in the case study.
Assessment centre example 1: the Written Exercise
In the real exercise you play a fast streamer overseeing a project, with 55 minutes to review information and complete 4 written tasks. The official page suggests you may want to spend 20 minutes reviewing the pack and 35 minutes writing, whatever works best for you. You receive a template in Microsoft Word by email.
The example brief, summarised
You are a new fast streamer in the Department for Intergenerational Fairness, working on access to affordable housing for young people. A think tank has proposed innovative ideas the government is considering for pilots. Before any pilot goes ahead, you review polling data and stakeholder feedback. The example lists three tasks: a written recommendation to the Minister for Housing and Urban Development on which option, if any, to pursue and why; an email to the Head of Homes for All explaining your recommendation and addressing their concerns; and a social media post advertising the benefits of the project to young people. (The exercise description says 4 written tasks; the example lists 3.)
| Item | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| 1. Further information on the policy | Five options with a summary, pros and cons: Floating Homes, Homes above Railways, Evolving Homes, Underground Homes, Shipping Container Homes |
| 2. Government’s key objectives | Efficient construction costs, minimal environmental impact and innovative approaches, plus target population, tenure type, growth of the UK construction industry and support for the UK technology sector |
| 3. Minister’s speech | The aim to increase affordable housing from the current 12% of new builds, with an emphasis on innovation, sustainability and skills |
| 4. Head of Homes for All | The concern that allocation between shared ownership, affordable rent and social rent is unclear, and may favour young professionals over the most vulnerable |
| 5. Construction News | Modern methods such as offsite prefabrication can reduce waste and time and address skill shortages |
| 6. Department for Business Innovation | Innovative construction could open new export markets |
| 7. Opinion polls | Mixed views: some see it as marginalising those in need, some worry about standards, a few see a practical short-term solution |
What a good response looks like, officially
From the official example page
- Write in a clear manner: easy to follow, with minimal errors in spelling and grammar.
- Tailor your tone and style to fit the specific stakeholders.
- Address stakeholder concerns directly, showing that you genuinely understand their views or concerns.
- Make explicit, confident recommendations, with the rationale clearly explained in writing.
- Reference the Government’s key objectives in your recommendations.
Paraphrased closely from the "What does a good candidate response look like?" list on the Written Exercise page.
Working through it
The official list points to the method: the recommendation has to reference the government’s key objectives, which are in Item 2, and each piece of writing has to fit its reader. A simple way to do the first part is to score each option against the objectives before writing anything. The grid below does that with the example’s own options.
Weigh the five options against the government's objectives
For each option in the official Written Exercise example, score how well it meets the objectives in the five columns below, which we built from Item 2 (two objectives are combined and one is left out, as the note explains): 0 not at all, 1 partly, 2 well, using only the pros and cons in Item 1 and the other items. The totals show which recommendation your own reading supports. No model answer is published for the example; the official list of what a good response looks like asks for an explicit recommendation with its reasons.
| Option | Efficient construction cost | Minimal environmental impact | Innovative approach | Targets those in greatest need | Supports UK construction and technology | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floating Homes | 0 | |||||
| Homes above Railways | 0 | |||||
| Evolving Homes | 0 | |||||
| Underground Homes | 0 | |||||
| Shipping Container Homes | 0 |
A scoring grid is our suggestion for organising the evidence, not an official method. The objectives are from Item 2 of the official example. We have put construction and technology in one column and left out tenure type, because Item 1 does not say which tenure each option would use.
| Option | Official pros (summarised) | Official cons (summarised) |
|---|---|---|
| Floating Homes | Innovative, space-saving, flood-resistant, energy-efficient; mix of social and market-rate housing | Possible impact on riverbeds, construction complexity, sustainability concerns, high initial costs |
| Homes above Railways | Efficient use of city-centre space, close to public transport, reduced car use, innovative methods | Noise and vibration, limited residential experience, high insulation costs, possible construction job losses |
| Evolving Homes | Flexible and adaptable, affordable, energy-efficient, eco-friendly materials | Difficulty adding units and with energy efficiency, relocating homes, finding land |
| Underground Homes | Uses existing underground spaces, lower energy needs, safer from weather | Health concerns from artificial light, safety concerns, high excavation costs |
| Shipping Container Homes | Sustainable, cost-effective, recycles materials, adaptable and scalable | Insulation and ventilation issues, short lifespan (3-5 years), quality concerns with recycled materials |
Three habits for the written tasks (our advice)
- Recommendation to the Minister: lead with the option, then the reasons tied to named objectives, then the main risk and how you would manage it.
- Email to Homes for All: start from their concern about allocation and the most vulnerable, and say what your recommendation does about it. Item 4 is there for this task.
- Social media post: short, plain and aimed at young people, with no policy jargon. The tone change is part of what is assessed.
Assessment centre example 2: the Oral Briefing Exercise
In the real exercise you have 45 minutes to review the project documents, then a 25-minute meeting: 10 minutes to brief the assessor and 15 minutes to answer their questions. It shares the same overarching theme as the Written Exercise, but the two are marked independently.
The example brief, summarised
It is July 2026 and you are again a new fast streamer in the Department for Intergenerational Fairness. Younger people are less likely to vote: the brief says only 45% of under-30s voted in the last general election. Two pilots for young voters ran: Making Your Vote Count (MYVC) in Scotland, which aimed to raise awareness of civic duties and simplify voting, through education and outreach, and Compulsory e-Voting (CeV) in Wales, which introduced online voting and made it mandatory, with fines. You prepare a briefing for the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission: recommend one option, or explain why neither should be implemented, and set out the pros, cons and mitigations of each if implemented nationally. Item 2 says both pilots raised young people’s turnout by about the same amount.
| Item | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| 1. Government’s objectives | Effective across the population, publicly acceptable, low running cost, minimal fraud, and no further alienation of young voters |
| 2. Initial results | Both pilots increased young turnout to about the same extent |
| 3. Reasons for not voting | A graph and table of reasons given by young professionals |
| 4. Costs and impacts | MYVC: £5.6 million central running costs over seven years plus an estimated £7 million a year for outreach. CeV: £600 million set-up in the first year and average running costs of £50 million a year |
| 5. Polling data | Support for compulsory voting and online voting, and awareness of MYVC, by group |
| 6. Broadcast discussion | Two commentators: persuasion over force, and the risk that fines hit lower-income people |
| 7. Cross-party MPs’ statement | Strong opposition to forced voting |
| 8. Office for Equal Opportunity and Diversity | Supports MYVC if it avoids coercing non-voters; concerned that compulsory e-voting could disadvantage some groups and that a £100 fine would be a burden for many |
Using the data: the costs side by side
The official good-response list asks you to use and refer to data. Item 4 gives a seven-year figure for MYVC’s central running costs; its other costs are yearly. Comparing both options over seven years is our choice of period, and the totals are our arithmetic from the example’s figures.
| Option | Figures in Item 4 | Seven-year total (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| MYVC | £5.6m central costs over seven years, plus about £7m a year for outreach | £5.6m + 7 × £7m = about £54.6m |
| CeV | £600m set-up in the first year, average running costs £50m a year | £900m if running costs start in year two; £950m if they also apply in year one |
Item 4 also says CeV may bring long-term savings by reducing election administration costs, which a good briefing would mention alongside the totals. With turnout gains about the same (Item 2), cost, public acceptability (Items 5 and 7) and the effect on lower-income and young voters (Items 1, 6 and 8) are where the options differ.
The assessor’s questions, and what a good response looks like
The example says the assessor may ask how you would reassure key stakeholders, what key factor influenced your decision, how the recommendation supports the aims of the organisation, and how you would refine the proposal; you may also need to address a challenging emerging issue to show you can think on your feet.
From the official example page
- Provide a clear and easy to understand briefing to the assessor.
- Make a clear recommendation, explaining the reasons behind it.
- Use and refer to data to explain your decision.
- Identify a range of relevant issues for different options.
- Suggest relevant ideas to mitigate and manage the specific risks you identify with the options.
Paraphrased closely from the "What does a good candidate response look like?" list on the Oral Briefing Exercise page.
A 10-minute briefing structure (our advice)
- First minute: your recommendation and the one or two reasons that decided it.
- Next five minutes: pros, cons and risks of each option, using the finding in Item 2 and the numbers in Item 4.
- Next three minutes: mitigations for the risks of your recommended option.
- Last minute: what you would want to know next, which sets up the questions.
Personal Development Conversation: no example questions published
The third assessment-centre exercise is a 30-minute, one-to-one structured discussion with an assessor, assessed on three dimensions: Relate, Adapt and Strive. The official page publishes no example questions. It describes what the conversation includes: forward-looking questions to identify your talents and what energises you, behavioural questions about how you have acted in past situations, personal examples from volunteering, work, education or hobbies, and self-reflection on your strengths, areas for development and interest in the Fast Stream.
Its preparation advice is to identify your strengths, know your motivators, reflect on your growth (including a time things did not go to plan and what you learned) and understand your fit with the Fast Stream. It says you do not need to memorise answers, that experiences from hobbies, volunteering or home life are just as valuable, and that if you are not sure about something, it is fine to say so.
For timings and the scoring dimensions across the whole day, see our Fast Stream assessment centre guide.
To practise it, our FSAC interview practice for the Personal Development Conversation first interviews you about your own experiences and helps you write them up as stories tagged to Relate, Adapt and Strive, then runs practice conversations against a 30-minute clock, with follow-up questions. It is independent practice material, not official.
Practise it, don't just read it
Rate the four actions in a full Fast Stream scenario, free, then see the answers and the reasons for each one.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find Civil Service Fast Stream example questions?
On Civil Service Careers. The online-tests page links to one work-based scenario example with answers, and the Fast Stream Assessment Centre guide has examples of the Written Exercise and the Oral Briefing Exercise, each with a list of what a good response looks like.
Is there an official example of the Case Study assessment?
No. The online-tests page describes its format (7 pieces of background information and 24 situations) but publishes no example situation.
Are there model answers for the Fast Stream Written Exercise example?
No model answer is published. The example page lists what a good candidate response looks like: clear writing, tone fitted to each stakeholder, concerns addressed directly, explicit confident recommendations with reasons, and reference to the government’s key objectives.
How long is the Fast Stream Written Exercise?
55 minutes to review information and complete 4 written tasks. The official page suggests you may want to spend 20 minutes reviewing the pack and 35 minutes writing.
What is in the Oral Briefing Exercise example?
A briefing for the Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission on two pilots to raise young people’s turnout, Making Your Vote Count and Compulsory e-Voting, with 8 supporting items including costs, polling data and stakeholder views, plus sample assessor questions.
Are there example questions for the Personal Development Conversation?
No. The official page describes the types of question (forward-looking, behavioural, personal examples and self-reflection) and gives preparation advice, but publishes no example questions.
Will the real Fast Stream exercises use the same examples?
No. The official pages say the actual exercises will have different content. The examples show the format and what is assessed.
Good luck from all of us
Whatever stage you are at, getting this far takes real effort, and that is worth being proud of. Prepare at a pace that works for you, check the official Civil Service Careers pages for anything that decides your application, and look after yourself along the way. We are wishing you every success.
Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance.
More in this series
- Fast Stream online tests
- Fast Stream assessment centre (FSAC)
- Fast Stream success rates by scheme
- Fast Stream schemes and eligibility
- Fast Stream salary by year
- Fast Stream vs other routes
- Case Study assessment: format and practice
- Fast Stream feedback report explained
- Fast Stream 2027 application dates and timeline
- Online tests: pass mark and results
- Situational judgement test (Work-based scenarios)
- Is there a numerical test?
- Fast Stream practice test (free)
- Work-based scenarios answers and tips
- Fast Stream work style questionnaire
- Fast Stream acceptance rate
- UK Fast Stream notice board — alerts and updates
Sources
- official — Civil Service Careers — Online tests
- official — Civil Service Careers — Example question: work-based scenario
- official — Civil Service Careers — Additional information
- official — FSAC guide — Written Exercise (with example)
- official — FSAC guide — Oral Briefing Exercise (with example)
- official — FSAC guide — Personal Development Conversation
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
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