Checked 23 October 2026. Official points are from RSSB's December 2024 FAQ on RIS-3751-TOM issue four, The OPC's candidate guide (04/12/2024) and Translink's policy, read 23 Oct 2026. None of the research abstracts we read tested the Group Bourdon; they cover enumeration, grouping, the speed-accuracy tradeoff, vigilance and sleep loss. Follow the instructions in your approved practice materials and on the day wherever they differ from anything here.
To give yourself the best chance of passing the Group Bourdon, work as accurately and quickly as you can: that is The OPC's own advice. In practice: scan every row in order, see four dots as two pairs, keep one steady rhythm, never stop to recount, and treat groups of five as traps. Each train company decides which pass marks it uses.
Updated for RIS-3751-TOM issue 4 (published 7 December 2024). The official points on this page were checked against RSSB, ORR, assessment-centre and train company documents on 23 October 2026; our own advice is labelled as ours.
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not part of RSSB, the Office of Rail and Road, The OPC or any train company, and nothing here is official test material.
Free · no sign-in
Try the techniques on level 1 of our concentration trainer
Three timed sheets of dot groups, 40 seconds each. Mark every group of exactly four dots, then see your accuracy, your groups per minute and your missed and wrong marks counted apart.
Play level 1 freeIndependent practice by ProSyllabus. Not the official test, not a copy of it, and not produced or checked by RSSB, an assessment centre or a train company.
What we know about the test, and what we do not
Official points that shape every technique below
- The Group Bourdon is one of two attention tests in RSSB's standard, RIS-3751-TOM, and RSSB's table names it as a paper test. Translink lists it as "Paper & pencil".
- The OPC lists it among the "core tests" that are "universal to all companies" and "that you must pass".
- RSSB: "RIS-3751-TOM issue four does not set pass marks." Each train company decides which pass marks it uses.
- The OPC: "You might not reach the end of all of the tests, not many people do, but if you work as accurately and quickly as you can, you give yourself the best chance of being successful."
RSSB 3751-FAQ (December 2024), table 1 and question 28; Translink HR023 v1.5, Appendix B; The OPC candidate guide (04/12/2024), printed pages 4 and 7.
What none of those sources describes is the sheet itself: what the items look like, how many there are, or how long each part lasts. A user of a train driver forum described sheets of boxes, each holding several dots, in which you mark the boxes with four dots (forum-reported, a 2017 post, not official). The techniques below assume that kind of task, which is also how our trainer works. If your approved practice materials or the assessor say anything different, follow them.
Each technique is labelled. Evidence-based means published research supports the general idea; none of the research abstracts we read reports testing the Group Bourdon itself. Official tip means an assessment centre's own advice. Practical advice is ours: sensible, but untested.
The 11 techniques
1. Listen to every instruction and use any examples
Official tip
How: Before the test time starts, listen to the whole explanation, do every example you are given, and ask about anything unclear. Once the test starts, you cannot ask.
Why: The OPC: before each test "you may have the chance to complete some examples", the assessor can help with them, and "you are not allowed to ask" anyone questions once the test time has started.
Practise this on level 1: read the how-to screen before your first sheet, then play.
2. Work in reading order, row by row
Practical advice
How: Start at the top left, go along the row to the end, drop to the next row. Keep a finger or the pen tip one group ahead of your eyes to help you keep your place.
Why: A fixed route can reduce the risk of skipping a group or looking at one twice. Our trainer is built on the same rule: work along each row from left to right, then on to the next.
Practise this on level 1, watching the trainer's errors-by-row table for rows you rushed.
3. See four as two pairs
Evidence-based
How: Do not count four dots one by one. Let your eyes split the group into two pairs: two plus two is four, and anything else is not.
Why: In Trick and Pylyshyn's (1994) account, fewer than four items are enumerated rapidly and accurately ("subitizing"), while more than four are counted, slowly and with more errors. Separately, Ciccione and Dehaene (2020) found that dividing a set of dots into subgroups of equal size made it faster and easier to enumerate. Seeing four as two equal pairs is our application of those findings; neither abstract reports testing it on the Group Bourdon.
Practise this on level 2, three runs in a row.
Our illustration, in the style of our trainer's boxes. It is not a Group Bourdon item, and the real test's layout may differ.
4. Glance, decide, move on
Evidence-basedPractical advice
How: Give each group one look, make the decision, move to the next. If you catch yourself counting dot by dot, you have slowed right down: use the pairs instead.
Why: The same 1994 study puts enumeration of fewer than four items at 40 to 100 milliseconds per item and counting of more than four at 250 to 350 milliseconds per item, with counting more error-prone. Applying that to groups of four, by seeing them as two pairs with one look, is our practical advice.
Practise this on level 2, aiming to hold your accuracy while your groups per minute rise.
5. Treat five and three as the traps
Practical advice
How: If a group looks "full", check it for one extra dot: two pairs and a spare is five. If it looks thin, it is probably three. Both are the groups you leave unmarked.
Why: In a task where you mark one number of dots among nearby numbers, the near misses are where wrong marks come from. On our trainer, five and three appear from level 1 and six from level 3.
Practise this on level 3, where groups of six join the threes and fives.
6. Rhythm over speed
Evidence-basedPractical advice
How: Find a pace you can hold for a whole sheet with almost no errors, then nudge it up a little at a time. Keep it even: no sprints, no stops.
Why: Faster decisions generally cost accuracy and slower ones buy it; Heitz (2014) calls this trade-off one of the most widespread effects in decision-making. A steady pace is our advice for staying on the right side of it.
Practise this on level 4, comparing your accuracy and groups per minute run by run.
A concept diagram, not data: none of the official sources we read describes how the Group Bourdon is scored. The general trade-off between decision speed and accuracy is described in Heitz (2014). The OPC's advice is to work "as accurately and quickly as you can".
7. Do not go back over finished rows
Practical advice
How: Once a row is done, leave it. Going back to recheck costs time on groups you have already judged and breaks your rhythm on the ones still to come.
Why: The OPC's advice to circle a question and return to it at the end is written for tests with questions and answer sheets. Unless the instructions for the Group Bourdon say you may go back, keep moving forward.
Practise this on level 5 or 6, noting whether wrong marks cluster after a pause.
8. One clean mark, steady pen pressure
Practical advice
How: Use the mark the instructions ask for, the same way every time, without pressing hard or going over it. A light, even stroke is quicker and leaves a mark the scorer can read.
Why: The Group Bourdon is a paper test, so the pencil is part of your speed. This is the one technique our on-screen trainer cannot practise: do it on paper.
Practise this on paper: the approved practice materials if they come on paper, or a blank sheet.
9. Settle the start, do not sprint it
Official tipPractical advice
How: Start at your practised pace, not faster. If you make a mistake, let it go and carry on.
Why: The OPC: "Try not to get flustered during the tests, stay calm and simply do your best."
Practise this on level 1: play the first sheet at your practised pace, then compare it with sheets 2 and 3.
10. Reset between parts
Practical advice
How: If the test, or your practice run, is split into parts, take one slow breath between them, drop your shoulders, and look to where the next part starts. Do not think about the part you have just done.
Why: A short reset may help you refocus before the next part. This is our practical advice, not an official rule.
Practise this on level 6, with five sheets a run.
11. Train for the end of the test, not the start
Evidence-based
How: Practise full runs, not single sheets, and look at whether your errors rise towards the end. If they do, build up longer runs gradually.
Why: Vigilance tasks are hard mental work, and vigilance research describes a performance decrement in them (Warm, Parasuraman and Matthews, 2008); longer runs are our own way of training to hold attention. Our trainer shows your first-half against second-half accuracy for exactly this reason.
Practise this on level 6 and above, then level 10 for six sheets a run.
Practise between sections
Try techniques 3 and 4 now
Play level 1 and give every group one look: two pairs, mark; anything else, leave. Then check the error breakdown: missed fours and wrong marks are shown apart.
Try it on level 1 freeIndependent practice by ProSyllabus. Not the official test, not a copy of it, and not produced or checked by RSSB, an assessment centre or a train company.
Missed or wrong: read your errors, then fix the right thing
| If most of your errors are | One possible explanation | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Missed groups of four | You are moving faster than you can check | Slow down slightly; use the two-pairs check on every group |
| Wrong marks on fives, threes or sixes | You decide before you have looked properly | Look for the spare dot before you mark (technique 5) |
| Errors in one row or one area | You lost your place or skipped | Keep a finger or pen tip one group ahead (technique 2) |
| Errors late in the run | Attention fading over time | Practise longer runs and reset between sheets (techniques 10 and 11) |
This is our own reading of the error types, and the sources we read do not describe how the official test is scored. Our trainer counts missed and wrong marks separately, by sheet and by row, so you can see which pattern is yours.
Five mistakes to avoid
What to stop doing
- Sprinting the opening. Speed bought with misses is not speed. Start at the pace you practised.
- Counting every dot. In the research behind technique 3, counting larger sets was much slower and more error-prone than taking in very small sets at a glance.
- Going back to check. Unless the instructions allow it, rechecking spends time on groups already judged (technique 7).
- Practising only speed, or only accuracy. Track both, and track missed and wrong marks apart; one total hides which fix you need.
- Trusting a pass mark or timing from a forum or an unofficial PDF. RSSB says RIS-3751-TOM issue four does not set pass marks, and The OPC does not give candidates their scores. Practise to do your best, not to a number someone guessed.
Drills: practise each technique on the right level
Our plan, not an official one. Short sessions, every day if you can. Move up a level once you have cleared it, our own target: at least 95% accuracy with at least 60% of the groups reached, over a full run. Use the approved practice materials as soon as they arrive.
| Days | Drill | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Level 1, three runs a day | Techniques 1, 2 and 9: instructions, reading order, a calm first sheet |
| 3 to 5 | Level 2 three times, then level 4 once | Techniques 3 and 4: two pairs, one look per group; see how your accuracy holds when the sheet gets bigger |
| 6 to 8 | Level 3, then level 4 | Technique 5: fives, threes and sixes; technique 6: an even rhythm |
| 9 to 11 | Level 5, then level 6 | Techniques 7 and 10: no going back, a reset between five sheets |
| 12 to 14 | Level 6 and up, ending with one long run | Technique 11: compare first-half and second-half accuracy |
| Level | Sheets | Groups a sheet | Seconds a sheet | Dot counts used | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 48 | 40 | 3, 4, 5 | free |
| 2 | 3 | 56 | 40 | 3, 4, 5 | slight jitter |
| 3 | 4 | 64 | 45 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | groups of six appear |
| 4 | 4 | 72 | 45 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | - |
| 5 | 4 | 90 | 50 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | - |
| 6 | 5 | 90 | 45 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | less regular groups |
| 7 | 5 | 99 | 45 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | - |
| 8 | 5 | 108 | 45 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | - |
| 9 | 5 | 117 | 45 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | - |
| 10 | 6 | 126 | 45 | 3, 4, 5, 6 | about four and a half minutes a run |
Your before and after run
Play the same level at the start and at the end of your drills and compare the two runs. The trainer shows the change from your previous run of the same level stored in this browser, so write down the figures from your first run before you start. Fill this in for yourself:
| Measure | First run | Run after the drills | What a good change looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | Your figure | Your figure | Holds or rises |
| Groups per minute | Your figure | Your figure | Rises without accuracy falling |
| Missed fours | Your figure | Your figure | Falls |
| Wrong marks | Your figure | Your figure | Falls |
| Second half against first half | Your figure | Your figure | The gap narrows |
Better trainer runs show improved performance on this trainer. They do not predict your result on the day: the trainer and its clearance target are our own, and the real assessment has its own conditions.
The day before and on the day
Checklist
- Sleep. The OPC: "Go to bed early - get a good night's sleep." Research points the same way: a meta-analysis of short-term (under 48 hours) total sleep deprivation found effects from small to large across cognitive tasks, the largest on lapses in simple attention (Lim and Dinges, 2010).
- No long practice session the day before. A short run to keep the habit warm is enough (our advice).
- Glasses or contact lenses if you use them, so that you can see the test clearly (The OPC).
- Breakfast before the session (The OPC).
- Photo ID (passport or driving licence) and proof of your National Insurance number, plus anything the train company asks for (RSSB). Pencils and paper are supplied (The OPC).
- Travel time: allow for cancelled trains or heavy traffic (The OPC).
- On the day: listen to every instruction, do the examples, ask every question before the test starts, then work in silence at your practised pace.
RSSB 3751-FAQ, question 16; The OPC candidate guide (04/12/2024), printed pages 4 to 6; Lim and Dinges (2010).
For the rules around the test (attempts, retakes, results and feedback), see our Group Bourdon guide. For every test in the assessment, start at our train driver psychometric tests hub. For what free practice exists and which tests need a licensed system, see free train driver practice tests compared. Our guides on this assessment are collected on the UK train driver exam page.
The concentration trainer
Put the 11 techniques to work on timed sheets
- Level 1 free with no sign-in; levels 2 to 10 unlock with one payment, no subscription.
- From 48 to 126 groups a sheet, three to six sheets a run, 40 to 50 seconds a sheet.
- Freshly generated sheets for every run, so you are not repeating a sheet you have learned.
- Accuracy, groups per minute, missed and wrong marks by sheet and by row, and your first half against your second half.
The price is on the trainer page.
Start with level 1 freeIndependent practice by ProSyllabus. Not the official test, not a copy of it, and not produced or checked by RSSB, an assessment centre or a train company.
Frequently asked questions
What is the pass mark for the Group Bourdon?
No official source we read gives one. RSSB says RIS-3751-TOM issue four does not set pass marks: RSSB has recommended them, and each train company decides which it uses. The OPC says candidates are not given any scores.
Can you get better at the Group Bourdon with practice?
No official source we read says how much practice changes results. RSSB says the purpose of the approved practice materials is to let candidates familiarise themselves with what to expect. Practising the habits on this page, such as reading order and a steady pace, is our advice.
Should I guess on the Group Bourdon?
The OPC's hints for its tests say to try to avoid wild guessing, and to work as accurately and quickly as you can. Follow the instructions you are given for the Group Bourdon itself.
Is it bad if I do not finish the sheet?
The OPC says you might not reach the end of all of the tests and that not many people do. Its advice is to work as accurately and quickly as you can.
How many sheets are there and how long is each one?
None of the RSSB, ORR, assessment-centre or train company documents we read gives the layout or the timing. Your approved practice materials and the assessor's instructions are the sources to trust.
Is the Group Bourdon on paper or on a computer?
RSSB's table of the standard's tests names it as the paper Group Bourdon, and Translink lists it as a paper and pencil test of attention.
Is your trainer the real Group Bourdon?
No. It is independent attention practice: a timed dot-group task we built, on screen, with level 1 free. It is not produced or checked by RSSB, an assessment centre or a train company.
Sources
- official — RSSB and the Rail Assessment Centre Forum: 3751-FAQ, "Frequently asked questions", issue one, on RIS-3751-TOM issue four "Psychometric Assessment in Train Driver Selection" (read 23 Oct 2026): the tests by selection criterion, attempts, pass marks, validity, practice materials, minimum age
- official — The OPC (a registered assessment centre): "Train Driver Assessment: A guide for candidate's who undertake their assessment with The OPC" (read 23 Oct 2026): the tests, hints and tips, the day, results and feedback
- official — Translink: train driver psychometric testing policy, HR023 version 1.5 (read 23 Oct 2026): Translink's train driver assessment process, Appendix B
- official — Office of Rail and Road: "A guide to the occupational psychological fitness and medical requirements" (read 23 Oct 2026): the occupational psychological fitness examination, RIS-3751-TOM, the three-attempt rule
- reported — traindriver.org forum thread "Group Bourdon Tests" (a reply posted 21 June 2017 describing the test; the thread page says it was last updated 8 years, 7 months ago by Steve; thread read 23 Oct 2026): one forum user's description of the test, forum-reported and not checked against any official source
- official — Trick, L. M. and Pylyshyn, Z. W. (1994). "Why are small and large numbers enumerated differently? A limited-capacity preattentive stage in vision." Psychological Review 101(1), 80-102 (PubMed record read 23 Oct 2026)
- official — Ciccione, L. and Dehaene, S. (2020). "Grouping Mechanisms in Numerosity Perception." Open Mind 4, 102-118 (PubMed record read 23 Oct 2026)
- official — Heitz, R. P. (2014). "The speed-accuracy tradeoff: history, physiology, methodology, and behavior." Frontiers in Neuroscience 8, 150 (PubMed record read 23 Oct 2026)
- official — Warm, J. S., Parasuraman, R. and Matthews, G. (2008). "Vigilance requires hard mental work and is stressful." Human Factors 50(3), 433-441 (PubMed record read 23 Oct 2026)
- official — Lim, J. and Dinges, D. F. (2010). "A meta-analysis of the impact of short-term sleep deprivation on cognitive variables." Psychological Bulletin 136(3), 375-389 (PubMed record read 23 Oct 2026)
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.
