Impact Graduate Scheme situational judgement test practice

What you get

• 43 original council scenarios with 229 responses to rate, in the format the LGA uses now: a rating for every response. In two sets: Set 1 has 19 scenarios and Set 2 has 24 more.
• The LGA's four ratings: Effective, Fairly effective, Ineffective and Counterproductive. Ratings can repeat within a scenario, as in the LGA's own practice questions.
• The reason behind every rating, one or two plain sentences, so you learn how the scale works rather than memorising answers.
• A score for each of the 8 key skills, and whether you tend to rate too harshly or too kindly.
• Untimed, like the real test. Your time on each scenario is shown, and you can pause whenever you like.
• The older most-and-least format too: the same scenarios as 5 short tests plus a 3-scenario free sample, where you pick the most and the least appropriate of three responses, in our ordinary test player.
• The first 3 scenarios are free, with every reason. No sign-in.

How we score (our scoring, not the LGA's)

A response rated exactly as we rate it earns one mark. One step away (for example Fairly effective where we say Effective) earns half a mark. Two or more steps away earns no marks. The LGA pages we read on 10 November 2026 give no scoring rule and no pass mark, so treat our score as practice feedback, not a prediction.

The 8 key skills

The LGA says the test measures each of its key skills and behaviours three times across its 24 scenarios (Impact timeline). Our set covers all eight; the number of our scenarios for each is in brackets. In our words, each skill asks for:

• Working with Others (6): working across teams with respect for different people and views, and staying open to challenge.
• Effective Communication (5): clear speaking and writing that fits the audience, listening, and backing opinions with evidence.
• Planning and Organisation (5): managing your own workload and putting competing tasks in a sensible order.
• Results Focused and Adaptability (5): getting things done, and changing approach when priorities or information change.
• Analysis and Problem Solving (6): reading figures and other information accurately and drawing conclusions the evidence supports.
• Motivation for Learning and Personal Resilience (5): seeking out learning, handling setbacks and pressure, and setting healthy limits.
• Commitment to Local Government and the Wider Community (5): caring about the local community and the wider picture your work sits in.
• Leadership Potential (6): leading by example, taking ownership, and supporting the people around you.

Which format to practise

The LGA's own timeline page still describes three responses per scenario, where you pick the most and least appropriate.

The Cohort 29 vacancy page says you give an effectiveness rating to every response, and the LGA's practice questions use five or six responses and four ratings (LGA practice questions).

This set practises both: every response rated and explained, and, below, the same scenarios in the most-and-least format.

The same scenarios, most and least appropriate

Each question shows three responses from one of our scenarios. Pick the most appropriate and the least appropriate. Our key follows the ratings in the main set: the most appropriate is one we rate Effective, and the least appropriate is one we rate lower than the other two. One mark for each right pick (our scoring, not the LGA's). The first 3 scenarios are a free sample.