Civil Service Verbal and Numerical tests: practice with every answer explained
20 verbal statements to judge true, false or cannot say from a passage, and 20 numerical questions on tables of figures. The first 4 of each are free. The real tests have no time limit; the clock here is a pace guide.
- 40questions
- 2timed parts
- 50minutes in all
- 40answers explained
The real tests have no time limit and adapt to your answers. The clock here is a pace guide only.
A regional transport office ran a six-month trial in which staff could choose their start time between 7am and 10am, provided they worked their contracted hours. Before the trial, all staff started at 9am. During the trial, 62 of the office's 80 staff changed their start time at least once, and most of those 62 chose to start earlier. The office's manager reported that the number of customer phone calls answered within two minutes rose during the trial, although the opening hours of the phone lines did not change. A staff survey at the end found that a majority wanted the arrangement to continue. The manager has recommended extending it for a further year and reviewing it again after that.
Fewer than a quarter of the office's staff kept a 9am start throughout the trial.
- 20 verbal statements: true, false or cannot say, judged from the passage alone
- 20 numerical questions on tables of figures, calculator allowed as in the real test
- The reason behind every verbal answer, including why "cannot say" is not "false"
- The working behind every numerical answer, step by step
- A run against the clock for each part, to practise a steady pace
- Your score by skill, so you see which kind of question costs you marks
Independent practice material. Not written or endorsed by the Civil Service, the Cabinet Office or Government Recruitment Service. These are original passages, tables and questions, not items from the real tests. The real tests are not timed.
Before you buy
What do I get?
40 questions in two parts. Verbal: 20 statements across five passages, each answered true, false or cannot say. Numerical: 20 questions across five tables of figures. Each part can be practised question by question, with the reason or the working shown after every answer, or sat in one run that gives your score by skill at the end.
Is this the real test format?
The question types are. GOV.UK describes the Verbal test as a text passage followed by a statement that you judge true, false or cannot say, and the Numerical test as graphs, tables or other figures followed by a question with several possible answers. Two things differ: the real tests are not timed (GOV.UK says most people take between 15 and 45 minutes for each), and they adapt, so the next question gets harder or easier with your answers and you cannot skip or go back. This set has a fixed list of questions, and its clock is only a pace guide.
Can I use a calculator?
Yes. GOV.UK suggests having rough paper, a pen and a calculator to hand for the real tests, and the numerical questions here are written on that basis.
Are these real test questions?
No. Every passage, table and question is original. They are not from the Civil Service practice tests or from any live test.
Will my score here predict my result?
No. The real tests report a percentile against a group of other applicants, and the pass mark depends on the job level and can be raised by the recruiter. A count of correct answers on a fixed set is not on that scale.
How were the answers checked?
Every numerical answer is computed from its table by a script, not typed by hand. Every question was then answered independently, without the key, before release, and went in only when those answers matched ours.
How do I pay and get access?
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