Medway-Style Mixed Mock
The Medway-Style Mixed Mock is modelled on the Medway Test, the 11+ entrance assessment used by grammar schools in the Medway towns of Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham and Rochester, administered on behalf of Medway Council, which alongside English and maths papers has historically included separate verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning components. This mock focuses on the non-verbal reasoning strand: pattern, shape and spatial questions such as sequences, odd-one-out, rotations, reflections and 3D shape problems, answered under strict time pressure with no working shown.
Method
- Learn the standard non-verbal reasoning question families (series, odd one out, matrices, analogies, rotation, reflection, nets and 3D counting) so you recognise the type instantly rather than working it out from scratch each time.
- For pattern-based questions, describe the rule out loud in words first (shape changes, one extra dot each time, colour swaps) before hunting for it among the answer options.
- For rotation and reflection questions, physically trace the transformation with your finger or pencil on scrap paper rather than trying to picture it in your head alone.
- Work quickly through questions you find familiar, since non-verbal reasoning papers are usually tightly timed with many short questions rather than a few long ones.
- If a question type is unfamiliar or you are stuck after a few seconds, mark your best guess and move on rather than losing time you need elsewhere on the paper.
- Practise little and often in the weeks before the test, since recognising these patterns quickly is a skill that fades without regular practice.
Worked example
A sequence of five shapes shows a black pentagon that gains one extra black dot inside it at each step (1 dot, 2 dots, 3 dots, 4 dots). Which shape completes the sequence: a pentagon with 4 dots, a pentagon with 5 dots, or a hexagon with 5 dots?
- Identify what stays the same across the sequence: the shape is a black pentagon in every step, so the shape itself does not change.
- Identify what changes: the number of dots inside increases by exactly one each time (1, 2, 3, 4).
- State the rule in words: pentagon, dots increase by one each step.
- Apply the rule to find the next term: after 4 dots, the next step should have 5 dots, still inside a pentagon.
- Eliminate options that break the rule: a hexagon with 5 dots is wrong because the shape has changed, so it cannot be correct.
- Final answer: a pentagon with 5 dots.
Practice questions
Type your answer and press Check to be marked straight away, or reveal the answer and mark yourself.
Q1In a sequence, a square rotates 90 degrees clockwise at each step. If it starts pointing with one corner at the top, which way up will it be after two steps?Show answer
Answer: Rotated 180 degrees from the start, so it will look upside down compared to the first shape (a corner pointing to the bottom).
Q2Which shape is the odd one out: a circle with 3 dots, a circle with 3 dots, a circle with 3 dots, a circle with 4 dots?Show answer
Answer: The circle with 4 dots, since it does not match the number of dots in the other three.
Q3A shape is reflected in a vertical mirror line. If the original shape has a black triangle in its top-left corner, where will the triangle appear in the reflected shape?Show answer
Answer: In the top-right corner (reflection in a vertical line flips left and right, not up and down).
Q4A cube net has six squares arranged in a cross shape, each with a different symbol. When folded into a cube, how many squares end up directly opposite the square marked with a star?Show answer
Answer: One (every square on a cube has exactly one opposite face).
Q5Three shapes are stacked to build a 3D block: a 2x2x1 layer on the bottom and a single cube on top. How many cubes make up the whole block?Show answer
Answer: 5 (2x2x1 = 4 cubes on the bottom, plus 1 cube on top = 5).
Q6In an analogy question, a small white circle is to a large white circle as a small black square is to what?Show answer
Answer: A large black square (the rule is: the same shape and shade, but bigger).
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a 11+ exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
A sequence of four shapes shows a five-pointed star that loses one point of shading at each step (all 5 points shaded, then 4, then 3, then 2). Describe the rule and state how many points will be shaded in the fifth shape in the sequence. (2 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 2 available
A 3D block is built from 3 layers of cubes: the bottom layer is 3x3, the middle layer is 2x2 sitting centrally on top of the bottom layer, and the top layer is a single cube sitting on the middle layer. How many cubes make up the whole block? Show your working. (3 marks)
Show mark scheme
Tick each line you got. Your score builds from the marks on the scheme.
Nothing ticked yet - 3 available
Free printable worksheet
Want more practice on paper? Download the medway-style mixed mock worksheet pack - 17 pages of exam-style questions with a full mark scheme. One email opens every download in this browser for 14 days - no account, no card. Print it for personal and classroom use.
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