Skills assessed
Logical reasoning
Following rules and conditions to a valid conclusion.
Deduction
Using clues to eliminate possibilities and pin down the answer.
Patterns & analogies
Seeing relationships and applying them to new cases.
Critical thinking
Weighing arguments and spotting flawed reasoning.
Common question types
Logic puzzles
Clue-based problems solved by elimination.
Sequences & patterns
Number, shape and visual patterns to continue.
Arguments
Identifying assumptions, conclusions and weaknesses.
Visual & spatial
Rotations, nets and matching shapes.
Why Thinking Skills matters
Most students have never seen questions quite like these, so familiarity alone lifts scores. The section rewards clear, structured thinking under time pressure rather than any memorised content.
It’s also the most coachable section: once a student learns to strip a puzzle down to its clues, whole categories of question suddenly click.
One example question
A single representative question, to show what this section looks like — not a practice set. The full sets live on the free practice questions page below.
All the books on the top shelf are red. Some red books are heavy. Which statement must be true?
- All top-shelf books are heavy
- Some top-shelf books may be heavy ✓
- No red books are heavy
- All heavy books are on the top shelf
Answer & explanation
Some top-shelf books may be heavy. Top-shelf books are red, and only *some* red books are heavy — so top-shelf books *may* be heavy, but we can’t be sure. The other options claim more than the clues allow.
Want more? Try a set of free practice questions across all four subjects.
How to prepare at home
What helps between now and the test. Technique for the test itself — pacing, elimination, checking your reasoning — is a separate job, and has its own guide.
- ✓Do logic puzzles and brain teasers for fun, not as homework.
- ✓Ask your child to explain how they reached an answer.
- ✓Keep introducing unfamiliar puzzle types — this section rewards a child who is not thrown by something new.
For technique in the test itself, read how to improve at Thinking Skills.
Ready to practise Thinking Skills?
Sit a free, full-length sample test and practise Thinking Skills under real exam conditions.