Upcoming Exam Dates
To see our upcoming exam dates, click here, or use the exam booking system below.
How do I book my exam ?
If you have already created your recruitment account previously, book your exam by clicking here. We need to have your details on file to store your exam and bleep test results.
If you have not created your recruitment account, do so by clicking here. Remember to return to this page to make your booking.
Once you book your exam we will send you a username and password. This is a manual process for us so it will not happen straight away. You can expect to receive account details between 08:00 & 16:00 hours Monday - Thursday.
These details will be sent to your email and will be sent from a system called 'ClassMarker'.
Exam Booking Guidance Video
Is my exam valid ?
You will need to check two things on your certificate. Firstly, is your exam version listed below ? If it is , it’s a valid version. Secondly you need to check whether your exam is still in date. Providing the answer is yes to both of these questions at the point that you submit your application, you are covered.
Previous RGP exams or UK Police exams are not valid.
Valid Exam Versions
V1
*V1 refers to the first of the new exam versions created from 2023 onwards.
Where can I find my exam code ?
The exam code will be a selection of letters highlighted in red on your exam pass certificate.
How often can I sit the exam ?
If you have yet to attain a pass mark, you can sit the exam every time a new exam sitting is announced. If you sit and fail and exam in March, and a new date is announced in April, you can sit this exam. The April exam will be a different exam. If we have to provide different exam dates for the same exam, this will not count as a new sitting. If you sit an exam on the Tuesday and fail it, we will not allow you to sit the exam on the Wednesday, this is the same exam.
Vacancies have been announced but I don’t have the exam, can I sit it ?
There will be at least one announced exam sitting during the window that applications can be submitted. Naturally this exam is unlikely to be any later than the middle of the window, so that those who pass it have the opportunity to spend time on their application pack. This will occasionally result in someone being unaware and missing the opportunity to sit the exam which would make it impossible to apply in that particular window. It is therefore advisable to take the opportunity to sit the exam prior to the recruitment window opening.
I have already passed the exam. Can I sit it again to extend the validity period ?
This is a double edged sword and is down to the individual. If your exam pass has expired prior to the application window opening, rest assured that an exam sitting will always be made available during that window. You will not be stopped from sitting an exam that you have already passed in order to extend the validity, but the obvious risk is that if you do so and then fail, we would be left with a paradox of a valid exam pass but a more recent exam failure. A decision has been made that the most recent exam result will be the result that is counted. If you choose to sit an exam that you have already passed, you will automatically invalidate the previous result.
The police entrance exam can be quite daunting for some people but with enough preparation time there is no reason why you cannot pass this exam. Applicants must have passed this exam in order to be eligible to apply. There will be various opportunities for you to sit this exam and dates will be published on our website and social media. Once passed your exam will be valid for a period of three years (unless we fundamentally change the way that we assess).
The entrance exam is similar to a GCSE level and will consist of the following topics, which have all been condensed into one exam> with a 60% pass mark;
- Vocabulary
- Verbal comprehension
- Verbal reasoning and
- A checking exam
Essentially your knowledge of the English language, reading and comprehension will be tested, these are all vital to the role of a police constable. The questions in the entrance exam may consist of multiple choice, true/false answers and fill in the blank formats. In the checking exam your task will be to compare a handwritten list of information to the data supplied in a table. Here we are looking at your ability to follow instructions under pressure. You will be required to identify any errors, which may be multiple errors or none at all.
There are many ways in which you can prepare for the police entrance exam, which may include looking at past English GCSE exam papers which you will find online together with their answers. You can also look at police forces in the UK and police Scotland often provide sample exams for you to try and there are also books which can be purchased such as from various websites. We will not endorse any specific sites but there are several that will stand out if you research this online.
The exams themselves will be laptop based and an online platform will be used. This will still require candidates to attend on a specified date do sit the exam under exam conditions. The facility to conduct these exams remotely was introduced during the pandemic, but this approach is no longer feasible due to the way that we now recruit. In the interest of fairness, no exceptions will be made to this rule.
Do you provide mock exams or past papers ?
No. We do not provide mock exams or past papers. A sample of the different question types uses in the V1 exams can be found below.
Vocabulary Example
Q - They had mixed feelings about it, hence their comments were:
- Agnostic
- Ambivalent
- Deliberate
- Antiquate
- Atheist
Q - Which sentence is correct ?
- Their in they’re sitting quietly in there classroom
- They’re going over there to get their books
- There decorating they’re tree out their
- Their cooking there super in there
- Their’s nobody in there house now.
Verbal Comprehension Example
Since the 1970s, critical thinking has also been used in police work. It is vital, purposeful, and systematic. Police must analyse crimes and criminal activity, establish facts, and determine what information remains unknown. Police investigators analyse patterns and evidence to determine how and why criminal activity was committed and who committed the crime. They ask the questions “What is missing?” “What are the benefits of the crime?” “Who benefited?” “Was the crime planned or opportunistic?” Each question probes deeper into the issue and helps investigators uncover clues to reconstruct other people’s reasoning. Critical thinking in police work questions the known facts of a case in such a way that investigators are able to understand a perpetrator’s state of mind, determine what the perpetrator was thinking, how he or she was thinking, as well as establish the investigator’s opinion of what, how and why a particular event occurred.
Which of the following, if true, WEAKENS, the main point of the above paragraph.
- People do not use critical thinking in everyday life
- Law enforcement began using critical thinking in the 1990s
- Academics do not apply theory to real-life situations
- Critical thinking has reduced successful investigations and prosecutions of crimes
- None of the above
Verbal Reasoning Example
At 1800hrs today police issued a statement in relation to the crime at Armstrong Road. Police have been examining the scene all day and reports suggest that it may be murder. Forensic officers have been visiting the incident and inform us that the whole street has been cordoned off and nobody will be allowed through. Police say that the street involved will be closed for another 18 hours and no access will be available to anyone during this time.
Read the information above and say whether the statements below are TRUE, FALSE or you CANNOT SAY
- Police have confirmed the incident is murder (FALSE)
- Forensic Officers have now left the scene (CANNOT SAY)
- The road will be open at 12 noon the following day (TRUE)
- Although the street has been cordoned off, taxis and buses will be given access (FALSE)
- Forensic officers will be at the scene all night (CANNOT SAY)
Read the information above and say whether the statements below are TRUE, FALSE or you CANNOT SAY
A shopkeeper called Mr Smith was seen illegally serving alcohol to a girl aged 15.
The girl had shown him a fraudulent identification, which was a driving licence belonging to her sister. The incident occurred at around 11.30pm on a Wednesday evening during December
- The girl is old enough to purchase alcohol from Mr Smith (FALSE)
- The girl purchased the alcohol for her sister (CANNOT SAY)
- The girls sister had given the driving licence to her (CANNOT SAY)
- Mr Smith will receive a custodial sentence for his actions (CANNOT SAY)
- The time, day, month and year are unknown (FALSE)
Checking Exam Example
Which columns differ from the handwritten list ?
