Word codes questions turn up in almost every GL Assessment style verbal-reasoning paper, and they frighten far more children than they should. If CAT = DBU, decode or encode another word. It looks like a puzzle for cryptographers, but it is really just careful counting along the alphabet. Like every VR type, word codes stop being hard the moment your child has a fixed, repeatable method — and that method is the same whether the question asks them to encode a plain word or decode a coded one. This guide gives you the exact technique, a fully worked example with the alphabet written out, the classic traps that cost easy marks, and where this type sits inside the wider GL paper.
Where word codes sit in the GL paper
In Bond's long-established labelling of the twenty-one GL verbal-reasoning question types (Type A through Type U), letter and word codes are among the most reliably present. GL does not publish in advance which of the twenty-one types will appear in any given paper, so your child must be fluent across the whole set rather than betting on a favourite few. A typical GL VR paper is multiple-choice, marked on a separate answer sheet, lasts around 50 minutes, and gives roughly 35 to 50 seconds per question. Papers usually contain three to five word-code questions, each worth exactly the same mark as any other item — which makes fast, reliable technique on the common types the highest-value preparation there is. For the full landscape, see the 21 VR types overview and our wider GL 11+ papers guide.
The method, step by step
Word codes reward a slow, mechanical habit rather than clever guessing. Follow the same five steps every time:
- Write out the alphabet along the top of your rough paper before you do anything else. This single habit halves the time spent on every code, sequence and letter question in the paper.
- Line up the plain word above the coded word, letter under letter, so each pair is directly visible.
- Count the shift for each position and write it above the letter as +1, −2, +3 and so on. Count on the alphabet strip — never in your head.
- Never assume one uniform shift. Check every position separately, because GL frequently uses a different shift in each column.
- Apply the same per-position shifts to the target word to encode, or reverse them (subtract instead of add) to decode.
That is the whole technique. The skill your child is really building is disciplined alphabet counting, and the reward is that a question type which looks intimidating becomes almost mechanical.
A fully worked example
Write the alphabet first:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Suppose the question tells you that BUS = EXV. Line the words up and count each hop on the strip:
- B → E is a hop of +3 (B, then C, D, E).
- U → X is a hop of +3 (U, then V, W, X).
- S → V is a hop of +3 (S, then T, U, V).
Every position shifts by the same +3 here, so to encode CAR we move each letter forward three: C → F, A → D, R → U. The answer is FDU. To decode instead — say you are given the code and asked for the plain word — you simply subtract three from each letter. The mirror-image nature of encoding and decoding is why a child who owns the method can handle either direction without panic.
Reference table: reading a code
| Task | What you are given | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Encode | Plain word + the coded example | Find each shift, then add it to the new plain word |
| Decode | Coded word + the coded example | Find each shift, then subtract it from the coded word |
| Mixed shifts | A code where columns differ (e.g. +1, +2, +3) | Record every position separately before applying |
| Wrap-around | A shift that runs past Z or before A | Loop back to the start of the alphabet |
The classic traps
Almost every dropped word-code mark comes from one of a small handful of predictable mistakes. Coach your child to watch for each one:
- Assuming a single uniform shift. When BUS = EXV every letter moves +3, but GL loves codes where the shifts differ by position, such as +1, +2, +3. A child who spots the first +1 and applies it everywhere loses the mark. Always check all three or four columns.
- Counting past Z without wrapping. If a letter is Y and the shift is +3, the answer is not "past Z" — it wraps to B (Y → Z → A → B). The written-out alphabet makes this obvious; mental counting hides it.
- Miscounting the hop by one. B to E is +3, not +2 — count the letters you land on, not the gaps. Writing the number above the letter, on the strip, removes the guesswork.
- Reading the direction backwards. Encoding adds the shift; decoding subtracts it. Underline whether the question wants a code made or a code read before you start.
How the score is built
GL papers are not marked as a simple percentage. Your child's raw score is converted to a Standardised Age Score (SAS), typically on a scale of about 70 to 140 with 100 as the average, and crucially it is adjusted for age in months so that a summer-born child is not disadvantaged against an autumn-born classmate. Getting the harder, trap-laden items right — word codes among them — lifts the raw score and therefore the SAS. Many grammar schools look for roughly 111 or above, but exact qualifying marks vary by region and year, so treat any single number as a guide rather than a guarantee.
How to practise this type
Little and often wins: five word-code questions a day for a week beats fifty in one anxious sitting. Our free verbal-reasoning worksheets are organised by exact question type, so you can drill codes in isolation until the method is automatic, then the Arena's VR mode gives instant feedback with XP to keep motivation high. Once the type feels effortless, fold it back into full timed mock papers so pacing develops alongside accuracy, and browse the revision hub to build the vocabulary that underpins every other VR type. If your child is targeting a specific consortium, our centre-specific mocks mirror the real paper format.
Frequently asked questions
Does every word code use the same shift for each letter?
No — and this is the single biggest trap. Many GL codes use a different shift in each position, such as +1, +2, +3. Always check every column separately before you apply anything.
What happens when a shift runs past Z?
You wrap around to the start of the alphabet. Y with a +3 shift becomes B (Y → Z → A → B). Writing the alphabet out first makes wrap-arounds impossible to miss.
How many word-code questions are in a paper?
Usually three to five in a GL verbal-reasoning paper, each worth the same mark as any other question, so fluent technique here is genuinely worth the practice time.