PSNI Recruitment - Stage 1 - The Initial Selection Test

Shield · 14-06-2008 2:00pm #1

This is Stage 1 of the application process to join the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Post your questions, answers, comments, information, advice or experiences here.

judgedredd · 26-06-2008 10:43pm

Here's a quick link to the sample questions on the consensia website for the IST.

http://www.selectnipolice.org/indexREGapp.asp?id=reg_makingappl.asp

Best of luck.

Canuck4PSNI · 23-07-2008 7:18am

I current reside in Canada but hold dual citizenship for the UK. I have received my dates. due to being overseas it seems my initial test date is setup for the 18th of August and on the condition I pass that my assessment center date is for the 19th of August. I cant wait i got my mother (whom lives in NI) to purchase the "How to pass the National Police Selection" book as recommended here. I've been studying the book for days now and cant wait to get this over and done with.

I found this forum to be exceptional useful. I would just like to introduce myself and thank everyone in this community for all the valuable information that has been discussed. Fingers crossed if all goes well I'll be at Garnerville.

Just a piece of information I came across in the Chief constable report. The PSNI current takes part in Trainer and Student exchanges with the Ontario Police College in Aylmer Ontario Canada. Approximately 20 mins from where I live.

Again I'd like to thank everyone and to wish everyone here the best of Luck.[SIZE=-1][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/SIZE]

JVB · 23-07-2008 11:09am

Canuck4PSNI. Welcome, you're in good company here and this board is invaluable for information. Especially when your in Canada :eek: Keep us posted

goodcopbadcop · 23-07-2008 11:13am

I have a question....

What are you leaving Canada for? Join the police there. There really isn't much to see or do in this country. Wet summers, wet winters and insane fuel prices.

carlty888 · 23-07-2008 11:43am

goodcopbadcop wrote: »

I have a question....

What are you leaving Canada for? Join the police there. There really isn't much to see or do in this country. Wet summers, wet winters and insane fuel prices.

My uncle did it the other way round. He joined the RUC, then moved out to Ontario, Canada. The Canadian police force snapped him up in a flash as the police training here is suposedly far superior to their own.

given1 · 23-07-2008 12:09pm

wish ya all the best for the ist and hopefully if you make it the A/c keep us informed!:)

goodcopbadcop · 23-07-2008 12:13pm

Transferring to Canada would be awesome. livin the dream baby

Canuck4PSNI · 23-07-2008 5:02pm

goodcopbadcop wrote: »

I have a question....

What are you leaving Canada for? Join the police there. There really isn't much to see or do in this country. Wet summers, wet winters and insane fuel prices.

To answer you question I'm really leaving for personal reasons. The majority of my immediate family resides in NI. Canada isn't all that its cracked up to be 100km of flat land. Blistering hot summers. Blizzard like conditions during the winter. Concerning your fuel prices we too are being hit.

PapaYankeeGirl · 17-08-2008 1:15pm

Just a wee good luck message for your Initial Test tomorrow and I hope that you get through to the Assessment Centre on Tuesday.

All the best

PYG:)

TangoVictor · 17-08-2008 7:02pm

Canuck4PSNI wrote: »

To answer you question I'm really leaving for personal reasons. The majority of my immediate family resides in NI. Canada isn't all that its cracked up to be 100km of flat land. Blistering hot summers. Blizzard like conditions during the winter. Concerning your fuel prices we too are being hit.

Concur.

Canuck4PSNI · 17-08-2008 8:36pm

Thanks a lot PYGirl

Canuck4PSNI · 17-08-2008 8:38pm

Thanks a lot PYGirl, I feel confident going into it. Though 9am is no fun!

PapaYankeeGirl · 17-08-2008 9:16pm

Mine was 9am too, and i had to travel like 50miles!!!! :eek:

As i say all the best, keep us posted

rob irl · 30-08-2008 10:45pm

what requirements do you need to have to join PSNI? eg Leaving cert? cause i don't have maths

MrsGeneHunt · 30-08-2008 10:55pm

rob irl wrote: »

what requirements do you need to have to join PSNI? eg Leaving cert? cause i don't have maths

The IST is pretty tough - dont underestimate it, a fairly decent standard of education is needed - in my opinion, maths and english at GCSE or higher, sorry i dont know what the ROI/Scottish equivalent is, I know your exam structure is different.

And, again, I have it from a good reliable source, puncuation, grammar and spelling will be re-introduced for C15 - as well as the true/false/cant tell and the Data questions

And I'll be bloody doing it and all most likey!!!!!!!!!:p

JVB · 30-08-2008 10:58pm

rob irl wrote: »

what requirements do you need to have to join PSNI? eg Leaving cert? cause i don't have maths

There are no formal qualifications required. You are assessed an an Initial Selection Test (IST) which is an aptitude test. If you pass this, you are then assessed further at an Assessment Centre (AC) which tests the core competencies required in policing. You will be in one big melting pot with all folks with no formal qualifications up to degree level education. Get your app in. Good luck

JVB · 30-08-2008 11:03pm

Leaving certs at C+ are considered to be at GCSE standard. Junior certs are below GCSE standard.

MrsGeneHunt · 30-08-2008 11:05pm

JVB wrote: »

Leaving certs at C+ are considered to be at GCSE standard. Junior certs are below GCSE standard.

Oh you are the fountain of all knowledge. I worship at your alter.....LOL

JVB · 30-08-2008 11:11pm

Yes, I have a multitude of information in my cranium; not a lot of it will ever be useful

Though I am a believer in the phrase 'those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do'

Transit1 · 03-11-2008 11:16pm

DOES ANY BODY HAVE INFORMATION ON JOINING THE PSNI RESERVES....

JVB · 04-11-2008 12:00am

Transit1 wrote: »

DOES ANY BODY HAVE INFORMATION ON JOINING THE PSNI RESERVES....

By reserves I am guessing you mean PSNI part time? If so, go here www.selectnipolice.org/defaultPT.asp?id=pt_homepage.asp

PandaPants · 04-11-2008 11:36am

I thought we got the re sults of the IST along with the a/c results... Do we not find out how badly/well we did in it then?

NewBoy19 · 04-11-2008 4:57pm

No unfortunately not...I wanted that myself, just out of interest! But it's only the AC breakdowns we get!

newapplicant · 14-01-2009 11:29pm

I was hoping someone would have a little background information on the initial selection test. I had a brief look at the practice one online.

1. How long does the test last?
2. How many questions are asked?
3. Presumably the IST needs to be passed before going forward to the A/C?
4. How many people / what % fail to pass the test?
5. What sort of marks are required to pass? (Can you still pass having got some answers wrong?)

Kind regards.

MORRI · 15-01-2009 1:49am

i cant remember the answer to your first 2 questions:D
but the answer to 3 is yes, 4 I dont know and 5 I am not sure but I think they take (for example) something like the top 1000 so there may not be a definite pass mark just a certain number of people with the highest scores selected and I think this goes towards your merit number

MrFug · 15-01-2009 3:18am

I had heard it said, although I'm not sure, that the pass mark is the average score, so that approximatley 50% of applicants are removed at IST stage.

It does tend to change by one or two marks each year, and there have been cases (even last year) where they changed the pass mark after people had been told they'd failed, only to be contacted and told they'd passed!

The IST is quite hard in my opinion and the pass mark is fairly high. I failed at my first attempt simply because I underestimated it. Although the "practice tests" on the Consensia websites are woefully misleading. The real IST is much, much tougher.

PandaPants · 15-01-2009 10:10am

MrFug wrote: »

I had heard it said, although I'm not sure, that the pass mark is the average score, so that approximatley 50% of applicants are removed at IST stage.

It does tend to change by one or two marks each year, and there have been cases (even last year) where they changed the pass mark after people had been told they'd failed, only to be contacted and told they'd passed!

The IST is quite hard in my opinion and the pass mark is fairly high. I failed at my first attempt simply because I underestimated it. Although the "practice tests" on the Consensia websites are woefully misleading. The real IST is much, much tougher.

I thought it was wee buns. I thought I'd fecked up because it wasn't as tough as I'd expected. Same with the A/C.

Although, I had kind of expected them to be nigh on impossible, so maybe I was just pleasently surprised.

Penis Eye · 15-01-2009 4:40pm

i had heard that about 8000 apllied last year and about 2500 went through to the ac stage. dont quote me on that tho.

also dont go by that as i suspect for c15 there will be a lot more people applying than in previous campaigns due to this credit crunch therefore itll be harder to score in the passing percentage if that makes sense!

newapplicant · 15-01-2009 10:50pm

Interesting - didn't realise the practice tests ended up being so much easier than the "real thing". What was so different? Can you suggest any way of preparing for the test? What is the main difficulty - is it the time constraints?

A lot of people must have struggled if they had to lower the pass mark... Sounds potentially quite awkward.

suziesaysso · 15-01-2009 11:04pm

the first part of the assessment is fine- just a straight forward comprehension kind of thing. the second part - analyitcal reasoning- really screwed me over, i got just under half the questions done in the time allowed, and im sure half of those were wrong!! is not explicity maths based but does require a good head with numbers, working things out quickly and reading between the lines. if i can give anyone any advice, it would be to refresh your mental arithmetic - times tables etc, so you have them in your head and don't waste time working simple things out.

MORRI · 15-01-2009 11:08pm

reading tables and working out answers from them was part of it, i would say those brain trainer games would help a bit and keep an eye on the time i think i had a few questions unanswered in the last minute so it was a case of wild guesses towards the end

newapplicant · 15-01-2009 11:18pm

Thanks - thats useful to know.

I get the impression the IST would be easy (in terms of working the correct answers out) if the time wasn't so demanding. The time limit seems to be the killer. Is the practice test a good indicator of the length of the test? What is the time limit roughly?

Thanks a million for the information - much appreciated.

dark side · 23-01-2009 4:18pm

this may sound like a stupid question - but can you use a calculator in the initial selection test

PC Inwaiting · 23-01-2009 4:24pm

Afraid not, only brain power allowed. I did it 3 times before I passed and on the 4th attempt I got through everything.

So keep trying, it does happen.

dark side · 23-01-2009 4:30pm

PC Inwaiting wrote: »

Afraid not, only brain power allowed. I did it 3 times before I passed and on the 4th attempt I got through everything.

So keep trying, it does happen.

thanks PC in waiting - I just wanted to know cause I've been doing some apptitude tests for practice -- now I'll try them again without the calculator lol
I'm grand with everything - but long divison is my achilles heel lol

Congrats on getting through

DownMTBer · 23-01-2009 5:35pm

dark side wrote: »

thanks PC in waiting - I just wanted to know cause I've been doing some apptitude tests for practice -- now I'll try them again without the calculator lol
I'm grand with everything - but long divison is my achilles heel lol

Congrats on getting through

I'll give you some advice that people may or may not agree with. I took Maths at Cambridge and completed my part I before doing my part II in education. I admit that my mental arithmatic is not the best BUT, I was not even close to completing the maths part of the IST (without guessing).

My advice would be to look at each question and if it requires you to discern more than 1 or 2 pieces of information to answer the question, leave it. Then when you have done all the 'easy' ones do the harder ones... then the last few mins as Morri says anything left use wild guesses.

This isn't really new or secret... but I think a lot of people were just working through the question sequentially and wasting a LOT of time on harder, longer questions. We think they do actually use selected questions to help order the merit list in the end... but you do actually have to get into the merit pool to begin with. So get the best score you can overall and then pull out all the stops for the assessment centre.

Hope that helps and as I say that's just my advice and how I did it. Others may not agree

carlty888 · 23-01-2009 5:54pm

DownMTBer wrote: »

I'll give you some advice that people may or may not agree with. I took Maths at Cambridge and completed my part I before doing my part II in education. I admit that my mental arithmatic is not the best BUT, I was not even close to completing the maths part of the IST (without guessing).

My advice would be to look at each question and if it requires you to discern more than 1 or 2 pieces of information to answer the question, leave it. Then when you have done all the 'easy' ones do the harder ones... then the last few mins as Morri says anything left use wild guesses.

This isn't really new or secret... but I think a lot of people were just working through the question sequentially and wasting a LOT of time on harder, longer questions. We think they do actually use selected questions to help order the merit list in the end... but you do actually have to get into the merit pool to begin with. So get the best score you can overall and then pull out all the stops for the assessment centre.

Hope that helps and as I say that's just my advice and how I did it. Others may not agree

That's more or less what I did. You get one mark for a right answer, regardless of whether you have one calculation or five. Make sure you pick up the easy points, then use any time left to go through the more difficult questions.

Make sure you get an answer down for all questions. Guess if you have to. There's a 1 in 4 chance it'll be the right answer.

BoutYe · 23-01-2009 7:34pm

Just a word of advice for the IST - I know everybody is different and won't have the same experience as me but everytime I did the test I found relatively straight forward. Yes I was a little under pressure on the tables part but Its all there in front of you. So..........

-Just take your time and work through it.

-There are no trick questions, the info is all in the tables.

-Don't panic if you can't see the answer straight away.

If you're really stuck at the very least take a wild guess, don't leave any unanswered - you have a 1 in 4 chance to get it right!!

dark side · 24-01-2009 12:38pm

thanks Bout ye, Carlty and downMtber,

Got it, ans the easy on first, get the points go back to the harder ones then wild guess when the time is running out LOL

fact unt · 24-01-2009 12:52pm

The initial test worries me a bit. I think that the idea of having to wait another whole year if i'm not successfull is horrendous so i'm determined to get through it. Is there anything that anyone would advise to do to get u used to the situation? I know there are tests on the consenis website but anything else would be greatly appreciated

carlty888 · 24-01-2009 1:51pm

fact unt wrote: »

The initial test worries me a bit. I think that the idea of having to wait another whole year if i'm not successfull is horrendous so i'm determined to get through it. Is there anything that anyone would advise to do to get u used to the situation? I know there are tests on the consenis website but anything else would be greatly appreciated

Anything that gets the mind working is great. Athletes exercise their bodies to prepare for sports, so you should start exercising the ol' grey matter to prepare for the IST. Crosswords, puzzles, quizzes IQ tests etc. Eleven plus papers are particlarly good as they get your mind focused on the types of questions you'll be asked.
Set yourself time limits, so you get used to rushing through the questions.

dark side · 24-01-2009 6:52pm

fact unt wrote: »

The initial test worries me a bit. I think that the idea of having to wait another whole year if i'm not successfull is horrendous so i'm determined to get through it. Is there anything that anyone would advise to do to get u used to the situation? I know there are tests on the consenis website but anything else would be greatly appreciated

Hi Fact unt - looks like we'll both be appying in the next round - its my first time what about you?

what Carlty said is sound advise - I've just typed in apptitude test examples into google - and have been practicing a few of those -- its the time thing that messes me up - so I'm gonna practice practice practice

belfastard · 24-01-2009 7:14pm

dark side wrote: »

Hi Fact unt - looks like we'll both be appying in the next round - its my first time what about you?

what Carlty said is sound advise - I've just typed in apptitude test examples into google - and have been practicing a few of those -- its the time thing that messes me up - so I'm gonna practice practice practice

hey guys....i found that time was a real problem 1st couple of times i tried it,the last time i did and passed there, i skim read the paragraghes in the 1st half of the test..just reading the parts which were related to the questions...if u try reading the whole text and also reading and thinking about the questions you will find yourself really short on time

newapplicant · 26-01-2009 2:04am

fact unt wrote: »

The initial test worries me a bit. I think that the idea of having to wait another whole year if i'm not successfull is horrendous so i'm determined to get through it. Is there anything that anyone would advise to do to get u used to the situation? I know there are tests on the consenis website but anything else would be greatly appreciated

Know the feeling mate.

This is / will be my first time applying. The number of people I hear saying "after 4 attempts..." etc. I suspect it'll be difficult getting in on the first go!

fact unt · 27-01-2009 1:48pm

yea this will be my first time doin this recruitment process - so cheers for all the advice as I said anything that helps is great for me and I presume anyone else new to this craic.

I got started into a few practice tests there and they're good but i've discovered that it comes down to the timing - that seems to be the most difficult thing about it.

I really wana get into this first time around and I know that sounds ambitious when I read posts of people saying that it took a couple of times to get through. Just hoping that I'm feelin lucky on the day.

Stay_in_Kampuchea · 07-03-2009 8:36pm

How many Sections are there?! As in the table things, is there only one or what?! Cause it says 10.5 Mins for all twelve in the practice test...just wondering!!!

MrsGeneHunt · 07-03-2009 10:32pm

Stay_in_Kampuchea wrote: »

How many Sections are there?! As in the table things, is there only one or what?! Cause it says 10.5 Mins for all twelve in the practice test...just wondering!!!

The practice test on the website is wee buns. Prepare for the real thing to be MUCH harder and more demanding time wise. Its designed to wipe as many people out at that stage as possible.

Stay_in_Kampuchea · 07-03-2009 11:04pm

MrsGeneHunt wrote: »

The practice test on the website is wee buns. Prepare for the real thing to be MUCH harder and more demanding time wise. Its designed to wipe as many people out at that stage as possible.

I see, is there more then two sections?!

MrsGeneHunt · 08-03-2009 3:52pm

Stay_in_Kampuchea wrote: »

I see, is there more then two sections?!

There wasnt last year but there had been three parts the year before apparently - the first part I think was an oral information test whereby you had to listen to a passage that was read out and answer questions on the information given and then the true/false/cant tell section and the data/maths section. It was just the two latter parts that we had last year. I had been told that they were introducing a spelling and grammar section to the IST this year as the standard of literacy in new recruits over the last year(s) was pretty appalling, i.e. using "threw" when it should be "through" etc. Just basic stuff.
However this is not confirmed and the pratice IST on the website makes no mention of it. Still, I'd be prepared for anything on the day.
I cant remember for definite the amount of questions in each section but I think the first part had 30 and the second part had 48 but really, do not quote me on that.
The timing is the main thing and something you should be mindful of, they do not give you indications as to how the time is going, i.e. five minutes left etc, so its easy to get caught out. Lots of people complained about that at my test last year. I also sat up front in order to be near the clock on the wall though I did bring a stopwatch too which I ended up using. Its also easier to hear the instructions.
You are provided with pencils, erasers and scrap paper for sums etc so dont worry about trivial stuff like that.
Some locations have zilch in the way of parking so when you know where your test is, suss it out and make sure you get there in plenty of time to avoid arriving flustered. Ditto for the assessment centre.
Bring your ID and your letter, they will ask for both as proof of identity.

smyff · 08-03-2009 4:14pm

mgh i didnt drive up myself but if its in aldergrove again this year, did parking cost much at the place where everyone seemed to park?

PSNI Recruitment - Stage 1 - The Initial Selection Test

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