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11+ Reading Comprehension Passages

15 original passages with 85 evidence-pinning questions, tagged by exam board and skill. Every passage is written for Prep4All by our editorial team, or carefully chosen from the great public-domain classics.

The Lighthouse at Helver Point

324 words · 6 questions · Year 5–6

“The lighthouse keeper, Tom, woke at five every morning. He climbed the 217 worn stone steps to the lamp room, polished the great brass lens until it gleamed, and watched the sun ri…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Mooncake Festival

296 words · 6 questions · Year 4–5

“Mei had been waiting for the Mooncake Festival all year. Every September, her grandmother flew over from Hong Kong with a suitcase that always smelled, faintly and impossibly, of j…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Door in the Library

358 words · 6 questions · Year 6

“The library, at the back of the old school, had always been the kind of place that swallowed sound. Footsteps softened on the deep red carpet. Voices lowered, almost without instru…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Last Tide

286 words · 6 questions · Year 4–5

“Granda told me, when I was very small, that the sea was a clock. "Twice a day she winds herself up," he had said, "and twice a day she runs herself down. Set your watch to her and …”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Boy Who Counted Stars

318 words · 6 questions · Year 5–6

“Reuben had decided, at the age of nine, that he was going to count the stars. All of them. He understood, dimly, that this was probably impossible — his geography teacher had said …”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

Tea with the Headmistress

270 words · 5 questions · Year 4–5

“Tara had never been inside the Headmistress's office before. The door was the colour of polished apples and the brass handle was so bright it looked freshly invented. She knocked, …”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

What the Robin Knew

332 words · 6 questions · Year 5–6

“On the first morning of the autumn term, a robin landed on the kitchen windowsill and looked directly at me. I do not mean it glanced, or hopped past, or pecked at the glass. I mea…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Inheritance

360 words · 6 questions · Year 6

“When my grandfather died, he left me a violin and a note. The note said: "For Anika. It does not yet know how to be yours. Teach it patiently."…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

How Bees Talk to Each Other

308 words · 6 questions · Year 5–6

“Honeybees do not have voices. They do not write letters, and they certainly do not send text messages. And yet, every day, inside the warm hum of a beehive, hundreds of bees manage…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Great Smog of 1952

318 words · 6 questions · Year 5–6

“On the morning of Friday 5th December 1952, the city of London began to disappear. A thick, yellow-grey fog settled over the streets, and by lunchtime it was difficult to see furth…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

How Octopuses Solve Puzzles

282 words · 5 questions · Year 4–5

“An octopus does not have a single brain. It has nine. There is one central brain, between its eyes, which handles big decisions. And there is a smaller brain in each of its eight a…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Old Oak

96 words · 5 questions · Year 5–6

“The old oak whispers in the breeze, He stretches out his weary arms; His leafy fingers brush the leaves And hum the songs of summer farms.…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

Bus Stop in November

96 words · 5 questions · Year 4–5

“The November bus is always late. The shelter hums with quiet rain. A woman counts the coins she has; A child draws stars upon the pane.…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

The Painter's Hands

102 words · 5 questions · Year 5–6

“My grandmother's hands were maps of work, Their lines were rivers, their knuckles hills; Each fingertip remembered something — A loaf of bread, a child's small ills.…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.

Should School Days Be Shorter?

290 words · 6 questions · Year 5–6

“TEXT A — A Parent's View…”

Written for Prep4All · © 2026.