Group Bourdon Tool

[paully617]

Agree totally with this! What I did was practice one test then on separate piece of paper when trough the test again but drawing all different shapes of groups of 4 that where there. There’s only so many plus gets you use to the shape/group styles to look out for. Then I look at this for a few mins before a test just to remind my self. Iv put up pic to try nd help.

That makes perfect sense.

 

[Intermodal]

Does anyone know if this sort of result would be a pass? Doing tests on paper as printed by the tool and under test conditions.

This is a test I just did but the results on all my tests are fairly similar.

Sheet 1: 9 lines
Sheet 2: 10 lines
Sheet 3: 8 lines
Sheet 4: 9 lines
Sheet 5: 10 lines

No error or omissions (although occasionally I get 1).

Little bit concerned about my consistency. The fluctuation seems to be that on pages where they aren't a lot of groups of 4 I go faster, and where there are many I go slower.

 

[dan4291]

Does anyone know if this sort of result would be a pass? Doing tests on paper as printed by the tool and under test conditions.

This is a test I just did but the results on all my tests are fairly similar.

Sheet 1: 9 lines
Sheet 2: 10 lines
Sheet 3: 8 lines
Sheet 4: 9 lines
Sheet 5: 10 lines

No error or omissions (although occasionally I get 1).

Little bit concerned about my consistency. The fluctuation seems to be that on pages where they aren't a lot of groups of 4 I go faster, and where there are many I go slower.

I reckon so. I did 9-10 lines with no errors and passed to TPE enhanced.

 

[UPS1550]

Does anyone know if this sort of result would be a pass? Doing tests on paper as printed by the tool and under test conditions.

This is a test I just did but the results on all my tests are fairly similar.

Sheet 1: 9 lines
Sheet 2: 10 lines
Sheet 3: 8 lines
Sheet 4: 9 lines
Sheet 5: 10 lines

No error or omissions (although occasionally I get 1).

Little bit concerned about my consistency. The fluctuation seems to be that on pages where they aren't a lot of groups of 4 I go faster, and where there are many I go slower.

I found the actual test a LOT easier than the practice material, the dots are bigger making them easier to pick out, I would keep practicing until you get to 10 lines average, the practice tool at the top of this thread is very good, first time I tried it my score was terrible, 7/8 lines average with 10 errors, within a week I had got to 11/12 lines with 1/2 ommisons , on the day I counted quick before the tests were collected and I had got 13 lines each, most important thing I would say is don't second guess yourself, it's very easy in the lines with few 4 dots to start to think you've missed some and waste time rechecking, do it once and move on, good luck!

 

[Intermodal]

I found the actual test a LOT easier than the practice material, the dots are bigger making them easier to pick out, I would keep practicing until you get to 10 lines average, the practice tool at the top of this thread is very good, first time I tried it my score was terrible, 7/8 lines average with 10 errors, within a week I had got to 11/12 lines with 1/2 ommisons , on the day I counted quick before the tests were collected and I had got 13 lines each, most important thing I would say is don't second guess yourself, it's very easy in the lines with few 4 dots to start to think you've missed some and waste time rechecking, do it once and move on, good luck!

The bit you post about rechecking is very important I think. When I first started, like you, I was struggling to get 7 lines and with HUGE amounts of errors, and I think part of this was due to me rechecking each line. Now I am extremely strict with myself that I will only briefly rescan a line and only if I don't feel confident about it. Like you say the lines with few dots or no dots at all really play mind games with you. I kept checking and rechecking them to ensure I hadn't missed any and I never had. Now I only allow my eyes to scan as my pen is moving back to the start of the next line I am significantly faster.

I've done 3 tests today and on the first I got average of 9, the second average of 9 and the last one I just did I got an average of 10. I'm feeling confident about this test on the day now - I've still got 5 days to go. Now just for all the others!

 

[UPS1550]

The bit you post about rechecking is very important I think. When I first started, like you, I was struggling to get 7 lines and with HUGE amounts of errors, and I think part of this was due to me rechecking each line. Now I am extremely strict with myself that I will only briefly rescan a line and only if I don't feel confident about it. Like you say the lines with few dots or no dots at all really play mind games with you. I kept checking and rechecking them to ensure I hadn't missed any and I never had. Now I only allow my eyes to scan as my pen is moving back to the start of the next line I am significantly faster.

I've done 3 tests today and on the first I got average of 9, the second average of 9 and the last one I just did I got an average of 10. I'm feeling confident about this test on the day now - I've still got 5 days to go. Now just for all the others!

Good luck, sounds like your heading on the right track, the TRP is pretty easy so long as you can remember information well then answer the multi choice questions,the 2nd part of TRP 'the dials' test is a little more complex than the practice material, some dials will have the arrows in the same place so you then have to look for the LOWEST number to prioritise those dials before continuing with the other dials, most people in ny group got to 30-35 dials out of 43

 

[TreacleMiller]

Just did my first test - Jumping a head a bit as ive not had an interview confirmation or anything but I managed 6 lines per seet with no errors but alarmingly 24 omissions.

Thats not great!

Are omissions counted just as negtatively as errors?

 

[UPS1550]

Just did my first test - Jumping a head a bit as ive not had an interview confirmation or anything but I managed 6 lines per seet with no errors but alarmingly 24 omissions.
Thats not great!

Are omissions counted just as negtatively as errors?

I believe so, learn to recognise the patterns of dots instead of counting, your results will soon improve the more you practice

 

[Intermodal]

Just did my first test - Jumping a head a bit as ive not had an interview confirmation or anything but I managed 6 lines per seet with no errors but alarmingly 24 omissions.

Thats not great!

Are omissions counted just as negtatively as errors?

I started a week ago and I was averaging 6 lines and around 16-20 omissions.

A week of doing 3-4 tests a day and I am now at 11 lines and 0 omissions consistently. Don't get disheartened!

 

[TreacleMiller]

Thanks that was my first test. The Other version whose name I forget SAAT?) was much easier for me.

Does anyone know if Northern print there tests or if it's pc based?

 

[UPS1550]

Thanks that was my first test. The Other version whose name I forget SAAT?) was much easier for me.

Does anyone know if Northern print there tests or if it's pc based?

I believe all TOCs use printed version, unless your told your TOC/FOC use SCAT don't waste time practicing it

 

[bawbster]

Question about the SCAAT test on this tool. On Q3 it states " During sub test 3 you must mark ALL occurrences of the shape appearing at the start of each row, for the duration of that row".
What does that mean exactly, when i did it on the PC and rechecked the answers it threw up quite a few mistakes. I've now printed out test papers and Q3 is a square.
So do I mark out shapes that could make a square e.g. L shape and 2 L shapes together that almost make a square.

Also how long did you guys get between email of Assessment practice and Assessment day. I got 6 days betwwen the 2 and browsing this forum some guys had weeks of practice.

Cheers.

 

[martin2345uk]

Pretty sure it just means if there's a square at the start of the row, mark all the other squares in that row

 

[bawbster]

Pretty sure it just means if there's a square at the start of the row, mark all the other squares in that row

Just used the tool again and realised there is a button to show where you went wrong and worked out that not only you have to find the symbol they want but also the symbol at the beginning of each row. So if it's a V then aV as well as a square and a different one for each row.
This test just got even harder.

 

[Intermodal]

Does anyone know if this sort of result would be a pass? Doing tests on paper as printed by the tool and under test conditions.

This is a test I just did but the results on all my tests are fairly similar.

Sheet 1: 9 lines
Sheet 2: 10 lines
Sheet 3: 8 lines
Sheet 4: 9 lines
Sheet 5: 10 lines

No error or omissions (although occasionally I get 1).

Little bit concerned about my consistency. The fluctuation seems to be that on pages where they aren't a lot of groups of 4 I go faster, and where there are many I go slower.

For anyone reading this thread just an update that I passed on the day. I didn't feel like I made any errors, when I asked her if I did she said "I can't tell you that but I can say that there were 'minimal errors'".

 

[Kate84]

Hi I've done 3 paper practice sheets now and on the last one I got 10 rows per sheet with 3 omissions and no errors. I feel fairly confident after a few weeks of practice that I will improve and reduce my omissions to an acceptable level.

However I've just attempted the SCAAT test with the shapes and was surprised by how appallingly I did! I know pass marks are a secret but does anyone have any anecdotal accounts of how many rows/omissions to pass? I found this test much harder and I've gone from feeling confident to worried. I have only had 4 hours sleep and I'm in the middle of a run of night shifts so hopefully that's got something to do with it! Thanks in advance.

 

[Kate84]

Oh and I forgot to ask do LNER test using the group bourdon and the SCAAT test or just the group bourdon? Thanks

 

[richfoz84]

I’ve passed yesterday, 11/12 lines done with “minimal mistakes” was what I was told

Here’s my reply on the bourdon on the previous page!

I found that practising when I wasn’t tired, with good lighting was the best formula.. I did 3 pages a night, for 2 weeks leading upto mine.

Best of luck

 

[bawbster]

Hi I've done 3 paper practice sheets now and on the last one I got 10 rows per sheet with 3 omissions and no errors. I feel fairly confident after a few weeks of practice that I will improve and reduce my omissions to an acceptable level.

However I've just attempted the SCAAT test with the shapes and was surprised by how appallingly I did! I know pass marks are a secret but does anyone have any anecdotal accounts of how many rows/omissions to pass? I found this test much harder and I've gone from feeling confident to worried. I have only had 4 hours sleep and I'm in the middle of a run of night shifts so hopefully that's got something to do with it! Thanks in advance.

I more or less left the sample sheets that were emailed to me (letters) and concentrated on the Group Bourdon tool shapes (on PC and printed). The GB tool SCAAT on PC only gives you 60 seconds but the actual test was about 2 minutes and much easier and also on paper. If you look through previous comments they all say print off tests from the tool and work on them.

To give you an example, I wss doing bout 6 - 7 lines with the tool but on the test itself it was double that with errors and the reason I know I had errors was that some shapes looked like 2 V's crossed over each other but I missed those as I thought it was double vision and was too late to correct the errors. I pased and now awaiting the one on one interview when things get back to some kind of normal.

 

[Kate84]

Thank you thats made me feel much better knowing its 2 mins for the shapes rather than 60 seconds!

 

[hstmatt]

Hi all, from my previous experience of carrying out the GB, there is around 15/20 lines per page?
Is there a way to print out mocks of the test in this format? I find that printing sheets off the program gives me 5, full sheets rather than the reduced ones they use in reality (Hope that makes sense)

TIA
Matt

 

[Josho124]

i dont have access to a windowspc is there any other way i can use this tool?

 

[daddy_badger]

i dont have access to a windowspc is there any other way i can use this tool?

Try page 6 of this thread or search using keywords bourdon mac

 

[Madrob360]

I've got my assessment soon. Revising and practicing a lot each day. The GB test is the only thing im a tad worried about. What are the actual timings of it on the day anyone? Thanks.

 

[dan4291]

I've got my assessment soon. Revising and practicing a lot each day. The GB test is the only thing im a tad worried about. What are the actual timings of it on the day anyone? Thanks.

You get 2 mins per sheet, and there's 5 sheets to do, so a very intense 10 minutes! Best of luck!

EDIT: When I did the stage 1 tests the Group Bourdon was also the very first test we did!

 

[Madrob360]

You get 2 mins per sheet, and there's 5 sheets to do, so a very intense 10 minutes! Best of luck!

EDIT: When I did the stage 1 tests the Group Bourdon was also the very first test we did!

Thank you for replying. Silly question but is this A4 sheets? Basically I've bern practising a LOT. In the materials i have are 3 sheets involving letters. The first 2 I'm doing a full page in average 45 seconds, the 3rd page where identifying 2 letters I'm getting to Row 14 out of 20 making on average 1 mistake. I'm trying really hard for this because i want it so badly. I'm grateful for the chance to do the tests so don't want to screw it up. Thank you again for a quick reply.

 

[dan4291]

Thank you for replying. Silly question but is this A4 sheets? Basically I've bern practising a LOT. In the materials i have are 3 sheets involving letters. The first 2 I'm doing a full page in average 45 seconds, the 3rd page where identifying 2 letters I'm getting to Row 14 out of 20 making on average 1 mistake. I'm trying really hard for this because i want it so badly. I'm grateful for the chance to do the tests so don't want to screw it up. Thank you again for a quick reply.

You get a big booklet with the 5 sections of dots in. I focussed on accuracy before speed, as the more you practice, the more accurate and faster you get. Both are important though.

 

[Madrob360]

You get a big booklet with the 5 sections of dots in. I focussed on accuracy before speed, as the more you practice, the more accurate and faster you get. Both are important though.

Thanks for the information. When i first started the sheets i plumped for accuracy first and built my speed up. I've had other people make sheets up for me so I'm not just remembering where the errors are. Hoping i do well on the day!

 

[richfoz84]

My tip would be to familiarise yourself with the number of shapes the 4 dots come in.. then when you’ve mastered that work on speed

 

[Twotwo]

My tip would be to familiarise yourself with the number of shapes the 4 dots come in.. then when you’ve mastered that work on speed

Agree with this for example L and Y.