The Student Room Group

Royal Navy NSRT Tips?

Hi guys,

Anyone who has done the NSRT for Royal Navy entry, can you give some tips and advice on what to expect on the day, types of questions etc?

I heard a rumour that you need 50% on each of the four section to pass, not sure if that's true?

Thanks
Reply 1
Original post by L.D.L.B
Hi guys,

Anyone who has done the NSRT for Royal Navy entry, can you give some tips and advice on what to expect on the day, types of questions etc?

I heard a rumour that you need 50% on each of the four section to pass, not sure if that's true?

Thanks

This site is very heavily RAF orientated, there are one or two RN posters, but they're not that frequent, so you might be better off posting at Navy Net
Original post by L.D.L.B
Hi guys,

Anyone who has done the NSRT for Royal Navy entry, can you give some tips and advice on what to expect on the day, types of questions etc?

I heard a rumour that you need 50% on each of the four section to pass, not sure if that's true?

Thanks

Are you going for an Officer position? If so, I was under the impression they may not be holding the NSRTs due to the lockdown and instead will look at your qualifications.
If you're in the process already, I'd give your AFCO a call after Easter to find out if the NSRT is still going ahead. As @hezzlington mentioned, there's various people saying that they've skipped the NSRT because of COVID, and instead you'll be judged on qualifications with a view of sitting an NSRT at a later point before entry.

Either way, you'll still need to revise for the NSRT. The best thing that helped me was practicing in exam conditions. On the day, your time allocation will go by very quickly. Make sure you expect this and pace yourself to answer as many questions as practicable. Other than that, just practice as many questions as possible. They all generally follow a set standard, with only the details swapped out. One last thing, learn how to wire a plug as that's normally thrown in!
Reply 4
Original post by TangoWhisky
If you're in the process already, I'd give your AFCO a call after Easter to find out if the NSRT is still going ahead. As @hezzlington mentioned, there's various people saying that they've skipped the NSRT because of COVID, and instead you'll be judged on qualifications with a view of sitting an NSRT at a later point before entry.

Either way, you'll still need to revise for the NSRT. The best thing that helped me was practicing in exam conditions. On the day, your time allocation will go by very quickly. Make sure you expect this and pace yourself to answer as many questions as practicable. Other than that, just practice as many questions as possible. They all generally follow a set standard, with only the details swapped out. One last thing, learn how to wire a plug as that's normally thrown in!


Original post by hezzlington
Are you going for an Officer position? If so, I was under the impression they may not be holding the NSRTs due to the lockdown and instead will look at your qualifications.

Hi guys,

The RN website says that recruitment is still as usual, but thats very vague, so I assumed that the NSRT was going on as normal. But, I will check with my AFCO on that. Thanks for letting me know.
Reply 5
No RTs are being taken at the moment.

Best speak to your AFCO about what to do next.
I sat my NSRT just a month or so before the Covid-19 shutdown, so let me give you a brief description of the events of the day.

Firstly, I should start off by mentioning that it depends what role you're going for (Officer, non-commisioned, or Marines etc). Commissioned and non-commissioned sit the same test, and I believe the Marines sit a slightly different test, however I can't remember exactly. Obviously scores will differ depending on the role you're applying for. For information I'm applying for Pilot. They don't disclose what you scored, or the grade boundaries for the roles, but they will tell you if you passed/failed, and I assume if you fail for your chosen role, they'll either tell you what you did pass for and give you the chance to apply for that role instead, or the option of re-sitting in 3-6 months time.

Having already sat my CBATs (RAF), this test should've been fairly straight forward - it's a lot less complex. I'd say get a good nights sleep, I travelled the night before but still didn't get as much rest as I could've, I can never sleep properly before tests and I'm sure some others will be the same! A lot of people choose to last minute revise, although I would stress the importance of being fully rested, as your brain only works at half capacity or less when you're tired! Plus you don't want to make any mistakes filling in your name or any of the boxes.

You'll arrive at around 9/10am I believe, some sitting around in the morning waiting for the others to arrive or for any late comers (Hint: Don't be a late comer. They didn't seem to mind but doesn't set a good first impression!). You'll likely watch a DVD with some cheesy RN recruitment clips, or just chat to others. Then you'll go to the test room, check you've got the right paper and fill in your details, and you'll begin.

What I'd say in regards to the actual test is, don't underestimate how quick the time will go. 10 minutes to answer thirty or so questions goes QUICK. That's 20 seconds per question, less if you want to check. As usual, any you don't know, don't dwindle on, instead do the ones you can do and go back to the ones you can't do at the end. Sometimes while doing a new question, your brain in the background will be thinking about that one you couldn't do, so it might come to you at the very end. Just try not to leave 10 blank for the end. No negative marking so no reason/excuse to leave anything blank, guess if you have to - 25% chance of guessing right.

I'd echo learning about plugs. Out of all the practice tests I did, I didn't come across one on plugs, however it might come up (I didn't have a clue but had a guess!) :wink: Richard McMunn/How2Become have a few good books on Amazon for the NSRT - Buy those and fill them out, some of the answers are wrong and they aren't the hardest of questions but they're fairly similar and they're good practice. Along with that, do the tests on the RN website, as well as any additional ones your recruiter sends you. Test test test. Any apps you can find (I couldn't find any but you may have better luck) or websites with tests, print those off and have a go. The more familiar you are the better. Cogs and pulleys are favourites, but once you've done a few and realise how they work you'll be fine, as they all follow the same pattern/idea. Practice under timed conditions, I only did this a few times but should've done it more - as I said, time goes very fast, so don't spend too long on a question, as that'll eat into your time available for the others, and you'll have to work at double speed then. Check answers are legible, and where you want to change your answer make sure this is clear.

Brush up on mental maths, times table and that sort of thing. The 4 different tests you'll sit are:

Reasoning
Verbal Ability
Numeracy
Mechanical Comprehension

The actual test took about an hour or so, 4 sections I think, and then afterwards you go back to your waiting room and wait for them to mark it and then call out your name. If you pass then it's onto the next stage, most likely eyesight test/medical.

Other than that, fairly straight forward! Use the time to ask the recruiters any questions you have (no matter how stupid), it's a lot easier to ask there in person because sometimes trying to get hold of them on the phone or via email can be difficult.

Hopefully this is the sort of response you're looking for and is of some use.

Any questions, please feel free to ask.
Reply 7
Original post by dannyoboy007
I sat my NSRT just a month or so before the Covid-19 shutdown, so let me give you a brief description of the events of the day.

Firstly, I should start off by mentioning that it depends what role you're going for (Officer, non-commisioned, or Marines etc). Commissioned and non-commissioned sit the same test, and I believe the Marines sit a slightly different test, however I can't remember exactly. Obviously scores will differ depending on the role you're applying for. For information I'm applying for Pilot. They don't disclose what you scored, or the grade boundaries for the roles, but they will tell you if you passed/failed, and I assume if you fail for your chosen role, they'll either tell you what you did pass for and give you the chance to apply for that role instead, or the option of re-sitting in 3-6 months time.

Having already sat my CBATs (RAF), this test should've been fairly straight forward - it's a lot less complex. I'd say get a good nights sleep, I travelled the night before but still didn't get as much rest as I could've, I can never sleep properly before tests and I'm sure some others will be the same! A lot of people choose to last minute revise, although I would stress the importance of being fully rested, as your brain only works at half capacity or less when you're tired! Plus you don't want to make any mistakes filling in your name or any of the boxes.

You'll arrive at around 9/10am I believe, some sitting around in the morning waiting for the others to arrive or for any late comers (Hint: Don't be a late comer. They didn't seem to mind but doesn't set a good first impression!). You'll likely watch a DVD with some cheesy RN recruitment clips, or just chat to others. Then you'll go to the test room, check you've got the right paper and fill in your details, and you'll begin.

What I'd say in regards to the actual test is, don't underestimate how quick the time will go. 10 minutes to answer thirty or so questions goes QUICK. That's 20 seconds per question, less if you want to check. As usual, any you don't know, don't dwindle on, instead do the ones you can do and go back to the ones you can't do at the end. Sometimes while doing a new question, your brain in the background will be thinking about that one you couldn't do, so it might come to you at the very end. Just try not to leave 10 blank for the end. No negative marking so no reason/excuse to leave anything blank, guess if you have to - 25% chance of guessing right.

I'd echo learning about plugs. Out of all the practice tests I did, I didn't come across one on plugs, however it might come up (I didn't have a clue but had a guess!) :wink: Richard McMunn/How2Become have a few good books on Amazon for the NSRT - Buy those and fill them out, some of the answers are wrong and they aren't the hardest of questions but they're fairly similar and they're good practice. Along with that, do the tests on the RN website, as well as any additional ones your recruiter sends you. Test test test. Any apps you can find (I couldn't find any but you may have better luck) or websites with tests, print those off and have a go. The more familiar you are the better. Cogs and pulleys are favourites, but once you've done a few and realise how they work you'll be fine, as they all follow the same pattern/idea. Practice under timed conditions, I only did this a few times but should've done it more - as I said, time goes very fast, so don't spend too long on a question, as that'll eat into your time available for the others, and you'll have to work at double speed then. Check answers are legible, and where you want to change your answer make sure this is clear.

Brush up on mental maths, times table and that sort of thing. The 4 different tests you'll sit are:

Reasoning
Verbal Ability
Numeracy
Mechanical Comprehension

The actual test took about an hour or so, 4 sections I think, and then afterwards you go back to your waiting room and wait for them to mark it and then call out your name. If you pass then it's onto the next stage, most likely eyesight test/medical.

Other than that, fairly straight forward! Use the time to ask the recruiters any questions you have (no matter how stupid), it's a lot easier to ask there in person because sometimes trying to get hold of them on the phone or via email can be difficult.

Hopefully this is the sort of response you're looking for and is of some use.

Any questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks very much for your detailed guide Danny! Definitely helped me understand the process a bit more!

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