Group Bourdon Tool

[sfxdude]

Hi mate

My test will be with pencil and paper.

Then practice on pencil and paper!

With the tool you can print out sheets, practice that way rather than on the computer. It's a very different feeling to doing it on the computer.

 

[Mr Douglas]

Then practice on pencil and paper!

With the tool you can print out sheets, practice that way rather than on the computer. It's a very different feeling to doing it on the computer.

Will do.

Thanks.

 

[DunfordBridge]

Mr Douglas, as you may have gathered by now, the advice on this forum is generally of a good standard but there has been at least one point raised in recent hours that I found to be somewhat contentious.

There are very few people on this forum who are in a position to say that you will pass or fail the Group Bourdon test. The GB test has been around prior to privatisation, dare I say it, but there is every chance that the pass mark may have changed since its inception. The one thing that is certain is that different operators sometimes require a higher pass mark. Freightliner for example were content with a basis pass whilst TransPennine Express require what is known as an enhanced pass.

In fact different operators demonstrate a different approach, at different times, to the driver assessments as a whole. Certain TOCs such as Greater Anglia and Northern cram all the assessments into one day whilst others may have a week between stage 1 and stage 2 assessments. When I applied with Freightliner, I had the luxury of a month between stages. When applying, you may not even know how long you have to practice.

There seems to be a bit of a general fixation with the GB test where candidates ignore the other parts of the test and the structured interview at their peril. Obviously, if you have all the assessments in one day then a GB fixation is ill-advised.

What you need to do, Mr Douglas, is to devise a training schedule that is right for you and do not be scare-mongered into trying to do the GB test as quickly as possible as you will make mistakes. I am assuming that you have never been to assessments unless you inform me otherwise, but once you have obtained feedback from any assessments, you will have a better idea of your training needs.

 

[Mr Douglas]

Mr Douglas, as you may have gathered by now, the advice on this forum is generally of a good standard but there has been at least one point raised in recent hours that I found to be somewhat contentious.

There are very few people on this forum who are in a position to say that you will pass or fail the Group Bourdon test. The GB test has been around prior to privatisation, dare I say it, but there is every chance that the pass mark may have changed since its inception. The one thing that is certain is that different operators sometimes require a higher pass mark. Freightliner for example were content with a basis pass whilst TransPennine Express require what is known as an enhanced pass.

In fact different operators demonstrate a different approach, at different times, to the driver assessments as a whole. Certain TOCs such as Greater Anglia and Northern cram all the assessments into one day whilst others may have a week between stage 1 and stage 2 assessments. When I applied with Freightliner, I had the luxury of a month between stages. When applying, you may not even know how long you have to practice.

There seems to be a bit of a general fixation with the GB test where candidates ignore the other parts of the test and the structured interview at their peril. Obviously, if you have all the assessments in one day then a GB fixation is ill-advised.

What you need to do, Mr Douglas, is to devise a training schedule that is right for you and do not be scare-mongered into trying to do the GB test as quickly as possible as you will make mistakes. I am assuming that you have never been to assessments unless you inform me otherwise, but once you have obtained feedback from any assessments, you will have a better idea of your training needs.

Thanks a lot for your reply, much appreciated.

I have not been to an assessment before and mine is with Southeastern on Monday. I am however, preparing for every stage which was mentioned in the practice material which they sent to me, along with the interview.

 

[DunfordBridge]

You are quite welcome, Mr Douglas. Be interesting to see how you get on. Whatever happens, be sure to get your feedback from the OPC and/or SouthEastern. Believe you me, feedback is a rare commodity with this lark.

 

[Kev.]

Well Ive just been informed by EMT that I have passed my Stage 1.

I'd like to thank all the members whom have posted in this thread, especially TDK. People on here really do need to listen to what he constantly keeps repeating, regarding slowing down for this test.

I got an enhanced pass on the GBT. I really took my time and did not rush in the slightest, infact I was almost lackadaisical in my approach to it. Yes I was nervous going into the test, probably mainly due to reading some of the hype in this thread.

I only got down to line 10 on each sheet and stopped with a around 5 or 10 seconds to spare. There was people around me scribbling away like crazy and getting down to lines 17 - 20 it really is not necessary. So once again thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread

 

[Mr Douglas]

I want to download this software, but back in january there was a thread about the group bordon software having a virus or trojan attached to it.

Is that still the case?

Not with me and I downloaded is last week.

 

[DunfordBridge]

Bit of an old hand on here now. Not even sure where you go to download this excellent tool these days. Not quite sure if I imagined it but I thought that someone on the recent Transpennine driver thread had written his own program.

 

[Lucky63]

Downloaded this tool last night and had a few attempts. Was getting terrible scores so did a test on just one line in 30 secs marking all 4 dots but still said I had omitted one when I 100% know I didn't.

Anyone else experience a bug like this?

 

[RBSN]

Downloaded this tool last night and had a few attempts. Was getting terrible scores so did a test on just one line in 30 secs marking all 4 dots but still said I had omitted one when I 100% know I didn't.

Anyone else experience a bug like this?

I personally didn't find the tool helpful. My actually assessment day test was on two large pieces of paper (which I felt makes it easier).

I bought the book instead and that did help.

 

[sfxdude]

Downloaded this tool last night and had a few attempts. Was getting terrible scores so did a test on just one line in 30 secs marking all 4 dots but still said I had omitted one when I 100% know I didn't.

Anyone else experience a bug like this?

There's a print button on the tool, just print out a load of sheets. The test is pretty likely to be done on paper rather than computer anyway.

 

[ionut.dinca89]

PS - I found the controls. Just had to read the first few pages of this topic. Sorry for this post. Can be deleted.

"Hello! I've installed the Group Bourdon tool on the laptop but I don't know how to select the 4 dots squares. Could anyone help me, please?
Thank you!"

 

[Barnabus]

Hi, does anyone know of a GB tool download for Mac?

 

[alphamale]

I've got a conductors assessment coming up soon, i'm guessing i'll be taking the scaat over gbt, however i don't really understand the scoring on the tests from the download, if someone could explain what is good pass/how many lines I should be able to complete with no errors in the 2mins. Any tips would be really appreciated,

 

[General_miller]

No one knows the exact pass mark, but you should aim for absolute minimum 8 lines and as close to 0 errors as possible. Speed and accuracy are equally important.

 

[alphamale]

No one knows the exact pass mark, but you should aim for absolute minimum 8 lines and as close to 0 errors as possible. Speed and accuracy are equally important.

Missing them out would count as an error? id imagine its not as bad marking the wrong one?

 

[General_miller]

Missing them out would count as an error? id imagine its not as bad marking the wrong one?

Yes missing them is an error. I don't know if marking incorrectly or missing one is worse, but I know for sure they are both bad so try not to do either

 

[djsmith200]

question for those who have recently taken these tests-
were you given 30 secs, 1 min or 2 mins per sheet? and how many sheets did you have to do?

cheers

 

[General_miller]

There's 5 sheets and you get 2 minutes on each one.

 

[TheBusDriver]

Just had my stage 1 assessment and got a pass.

For the bourdon test i completed 9-10 lines per page with no changes and i am confident i didnt miss any.

I was managing 7-8 lines per page on the software with 2 omitted on average.

The test was far easier on paper for me.

Hope this helps people. Now stage 2 to smash.

 

[djsmith200]

well done mate good for you, and thanks for sharing. Something for me to aim for. what does the 'omitted' part mean? when practicing myself with the tools i haven't worked out what that refers to!

 

[TheBusDriver]

well done mate good for you, and thanks for sharing. Something for me to aim for. what does the 'omitted' part mean? when practicing myself with the tools i haven't worked out what that refers to!

Thanks mate. I wasnt to confident with this one but it really is easier on the day and on paper so just relax. Dont rush it. From what i gather 7+ lines per page with no errors is a pass, but a couples lines extra is easily doable without sacrificing accuracy.

Omitted means how many times you changed your answer. So if you marked a group of 5 and realised, then changed it, thats an omission

good luck

 

[djsmith200]

gotcha! nice one for all that cheers!

 

[mw1967]

I think that 'omitted' would refer to missing a group of 5, not changing an answer. If you miss any you should've marked off, this is an omission. You should be aiming for 0 errors and 0 omissions. ie missing a group of 5 is a mistake, same as marking off a group of 4.

 

[Gareth111278]

Hi
Ive got to sit Group Bordon on paper on Wednesday.

I've been practicing the computerized test using the tool & been getting through about 1200 cells but with up to 7 errors.

I've just printed off a set of paper tests and done 1400 cells but with 20 errors!

I know i need more practice.

I don't suppose anyone knows what kind of scores will get a pass on paper?

 

[WCMLaddict]

0 mistakes. That's what you have to aim for.
Slow down until you get all right.

 

[Gareth111278]

Cheers
I've just tried again with the aim of taking it slower & got the same number of cells (1400) with only 3 errors.

i'll keep trying. i'll have to buy my Mrs more paper & printer ink after this!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Hi Just a thought on Group Bourdon PAPER test.
I've just passed it with ATW last week.
To prepare i printed off practice sets of sheets from the tool at the top of this topic.
people who'd passed often said, "Just get 2/3s down each sheet & you'll be fine!"
what they failed to say is the sheets you see on the day are only half as long!!
I was panicking as i was only getting halfway through.
Also , the actual dots on the day are smaller and less 'fuzzy', i found it easier although theres one group with a group of 3 clustered at the top & a single lower down, looks like a 3, its easy to miss.
good luck f you get through

 

[Shanieklein]

Hi

I applied for the drivers role on the 22 sept. I got an email last week to say that my application has passed the screening. I got a phone call today to attend the drivers assessment on Dec 6th. Which is just a weeks time! Is this enough time to prepare ? How long did everyone else get to prepare for the assessment test ? And any tips ?
Thanks

 

[JIMBOfred]

Hi, I've got a test day for Virgin on Thursday. I've already passes 2 stages of online tests.

This is my best score so far on the GBD.

omitted - 5
incorrect - 2

Total cells - 1256

Completed rows - 47

Fluctuation - 3.42

That's the first time I've had any incorrect but the lowest omitted.
Hoping to better this through practice over the next few days but any idea if this will be good enough?