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Bank of England: application stages, tests and practice

The Bank of England describes an application form followed by three assessed stages: a situational judgement test, a recorded video interview and a virtual assessment centre. The video has a time limit per question with no re-records, and the centre is one group exercise plus one interview.

Routes: Future Talent programmes: apprenticeships, internships, industrial placements and graduate programmes. The Bank says the process is the same for all of them. Last verified 2026-10-09.

Stages in order

What do the confidence badges mean?
  • Vendor-published Stated in the test publisher's own document or practice site.
  • Academic From peer-reviewed research.
  • Official employer Stated on the employer's own page.
  • Near-official Near-official: an employer-run practice portal, or a vendor or employer-quoted press release naming the employer.
  • Candidate-reported Reported by candidates. Treat as likely but unconfirmed.
  • Third-party From prep sites, press or forums. Not confirmed by the employer or publisher.

  1. Application form

    Official employer

    Register so the Bank can check eligibility, then give your background, education and work experience, upload a CV and answer free-text questions about your motivations. The Bank accepts only one application per candidate and uses the first. Applicants through the Disability Confident scheme who meet the minimum requirements are fast-tracked to the video interview.

    Sources: [1]

  2. Online test: situational judgement

    Official employer

    You get scenarios that reflect working life at the Bank, and the test gauges what you think you would do. It is used to see how closely you align with the Bank's values. Passing moves you to the next stage. The Bank does not state the number of items, timing or vendor.

    Practise: Situational judgement test practice

    Sources: [1]

  3. Video interview

    Official employer

    Answer a series of questions in the Bank's video interview portal. Nobody is behind the camera in real time: each response is recorded and reviewed later. After each question there is a short period to think before recording starts. All questions have a set time limit and the recording stops when it ends, and you cannot re-record. The Bank says it uses the STARR (situation, task, action, result, reflection) interview method and that a human assessor watches the recording.

    Practise: Video interview practice

    Sources: [1]

  4. Virtual assessment centre

    Official employer

    The final stage. The Bank says assessment centres consist of one group exercise and one interview, and the interviewers ask motivation, behaviour-based and analytical or technical questions. Applicants to the Economist or Data streams of the Industrial Placement Programme also complete an online Excel test; the page does not say where in the process it falls.

    Practise: Assessment centre practice, Group exercise practice

    Sources: [1]

Final stage line-up

Official employer

Virtual assessment centre consisting of one group exercise and one interview. Interview questions are motivation, behaviour-based and analytical or technical. Economist and Data streams of the Industrial Placement Programme also complete an online Excel test.

Assessment centre practice

Retakes and validity

Video interview answers cannot be re-recorded. Only the first application per candidate is accepted. A retake rule for the situational judgement test is not stated.

What we could not verify

  • Current SJT vendor, item count and timing. The only vendor named on the Bank's site is Korn Ferry (Talent Q), in a 2017 to 2019 guidance sheet that also described personality and numerical and verbal reasoning parts not on the current page.
  • Video interview number of questions, think time and per-question limits.
  • Whether a spring or insight week exists.
  • Duration of the virtual assessment centre.

Sources

  1. How to apply for our Future Talent programmes Checked 2026-10-09
    Page marked last updated 11 December 2025. States the three assessment stages, the SJT, video interview rules, the virtual assessment centre line-up, the Excel test for two industrial placement streams and the use of the STARR method.
  2. Korn Ferry candidate guidance sheet (older) Checked 2026-10-09
    Korn Ferry PDF hosted by the Bank, created October 2017 and last modified January 2019. Describes a blended online assessment (SJT, Dimensions personality questionnaire, 21 minute numerical and verbal reasoning) on Korn Ferry Talent Q, completed in up to an hour. It is not repeated on the current How to apply page, so it is treated as an older process and not used for the stage list.
  3. Bank of England Future Talent Checked 2026-10-09
    Lists the programmes and notes that the 2026 recruitment round has closed, with programme pages to be updated in autumn 2026 ahead of the 2027 round.

Common questions about Bank of England

What are the stages of the Bank of England application process?

As we could verify, the stages are: Application form, then Online test: situational judgement, then Video interview, then Virtual assessment centre. The page says which of these are stated by Bank of England itself and which are only reported by candidates. Check your own invitation, because processes change every cycle.

What is the final stage of the Bank of England process?

Virtual assessment centre consisting of one group exercise and one interview. Interview questions are motivation, behaviour-based and analytical or technical. Economist and Data streams of the Industrial Placement Programme also complete an online Excel test.

Can I practise for Bank of England here?

Yes. Each stage links to the matching free practice, with real timings, an untimed mode and a learn mode. The practice is independent, uses original questions and is not affiliated with Bank of England or any test publisher.

Independent practice. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Bank of England.

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