King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford

Chelmsford, CM1 3SX · Essex · Grammar school

Ofsted: Outstanding · 2021 ★ Selective Mixed Secondary
OfstedOutstanding
Pupils1138
FSM2.0%
Progress 8+1.11
A-level avgA
Qualifying score343.0 2025
Test boardConsortium: Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex (CSSE). Single CSSE exam covers 10 schools; Chelmsford County High School for Girls is not a CSSE member and runs its own test

Catchment / designated area

Priority area = 12.5-mile radius of the school (straight line, LA-calculated). 120 of 150 places go to the highest-scoring boys living continuously in the priority area from 10 October of Year 6; the remaining 30 by score regardless of address.

Source: KEGS Admissions Policy 2027 entry (search-corroborated; kegs.org.uk blocks AI crawlers)

Ofsted judgement breakdown (2021-12-08)

Overall effectiveness
Outstanding
Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Outstanding
Safeguarding is effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision (where applicable)
Outstanding

Oversubscription criteria

  1. Looked after — Looked after children and previously looked after children
  2. Medical social — Children with exceptional medical/social needs
  3. Catchment feeder — Children from designated feeder primary schools or living in defined priority area
  4. Sibling — Siblings of children on roll at the school
  5. Other qualified — All other qualifying children — tiebreaker: distance (straight line, closest first)

What the entrance test covers

Essex has TWO different 11+ tests: 1. The CSSE exam — used by King Edward VI Grammar School (Chelmsford), Colchester Royal Grammar School, Colchester County High School for Girls, and the Southend grammar schools: English (60 minutes — comprehension, applied reasoning and a short continuous-writing element) and Mathematics (60 minutes, Key Stage 2-based), each marked out of 60. NO verbal or non-verbal reasoning; written (not purely multiple-choice) answers. One registration (csse.org.uk) and one mid-September sitting covers all CSSE schools; a combined standardised score around 303+ has historically been the consideration threshold. 2. Chelmsford County High School for Girls — NOT in the CSSE: it runs its own FSCE (Future Stories Community Enterprise) test, registered direct with the school on a separate date. FSCE questions can draw on the whole primary curriculum to the end of Year 5, in a different style from the CSSE papers — a girl applying to CCHS plus other Essex grammars prepares for two different exam formats.

University destinations

Oxbridge
11%
Russell Group
75%
Top-third university
80%
Any degree
93%

Of the 189-student 2019/20 leaver cohort, sustaining a higher-education destination the following year. This is the last cohort the Department for Education published with an Oxbridge/Russell Group breakdown — these categories were discontinued as official accountability measures after this release, so a more recent figure does not exist.

House prices nearby

Median price, Marconi ward (Year ending Mar 2023)
£285,000

Median price for the school's electoral ward, year ending March 2023 — a neighbourhood-level indicator, not the school's actual admissions catchment (catchments are often smaller than a ward or span parts of several).

Similar schools nearby

Same area, prioritising the same phase — useful for shortlisting alternatives.

Data sourced from GIAS, Ofsted and official Essex admissions publications. Figures can change year to year — always confirm with the school before applying.

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