Grammar schools in Birmingham

One shared test for all eight Birmingham grammar schools, arranged by the King Edward VI Foundation and provided by GL Assessment: two papers of about an hour each, covering English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics, and non-verbal/spatial reasoning. Answers are multiple-choice and scores are age-standardised. There is no fixed pass mark — after the test, each school sets its own qualifying and priority score thresholds, so the same result can qualify a child for some of the eight schools but not others. Camp Hill schools have historically had the highest cutoffs. Register once (online, via the West Midlands Grammar Schools website, historically by late June of Year 5); the single result is used by every Birmingham grammar school named on your Common Application Form.

All eight Birmingham grammar schools (Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, King Edward VI Aston, King Edward VI Camp Hill Boys, King Edward VI Camp Hill Girls, King Edward VI Five Ways, King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls, Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls) share a single entrance test arranged by the King Edward VI Foundation. Children register once via the West Midlands Grammar Schools website, sit one exam, and the result is used by every school listed on the Common Application Form. Registration historically closes in late June of Year 5 (4pm deadline), with the test on a Saturday in mid-September of Year 6 (AM and PM sessions). Out-of-area caveat: if the family's home address is not within a reasonable commutable distance of the Birmingham grammar schools, the Admissions Office may ask for evidence of intent to relocate (e.g. a recent house purchase in the area) before allowing the child to sit the test. Apply for places via your home LA's Common Application Form by 31 October. Several of the schools operate priority catchment areas and pupil-premium priority places — check each school's oversubscription criteria.