Bishop Vesey's Grammar School 11+ guide

About Bishop Vesey's Grammar School

Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School (or BVGS) is one of the oldest schools in Britain. It was founded in 1527 by the Bishop of Exeter John Vesey. He was a friend of Henry VIII and tutor of Queen Mary I. It is a selective academy for boys aged 11–16 years with a mixed sixth form. It is partnered with the nearby Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls.

The school aims to provide inspiration and excellence to students across the Midlands. It prioritises academic excellence, inspirational teaching, and enrichment opportunities to build leadership, independence and resilience.

How to apply to Bishop Vesey's Grammar School

Bishop Vesey's Grammar School is a selective state school. This means that your child will need to take the 11 plus exam to be eligible for a place in Year 7.

Bishop Vesey's Grammar School is a member of the West Midlands Grammar Schools partnership. The partnership consists of 19 schools across Birmingham, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton. All 19 schools share the same entrance test. This means that your child will only need to take the test once – even if you’re applying to multiple schools in the partnership.

The registration portal for the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test opens Tuesday 6th May 2025 and closes on Friday 27th June. After registration, your child will be invited to take the 11 plus exam at one of the participating schools. They will be allocated a test venue and a slot to take the test in September 2025. You’ll then receive your child’s results on Friday 17th October.

To apply to Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, you’ll need to name the school as one of your preferred schools on the secondary school common application form. This will be available on your home council website from early September and must be submitted by 31st October 2025.

Remember – passing the 11 plus doesn’t guarantee that your child will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Many grammar schools are often oversubscribed with qualified children. Schools and their admissions authorities work through admissions criteria to prioritise children for places. We’ve included the admissions criteria for Bishop Vesey's Grammar School below.

How does place allocation work at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School?

Your child’s marks in the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test are weighted for each section:

• English and verbal reasoning: 50%

• Non-verbal reasoning: 25%

• Maths: 25%

These weighted scores are age-standardised to ensure that younger children aren’t disadvantaged.

Bishop Vesey's Grammar School will then set a qualifying score. This isn’t always decided until after the entrance test takes place. As a guide, the minimum qualifying score for entry to Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in 2024 was 205.

If the number of children who have achieved the qualifying score exceeds the number of places available, Bishop Vesey's Grammar School applies oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in the following order:

1. Looked-After or previously Looked-After Children who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by order of test score.

2. Up to 38 children who get free school meals and achieve the qualifying score, ranked by order of test score.

3. Other children who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by order of test score.

When test scores are equal, children who live nearest the school will be prioritised. Distances are calculated in a straight line from the child's home address to the foot of the steps leading to the main school entrance.

Bishop Vesey's Grammar School no longer has a catchment area. Places are offered based on children's performance in the test. Priority is only given to children living nearest the school when test scores are equal.