King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys 11+ guide
By Atom | Apr 7, 2025, 12:17 PM
Contents
Thinking about applying to King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys? Find out everything you need to know about admissions in 2025–2026 and how to prepare your child for success in the 11 plus entrance exam.
Key information for King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys
Address: Grove Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 9ET
Number of pupils: 900+
Admissions contact: [[email protected]](mailto: [email protected])
Number of places in Year 7: 150
Catchment area: Yes
Dates for your diary
Tuesday 6th May 2025: registration opens for the West Midlands Grammar Schools' Entrance Test
Friday 13th June 2025: reasonable adjustments deadline
Friday 27th June 2025: test registration closes
Saturday 13th September 2025: West Midlands Grammar Schools’ Entrance Test
Friday 17th October 2025: parents receive test results
Friday 31st October 2025: secondary school applications close at 5pm
Monday 2nd March 2026: secondary school national offers day
About King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School is a boys' grammar school founded in 1862. The school aims to create a stimulating and educationally-successful environment. It is rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted.
This is the oldest surviving state grammar school in Birmingham. Despite this, the school is forward-looking and embraces new technology to help students meet the demands of the modern world.
How to apply to King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys 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.
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys 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 on Tuesday 6th May 2025 and closes on Friday 27th June 2025. 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. You’ll then receive your child’s results by Friday 17th October.
To apply to King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, 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 Friday 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 King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys below.
What subjects are on the entrance exam?
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys uses the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test.
The exam consists of two one-hour papers. These papers are divided into smaller, individually-timed sections which assess:
English comprehension
Maths
Verbal reasoning
Non-verbal reasoning
All of the questions in the West Midlands Grammar Schools’ Entrance Test are multiple-choice. Your child will have separate answer sheets which they will use to mark their answers. These are marked electronically.
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How does place allocation work at King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys?
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.
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys 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 King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys in 2024 was 205.
If the number of children who have achieved the qualifying score exceeds the number of places available, King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys applies oversubscription criteria. Children are prioritised for places in the following order:
Looked-After or previously Looked-After Children who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by test score and then by distance from the school.
Children who get free school meals, achieve the qualifying score, and live in the catchment area, ranked by distance from the school.
If fewer than 38 places are filled by children in category 2, places are offered to children who get free school meals, achieve the qualifying score and live outside the catchment area.
Children who achieve the priority score and live in the catchment area. Prioritised if they have a sibling at the school, then ranked by distance from the school.
Children who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by test score. Where scores are equal, priority is given to children with a sibling at the school, then ranked by distance from the school.
The catchment area consists of home addresses that are in these electoral wards: Birmingham: Birchfield, Edgbaston, Handsworth, Handsworth Wood, Holyhead, Kingstanding, Ladywood, Lozells, Newtown, North Edgbaston, Oscott, Perry Barr, Soho & Jewellery Quarter. Sandwell: Smethwick, Soho & Victoria, St Paul’s, West Bromwich Central.
Atom’s top tips for 11 plus preparation
The West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test is designed to select the most academically able children in the area. Here are our top tips to help you and your child feel confident for exam day!
Bitesize learning
It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the 11 plus. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.
Atom Home makes learning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.
Read widely
11 plus exams test your child’s ability to analyse and interpret written information. Regular reading is a great way to help your child build these skills.
Encourage them to read books from different genres and by a diverse range of authors. Increasing the variety of your child’s reading will help them understand different styles, tones and purposes. Meanwhile, reading a little every day will help widen their vocabulary, sharpen their analytical thinking, and enhance their imagination.
Refine exam technique
When your child feels confident with the topics they’ve learnt in Year 5, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test.
Practice tests can help your child develop problem-solving skills and build confidence working under test conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight knowledge gaps for further improvement.
With Atom Home, you'll unlock online mock tests and printable practice papers for the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test. Enjoy automatic marking and progress tracking with the online tests, and help your child get familiar with the real exam experience with printable practice papers.
Celebrate progress
Setting regular, achievable goals and celebrating your child’s progress – no matter how big or small – will help keep their motivation high.
Make sure to encourage a growth mindset. This means celebrating effort, as well as achievement! When your child makes mistakes or struggles to understand a particular topic, help them understand that they’ll improve through practice. Regular praise will help your child improve their resilience when tackling new and challenging topics.
West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test practice papers and online learning
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