Birmingham 11+ pass marks and cut-off history
Facts checked 19 October 2026By ExamKind Editorial Team
Some details are being re-checked
We check every fact against the official source on a schedule, and some details on this page are due their next check (last verified 19 October 2026). We'll update the page if anything has changed. How we check facts
In short
Birmingham publishes two scores, not one. For September 2027 entry the qualifying score is 205birmingham-2027-qualifying: ValueChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: The Qualifying Score for all of the Birmingham grammar schools for 2027 entry is 205.
View the official source at all 8Birmingham: Grammar schoolsChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: The King Edward VI Foundation arranges the entrance test on behalf of each of the eight grammar schools in Birmingham:
View the official source grammar schools in the city. The priority score is 224birmingham-2027-priority: ValueChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: The Priority Score for all of the King Edward VI Grammar Schools for 2027 entry is 224.
View the official source, and it applies at the 6Birmingham: King edward schoolsChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: There are six grammar schools within the King Edward VI Academy Trust:
View the official source King Edward VI grammar schools. Reaching the qualifying score makes a child eligible to be considered. Neither score is an offer of a place.
The qualifying rule
Score to qualify
205or more
For September 2027 entry. The score is a standardised score.
Checked, source: King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham, checkedPriority score
224
For September 2027 entry.
Checked, source: King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham, checked
Pass marks by year
The qualifying score is a standardised score.
| Entry year | Qualifying score | Priority score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | 205Qualifying score, 2027 entryChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: The Qualifying Score for all of the Birmingham grammar schools for 2027 entry is 205.View the official source | 224Priority score, 2027 entryChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: The Priority Score for all of the King Edward VI Grammar Schools for 2027 entry is 224.View the official source | King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham |
"Not published" means we have no checked value from an official source for that year. A pass mark is history, not a prediction of next year's.
School cut-offs
The latest lowest score and furthest distance each school offered places to, with the entry year. Schools use their own admission rules and sometimes their own score scales, so compare each school with its own past years rather than with other schools.
| School | Lowest score offered | Furthest distance offered |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop Vesey's Grammar School |
| Not published |
| King Edward VI Aston School |
| Not published |
| King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys | 254Lowest score offered at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categoriesChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categories | 254 (242) | No offers made from this category in March or by September* | 260 (250) | No offers in March (254 by September) |View the official source2026 entry, offer day, Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categories | 3.54 milesFurthest distance offered at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Category 4 – Applicants achieving 224 and above and living within the catchment areaChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | Category 4 – Applicants achieving 224 and above and living within the catchment area | All offered | 5698 metres (6186 metres)* | All offered | 5856 metres in March** (All offered by September) |View the official source2025 entry, Category 4 – Applicants achieving 224 and above and living within the catchment area |
| King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls | 255Lowest score offered at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categoriesChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categories | 255 (242) | 243 (238) | 239 (224) | 249 (230) |View the official source2026 entry, offer day, Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categories | Not published |
| King Edward VI Five Ways School | 232Lowest score offered at King Edward VI Five Ways School, Category 3 – Pupil Premium applicants scoring 205 and above and living outside the catchment areaChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | Category 3 – Pupil Premium applicants scoring 205 and above and living outside the catchment area | 232 (232) | 237 (237) | All offered | All offered |View the official source2026 entry, offer day, Category 3 – Pupil Premium applicants scoring 205 and above and living outside the catchment area | 2.72 milesFurthest distance offered at King Edward VI Five Ways School, Category 4 – Applicants achieving 224 and above and living within the catchment areaChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | Category 4 – Applicants achieving 224 and above and living within the catchment area | 4384 metres (All offered by September) | 4918 metres (All offered by September) | 5625 metres in March* (All offered by September) | All offered |View the official source2026 entry, Category 4 – Applicants achieving 224 and above and living within the catchment area |
| King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys |
| Not published |
| King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls | 219Lowest score offered at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls, Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categoriesChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categories | 219 (215) | 216 (212) | 217 (214) | 217 (212) |View the official source2026 entry, offer day, Category 5 – All other applicants not falling into one of the above categories | Not published |
| Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls |
| Not published |
What each score does
The qualifying score is the entry line. The schools are clear about what happens below it: children below the qualifying score are not considered and should not list the schoolBirmingham: Below qualifying not consideredChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: If your child does not achieve the qualifying score or above they will not be considered for a place and you should not list the school on your child’s preference form.
View the official source. The priority score works differently. At the King Edward VI schools, some applicants who reach it are given priority in the admission rules, so it marks a second, higher step rather than a second pass mark. Each school's admission policy explains exactly how its categories are ordered.
How the score is made
The test is arranged by the King Edward VI FoundationBirmingham: Test administratorChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: The King Edward VI Foundation arranges the entrance test on behalf of each of the eight grammar schools in Birmingham:
View the official source and is shared across the West Midlands Grammar Schools partnership. Results are reported as age-standardised scores around a median of 200 (stated by the Walsall schools)West Midlands: Score standardisationChecked 9 Oct 2026 against Queen Mary's Grammar School.The source says: Results will be released throughout the West Midlands Grammar Schools’ partnership using an age-weighted standardisation around a median score of 200.
View the official source. Because the result is standardised, it shows where a child came against everyone who sat the same test, with an allowance for age. It is not a percentage of questions answered correctly. On marking: answer sheets are machine-marked and not re-marked; no raw scores givenBirmingham: No remarkChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: We do not re-mark answer sheets.
View the official source.
Reading the school figures
The school table above shows a lowest score offered for each school in the most recent year, with the admission category it belongs to. In Birmingham these figures are published by admission category. Pupil premium applicants, for example, are usually a separate category from all other applicants, and their lowest offered score can be closer to the qualifying score. The published tables also give two moments for each category: national offer day in March, and a final figure by September. The September figure is sometimes lower than the March one, once offers have been made from waiting lists.
Two things follow. A school's lowest score offered depends on how many children applied and how they scored, so it moves from year to year. And it only tells you about the category it belongs to. Check which category your child would fall under before comparing a score with it.
Pupil premium
Every Birmingham grammar school gives some priority to pupil premium applicants, but there are no extra marks for pupil premium; the qualifying score still appliesBirmingham: Pp no extra marksChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: extra marks are not awarded in the entrance test to applicants registered as pupil premium.
View the official source. The definition has also changed: from September 2026 only "Targeted FSM" (the £7,400 income threshold) attracts pupil premium; children eligible only under "Expanded FSM" (Universal Credit) do not get pupil premium priorityBirmingham: Pp fsm change2026Checked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: Pupils who will now be eligible for FSM under the Expanded FSM will not attract the pupil premium and will therefore not receive pupil premium priority within the schools’ admissions policies.
View the official source. Our page on pupil premium priority in Birmingham explains what this means for families.
Next steps
Results arrive by 16 October 2026“By” dateBirmingham 2027 entry: ResultsChecked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | 16th October 2026 | Results |
View the official source, and the council application deadline is 31 October 2026Birmingham 2027 entry: School place applications close (CAF)Checked 9 Oct 2026 against King Edward VI Foundation Birmingham.The source says: | 31st October 2026 | Preference form deadline |
View the official source. Read your child's score with the 11+ score converter. The Birmingham results page, the Birmingham dates page and the Birmingham 11+ guide cover the rest. For the other areas that share this test, see the West Midlands pass marks page.