King Edward VI Five Ways School 11 Plus (11+) Exam Guide

About King Edward VI Five Ways School

King Edward VI Five Ways is a co-educational state grammar school for 11 to 18-year-olds in Bartley Green, Birmingham, and part of the King Edward VI Foundation. It is the only fully co-educational grammar school among the Foundation’s Birmingham schools; the others are single sex.

Five Ways is one of the most popular and heavily oversubscribed grammar schools in Birmingham, with 180 places available each year in Year 7. Entry is through the shared West Midlands Grammar Schools entrance test, sat once and used by any West Midlands grammar school named on your secondary application.

Because Five Ways ranks qualified applicants rather than simply offering a place to everyone who reaches the pass mark, reaching the qualifying score is only the first step; catchment priority and the overall ranking decide who is actually offered a place.

Key information for 2027: King Edward VI Five Ways School at 11 Plus (11+)

• School type: State grammar school (co-educational)
• Consortium: West Midlands Grammar Schools (King Edward VI Foundation)
• Registration deadline: 4pm, end of June 2026, at westmidlandsgrammarschools.co.uk
• Exam date: a Saturday in September 2026
• CAF deadline: end of October 2026
• National school offer day: March 2027
• Contact details: www.kefw.org/the-school/admissions, kingedwardvifoundation.co.uk/the-test

Admissions information for 2027 entry: King Edward VI Five Ways School at 11 Plus (11+)

Registration for Year 7 entry into King Edward VI Five Ways opens in the spring and closes at 4pm at the end of June 2026, via the West Midlands Grammar Schools registration portal. The shared entrance test is then sat on one Saturday in September 2026, with results issued in October ahead of the secondary application deadline.

You must also submit your Common Application Form (CAF) to your home local authority by the end of October 2026, listing King Edward VI Five Ways if you want it considered; the order you list schools in reflects your order of preference.

National school offer day falls in March 2027. The published admission number (PAN) is 180, and a qualifying score is set each year from standardised scores. For 2025 entry the qualifying score was 205 and the catchment priority score was 224; because Five Ways then ranks qualified children with catchment priority, the realistic working target is above the qualifying mark. Always confirm the current year’s figures on the school’s admissions page before relying on them.

How can I register my child for the 11 Plus (11+) exam at King Edward VI Five Ways School?

To register your child for the entrance exam, you as their parent or legal guardian must complete the online registration form through the West Midlands Grammar Schools portal, before the end-of-June 2026 deadline.

You register once and your child sits the test once; the same result can then be used for any West Midlands grammar school you name on the secondary application form in the autumn, so registering does not commit you to Five Ways alone.

What is the 11 Plus (11+) entrance exam format for King Edward VI Five Ways School?

King Edward VI Five Ways does not set its own entrance exam. Like every West Midlands grammar school, it selects through the shared entrance test written by GL Assessment and run for the King Edward VI Foundation.

• Format: two multiple-choice papers, each around 50 to 60 minutes including instructions and practice questions, sat on the same day
• English comprehension: a reading passage with questions, plus vocabulary and wider literacy
• Verbal reasoning: word and logic puzzles, not usually taught in primary school
• Maths: the Year 5 curriculum at pace, rewarding speed and accuracy
• Non-verbal (spatial) reasoning: pattern and shape puzzles

There is no writing task, and children mark their answers on a separate answer sheet, which is a skill worth practising in its own right. Each section is given a standardised age score that adjusts for your child’s age, with English and verbal reasoning together carrying half the marks, and maths and non-verbal reasoning a quarter each.

How to prepare your child for the 11 Plus (11+) King Edward VI Five Ways School exam

From registration to test day is around four months, which is plenty of time if you use it deliberately. Because Five Ways ranks applicants by score rather than simply passing or failing, the aim is not just to qualify but to push your child’s score as high as it will comfortably go, and since English and verbal reasoning carry half the marks, that is where preparation pays off most.

Little and often works best early on, moving to full timed practice tests under exam conditions as the exam date approaches, with time built in to practise transferring answers to a separate answer sheet against the clock.

For King Edward VI Five Ways School (West Midlands Grammar Schools) 11+ preparation, we recommend the following packs: