Updated June 2026 · free, no sign-up · facts checked against official sources
Birmingham's grammar school places are administered by the King Edward VI consortium, which includes some of the most competitive selective schools in England - Camp Hill Boys, Camp Hill Girls, Handsworth Grammar, Five Ways, Aston and the King Edward VI schools in Sutton Coldfield. The test is bespoke (not standard GL or CEM) and covers four areas: English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning.
Birmingham grammar 11+ format (2026)
Administered by the King Edward VI consortium (KEFW) using a bespoke test set by the schools themselves, not an external board.
The test covers English, maths, verbal reasoning and non-verbal reasoning - all four areas in a single sitting.
Sat in September of Year 6. Registration typically opens in June and closes in July - check the KEFW website for exact dates.
Results and offers are issued in October ahead of the national secondary school deadline.
Competition is intense: many schools are significantly oversubscribed. There is no single published pass mark; places are offered to the highest-scoring applicants. Confirm the current process with each school directly.
Schools in the consortium include: King Edward VI Aston, Camp Hill Boys, Camp Hill Girls, Handsworth, Five Ways and the Sutton Coldfield schools (KEHS and KEVI Sutton Coldfield).
Dates and admission processes change each year - always confirm with the consortium or individual school before you rely on them. The KEFW website (kefw.org.uk) is the authoritative source.
Free Birmingham-style practice questions
Tap an option to check it; a worked explanation follows every answer.
Question 1 · Maths
What is the value of 7² − 4²?
Answer: 33. 7² = 49. 4² = 16. 49 − 16 = 33.
Question 2 · Maths
A shop reduces a £64 jacket by 25%. What is the sale price?
Answer: £48. 25% of £64 = £16. £64 − £16 = £48.
Question 3 · English / Vocabulary
Choose the word most similar in meaning to ARDUOUS.
Answer: difficult. Arduous means requiring great effort or very difficult to do.
Question 4 · English / Grammar
Which sentence uses a semicolon correctly?
Answer: "It was raining heavily; we decided to stay indoors." A semicolon joins two independent clauses (complete sentences) that are closely related. "It was raining heavily" and "we decided to stay indoors" are both complete sentences - the semicolon is correct here.
Question 5 · Verbal Reasoning
AUTHOR is to NOVEL as COMPOSER is to ?
Answer: SYMPHONY. An author creates a novel; a composer creates a symphony (a large-scale musical work).
Question 6 · Verbal Reasoning
What comes next in the sequence? 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ___
Answer: 36. The sequence is the square numbers: 1², 2², 3², 4², 5², so next is 6² = 36.
Question 7 · Maths
A triangle has angles of 47° and 68°. What is the third angle?
Answer: 65°. Angles in a triangle always add up to 180°. 180 − 47 − 68 = 65°.
Question 8 · Verbal Reasoning
Which does NOT belong: oak, elm, daisy, beech?
Answer: daisy. Oak, elm and beech are all trees. A daisy is a flowering plant, not a tree.
Question 9 · Non-Verbal Reasoning / Codes
In a letter code, each letter shifts forward by 1 (A→B, B→C, etc). If COLD is encoded as DPME, what is WARM encoded as?
Answer: XBSN. Shift each letter forward by 1: W→X, A→B, R→S, M→N. So WARM encoded = XBSN.
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