Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands · Birmingham

Bishop Vesey's Grammar School

Fills its places by three geographic zones in strict order — a closer child who barely qualifies is admitted ahead of a higher-scoring child from further away.

Founded in 1527, Bishop Vesey's is a standalone single-academy trust, not part of the King Edward VI Foundation despite sharing its Birmingham-area entrance test and consortium. Its admissions model is structurally distinct from a superselective school: a minimum qualifying score acts as a pass/fail gate, but places are then filled zone by zone — everyone within 12 miles who qualifies, then everyone within 12-20 miles, then everyone beyond — so a nearer child who only just clears the bar is admitted ahead of a farther child with a much higher score. Distance is only used as a tiebreaker between equal scores within the same zone.

Key facts

Gender: boys
Age range: 11-18
Region: West Midlands
Local authority: Birmingham
Established: 1527
DfE URN: 137988
Website: https://bvgs.co.uk

Admissions

Admissions authority: The school sets its own test and criteria
Entrance test board: GL Assessment, shared via the wider West Midlands Grammar Schools consortium.
Test format: A single combined score, standardised for age, from tests of verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning ability, per the school's own admissions policy. Secondary sources add more granular detail (two papers of 50-60 minutes, multiple-choice, covering English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics and non-verbal/spatial reasoning, weighted roughly 50/25/25) not confirmed directly in the school's own document.partly verified
The school's own policy names only verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning as tested; the paper count, timing, and scoring weights come from the King Edward VI Foundation's test page and tutoring sites, not from Bishop Vesey's own policy directly.
Qualifying / pass mark: 205 (combined standardised score), as published on the school's own site for September 2027 entry. The school's own formal admissions policy requires only 'a minimum standardised score' without committing to a fixed year-on-year figure, so it's unclear whether 205 is a genuinely fixed bar or last cycle's realised score carried forward as a guide.verify with school
205 is published ahead of the actual 2027-entry test sitting (September 2026), and the school's formal policy document doesn't commit to a fixed year-on-year figure — it may be a carried-forward guide from the prior cycle rather than a freshly set bar.
Superselective?: No

Catchment & priority criteria

No single fixed catchment boundary. Three concentric zones measured by straight-line distance from home to the school's main entrance: Zone 1 up to 12 miles, Zone 2 from 12-20 miles, Zone 3 beyond 20 miles.

Children with an EHCP naming the school who meet the qualifying score (automatic, ahead of the ranked list)
Looked-after, previously looked-after, and internationally-adopted previously looked-after children who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by standardised score
Zone 1 (0-12 miles) children attracting Pupil Premium who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by score, capped at 38 places (unfilled places roll to Zone 2 then Zone 3 Pupil Premium children)
Other Zone 1 qualifiers, ranked by standardised score
Zone 2 (12-20 miles) qualifiers, ranked by standardised score
Zone 3 (20+ miles) qualifiers, ranked by standardised score
Tie-break: nearest straight-line home-to-school distance

Results

Year	Attainment 8	GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths	Progress 8	A*–A	A*–B
2024	75.8	98.4%	+0.75 ('Well above average', confidence interval +0.54 to +0.96) — this cohort predates the COVID-era gap	—	—
A-level: average result A- (45.04 points per entry, England average C+/34.38), 202 A-level students, 98.5% completed their study programme. A 2024-specific A-level value-added score wasn't located and is reported as unconfirmed rather than assumed.
2025	77.1	97.4%	Not calculated — no KS2 baseline data for this cohort nationally	verify with school	verify with school
A-level: average result B+ (44.36 points per entry, England average 36.1), A-level value-added +0.01 ('Average', confidence interval -0.08 to +0.09), 45.2% achieved AAB+ with 2 facilitating subjects (England 17.5%), 99.5% completed their study programme. EBacc entry 93.2% (England 40.5%).

Ofsted

Rating: Outstanding, in every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This was a full graded inspection under the pre-September 2024 framework, before Ofsted's pause on single-word judgements.
Date: 30 April - 1 May 2024
Report: Read the full report

Sources

1. DfE Get Information About Schools — URN, status, gender, LA — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Establishments/Establishment/Details/137988
2. School's own Admissions Policy for 2027 Entry — https://bvgs.co.uk/app/uploads/2026/01/Admissions-Policy-for-2027-Entry-January-2026.pdf
3. School's own Year 7 Admissions page — https://bvgs.co.uk/admissions/year-7-admissions/
4. School's own History page — https://bvgs.co.uk/about-us/our-history/
5. Ofsted report, inspected 30 April - 1 May 2024 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50249138
6. Birmingham City Council — grammar schools in Birmingham — https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20119/school_admissions/584/grammar_schools_in_birmingham
7. DfE Compare School Performance — results over time — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137988/bishop-vesey-s-grammar-school/secondary/results-over-time
8. DfE Compare School Performance — A-level qualifications — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137988/bishop-vesey-s-grammar-school/16-to-18/advanced-level-qualifications

Last updated 2026-09-01. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.