Birmingham, West Midlands · Birmingham
King Edward VI Five Ways School
The only fully co-educational school among the King Edward VI grammar schools — every one of its named siblings remains single-sex.
Founded in 1883 at Five Ways in central Birmingham as a boys' school, relocating to its current Bartley Green site in 1958 and completing its transition to full co-education by September 2003 — making it the only mixed, non-fee-paying grammar school in the West Midlands, and the only fully co-educational school among the King Edward VI Foundation's grammar schools. Like its siblings, it's governed by the King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham rather than the historic Foundation charity, which today mainly coordinates the shared entrance test. Its own admissions model is a genuine hybrid: a single ability threshold applies to everyone, but a defined catchment lets residents who clear a separate, higher 'priority score' jump ahead of higher-scoring applicants who live outside it or lack that priority score.
Key facts
- Gender
- co-ed
- Age range
- 11-18
- Region
- West Midlands
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Established
- 1883
- DfE URN
- 137046
- Website
- https://www.kefw.org
Admissions
- Admissions authority
- The school sets its own test and criteria
- Entrance test board
- GL Assessment, coordinated centrally by the King Edward VI Foundation on behalf of eight Birmingham grammar schools, itself nested inside a wider roughly 19-school West Midlands regional testing consortium.
- Test format
- Two multiple-choice papers of around 60 minutes each, covering English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics and non-verbal/spatial reasoning, weighted 50% English/verbal reasoning, 25% non-verbal reasoning, 25% mathematics, standardised for age.
- Qualifying / pass mark
- 205 (qualifying score) and 224 (priority score), confirmed specifically for September 2025 entry. The current September 2026 entry policy defers the actual figure to a separate publication on the King Edward VI Foundation's site rather than stating it in the policy document itself — the 2026-specific number wasn't independently located, so 205/224 should be treated as the last confirmed cycle rather than assumed current.verify with school
205/224 is confirmed specifically for September 2025 entry. The current 2026-entry policy defers the actual figure to a separate Foundation website publication that wasn't independently located — don't assume 205/224 is still current for the most recent cycle.
- Superselective?
- No
Not a classic superselective (pure nationwide rank-by-score regardless of geography). All applicants must clear a single ability threshold (the 205 qualifying score) — genuine, meaningful selection by ability. But the school also has a defined catchment (12 Birmingham wards plus 3 Sandwell wards), and applicants meeting a separate, higher 224 priority score who live within that catchment are admitted ahead of applicants who cleared only the ordinary qualifying score, even if those applicants scored higher than 224 but live outside catchment. Geography can outrank raw score for the top slice of places — the opposite of how a genuinely superselective school operates. The main 205-plus qualifying category itself has no catchment restriction, so most places are likely filled from that open pool.
Catchment & priority criteria
Defined for priority purposes only (not a blanket eligibility requirement): 12 Birmingham wards (Allens Cross, Bartley Green, Bournville & Cotteridge, Frankley Great Park, Harborne, King's Norton North, King's Norton South, Longbridge & West Heath, Northfield, Quinton, Rubery & Rednal, Weoley & Selly Oak) plus 3 Sandwell wards (Abbey, Bristnall, Old Warley).
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children achieving the qualifying score, ranked by test score then distance
- Pupil Premium children achieving the qualifying score and living in catchment, ranked by distance
- If under 25% of places are filled by the above, Pupil Premium children achieving the qualifying score outside catchment, up to 25% of places, ranked by score then sibling then distance
- Applicants achieving the priority score (224) and living in catchment — sibling priority first, then ranked by distance
- All other applicants achieving the qualifying score (205), ranked by test score, then sibling, then distance — no catchment restriction
Results
| Year | Attainment 8 | GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths | Progress 8 | A*–A | A*–B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 77.1 | 98.3% | +0.68 ('Well above average', confidence interval +0.46 to +0.89, Birmingham LA average +0.06) — this cohort predates the COVID-era gap. A secondary source separately cited +0.60 for this same year, likely a stale or provisional figure — DfE's confirmed +0.68 is treated as authoritative. | — | — |
| A-level: average grade A- (46.21 points per entry). DfE's current service doesn't publish an A*-A/A*-B percentage breakdown for this school. | |||||
| 2025 | 75.9 (DfE's confirmed final figure; the school's own self-reported results-day figures give a slightly higher 76-76.8, likely a provisional-vs-final methodology difference) | 96.7% | Not calculated — confirmed directly by DfE as the nationwide COVID-era gap for this cohort | 52% (school's own self-reported figure, not DfE-confirmed) | 81% (school's own self-reported figure, not DfE-confirmed) |
| A-level (193 students): average grade B+ (43.4 points per entry, Birmingham LA average C+/34.88, England average B-/35.0), value-added progress banded 'Well above average' (exact decimal not extractable from DfE's chart-only rendering), retention 98.5%. The school's own self-reported figures separately claim 52% A*-A and 81% A*-B — not independently confirmed against DfE, which doesn't publish this exact breakdown. | |||||
Ofsted
- Rating
- Good overall (this was a full graded inspection under the pre-September 2024 framework). Sub-judgements: behaviour and attitudes and sixth-form provision both Outstanding; quality of education, personal development, and leadership and management all Good.
- Date
- 28-29 November 2023
- 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/137046
- 2. GIAS — King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham (admissions-authority MAT) — https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Groups/Group/Details/16826
- 3. School's own Admissions page — https://www.kefw.org/the-school/admissions/
- 4. School's own History page — https://www.kefw.org/the-school/history-of-king-edwards-vi-five-ways-school/
- 5. School's own Exam Results page — https://www.kefw.org/academic/exam-results/
- 6. King Edward VI Foundation — The Test — https://kingedwardvifoundation.co.uk/the-test/
- 7. Ofsted report, inspected 28-29 November 2023 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50237708
- 8. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/137046/king-edward-vi-five-ways-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024
Last updated 2026-09-01. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.