Wolverhampton, West Midlands · Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton Girls' High School

No catchment, and places are allocated in strict order of merit by test score — the clearest superselective structure found in this West Midlands batch, confirmed directly from the school's own policy.

Opened in 1911 and the sole state grammar school in the City of Wolverhampton — 'Wolverhampton Grammar School' also exists locally but is an unrelated, independent fee-paying school, an easy mix-up worth flagging to families. Its own admissions policy is unambiguous: no catchment area, and remaining places after two small carve-outs are allocated in strict rank order of test score, with distance used only as a tie-break at the margin. Its qualifying score isn't a stable historical benchmark — it's recalculated every October to exactly fill the school's 180 places, so the figure moves from year to year rather than representing a fixed bar families can plan against.

Key facts

Gender: girls
Age range: 11-18
Region: West Midlands
Local authority: Wolverhampton
Established: 1911
DfE URN: 140798
Website: https://www.wghs.org.uk

Admissions

Admissions authority: The school sets its own test and criteria
Entrance test board: GL Assessment, per the school's own admissions page, which frames this as a change from a previous provider aligning the school with other selective Midlands schools.
Test format: One entrance test sat across two papers, covering English, mathematics and non-verbal reasoning. No official school document specifies exact subject-by-subject weightings, despite some tutoring sites claiming a specific 50/25/25 split.
Qualifying / pass mark: 208 (general) and 203 (automatic Pupil Premium offer threshold) for September 2026 entry. Not a fixed historical benchmark — the school's own admissions policy confirms the qualifying score is reset every October after each year's cohort sits the test, calibrated to fill the 180 available places. Prior cycles: around 206 general (2023), 202 Pupil Premium threshold (2024).partly verified
208/203 for 2026 entry is confirmed on the school's own site, but moves every year to exactly fill the 180 places — shouldn't be presented as a stable historical benchmark.
Superselective?: Yes

Catchment & priority criteria

None. The school's own admissions policy states explicitly that families living within or beyond the City of Wolverhampton may all apply.

Looked-after and previously looked-after children meeting or exceeding the qualifying score — automatic offer
The first 25 Pupil Premium-eligible candidates, ranked by test score at or above a separately lower qualifying score — automatic offer; remaining Pupil Premium candidates return to the general pool
All remaining places offered in strict rank order of merit (test score) until 180 places are filled
Tie-break for the last places, in order: an unplaced looked-after child, an unplaced Pupil Premium candidate above the qualifying score, an unplaced Pupil Premium candidate below it, then straight-line distance, then multiple-birth siblings

Results

Year	Attainment 8	GCSE 5+ Eng & Maths	Progress 8	A*–A	A*–B
2024	74.2 (England average 45.9, Wolverhampton LA average 44.1)	97.2%	+0.54 ('Well above average', confidence interval +0.30 to +0.78) — this is the most recent cohort with a calculated Progress 8 figure; the nationwide COVID-era gap begins with the following cohort	—	—
A-level (161 students): average grade B+ (42.66 points per entry, England average C+/34.38, Wolverhampton LA average C/30.51), retention 94.7%. DfE's current service doesn't publish an A-A/A-B percentage breakdown for this school.
2025	75.4 (England average 46.1, Wolverhampton LA average 44.5)	97.2%	Not calculated — confirmed directly by DfE as the nationwide COVID-era gap for this cohort	verify with school	verify with school
A-level (155 students): average grade B+ (43.02 points per entry, England average B-/35, Wolverhampton LA average C/31.49), retention 100.0%. DfE states it cannot yet publish an A-level value-added trend for this school, citing fewer than three years of post-COVID progress data.

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 — no inspection has occurred since, so this rating is now approaching three years old.
Date: 28 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/140798
2. School's own Year 7 2026 Admissions page — https://www.wghs.org.uk/year72026admissions
3. School's own September 2024 Admissions page (test format/provider) — https://www.wghs.org.uk/admissionsseptember2024
4. Wolverhampton City Council — secondary schools list — https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/education-and-schools/schools-list/secondary-schools
5. Ofsted report, inspected 28 November 2023 — https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50237985
6. DfE Compare School Performance — results over time — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/140798/wolverhampton-girls--high-school/secondary/results-over-time
7. DfE Compare School Performance — Progress 8, 2023 and 2024 — https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/140798/wolverhampton-girls--high-school/secondary/progress-measures-for-2023-and-2024

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