King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys 11+ guide

Atom Learning is partnered with King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys. You can read more about our partnership here.

Are you thinking about applying to King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys? Find out everything you need to know about the entry process and how to prepare for the 11+ exam.

Key information for King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

• School type: boys' grammar school
• Location: Kings Heath, Birmingham
• Admissions contact: [email protected]
• Number of places in Year 7: 150
• 11+ exam: West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test
• Catchment area: yes

Important dates for 2027 entry

• Tuesday 5th May 2026: test registration opens
• Friday 26th June 2026: test registration closes (4pm)
• Saturday 12th September 2026: test day
• Friday 16th October 2026: parents receive test results
• Saturday 31st October 2026: deadline to apply for secondary school places
• Monday 1st March 2027: secondary school national offers day

How to apply to King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is selective. This means that your son will need to take the 11+ exam to be eligible for a place.

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is one of 19 grammar schools in the West Midlands that share the same entrance test. This means your son will only need to sit the test once, even if you are applying to multiple schools in the partnership.

You must register your son for the test. Registration opens on Tuesday 5th May 2026 and closes at 4pm on Friday 26th June 2026. You will be allocated a test venue and a session, either morning or afternoon, and should keep the whole of Saturday 12th September 2026 free. You'll receive confirmation of your son's allocated slot by the end of July.

Your son's results will be emailed to you on Friday 16th October 2026. If he meets the qualifying standard for King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, you can apply for a place by naming the school on your common application form. This must be submitted to your local authority by Saturday 31st October 2026.

Important note: passing the test doesn't guarantee that your son will be allocated a place at your preferred school. Grammar schools are often oversubscribed with children who meet the qualifying standard. After the 31st October deadline, schools use admissions criteria to allocate places.

We've outlined the process for King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys below.

What will my child be tested on?

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys uses the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test. The test is provided by GL Assessment and consists of two papers, each approximately one hour long. All questions are multiple-choice.

The papers are divided into individually timed sections covering four areas: English comprehension, verbal reasoning, maths, and non-verbal and spatial reasoning.

Your son's marks are weighted across the sections: 50% for English and verbal reasoning, 25% for maths, and 25% for non-verbal and spatial reasoning. These weighted scores are then age-standardised to ensure younger children aren't disadvantaged.

How are places allocated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys?

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys will set a qualifying score after the entrance test has taken place. Children who achieve the qualifying score are eligible to apply for a place.

If the number of children who have achieved the qualifying score exceeds the number of places available, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys applies oversubscription criteria. Places are prioritised in this order:

1. Looked after and previously looked after children who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by score then by distance from the school
2. Children who receive free school meals, achieve the qualifying score, and live in the catchment area, are ranked by distance from the school. If fewer than 30 places are filled by children in this category, places are offered to children who receive free school meals, achieve the qualifying score, and live outside the catchment area
3. Children who achieve the priority score and live in the catchment area, prioritised first by whether they have a sibling at the school, then ranked by distance
4. Other children who achieve the qualifying score, ranked by score, with sibling priority and then distance as tiebreakers

Does King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys have a catchment area?

Yes. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys has a catchment area. Children living within the catchment area who achieve the qualifying score are prioritised for places ahead of those living outside it.

The catchment area consists of home addresses in the following Birmingham electoral wards:

Acocks Green, Balsall Heath West, Billesley, Bordesley & Highgate, Bordesley Green, Bournbrook & Selly Park, Brandwood & Kings Heath, Druids Heath & Monyhull, Hall Green North, Hall Green South, Highters Heath, Moseley, Small Heath, South Yardley, Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East, Sparkhill, Stirchley, Tyseley & Hay Mills.

How can I help my child prepare for the test?

The West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test can feel like a big milestone, but preparation doesn't have to be overwhelming. Here's how you can help your child prepare for test day.

Stay on track with a clear plan

One of the hardest parts of 11+ preparation is knowing what to focus on, when, and how to make steady progress without it taking over family life.

A clear, structured plan helps your child feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures they build skills in the right order, cover everything they need, and avoid last-minute cramming.

Atom's exam plan makes this easier. Enter your child's target schools and exam dates, and we'll create a personalised weekly plan tailored to the topics they'll be tested on. It shows them what to work on and when, adapts as they improve, and helps them build progress in a calm, manageable way — little and often.

That means less guesswork for you, less stress for them, and a clearer path all the way to exam day.

Build smart exam technique

As your child's knowledge grows, practice tests can help them feel more comfortable with the real exam format.

Atom's 11+ practice papers are exact replicas of real 11+ exams. They're also unlimited — you can download the same paper again and again, and your child will get new questions each time. This helps them practise without repeating the same content.

We've made marking easy for you, too. Simply photograph your child's answer sheets and upload them to Atom. The papers are marked instantly, showing your child's standardised age score (SAS), where they're doing well, and what they should focus on next. You'll also learn how they compare to other children applying to the same school.

Encourage regular reading

Strong reading skills play a big role in 11+ preparation.

Encourage your child to read every day, even for just 10–15 minutes. The key is variety. Mix fiction and non-fiction, different genres, and a range of authors. This helps them become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will broaden their vocabulary, improve comprehension and inference, and build confidence in tackling unseen texts.

Looking for inspiration? Atom's recommended reading lists have suggestions spanning fiction and non-fiction for Years 3–6.

Celebrate progress, not just scores

When you're supporting your child through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing they're moving in the right direction — not just how they scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your child is doing in each topic and the direction they're moving in. You can see where they're on track, where they might need more practice, and spot progress as it happens.

That makes it easier to give meaningful encouragement, keep motivation steady, and focus on what matters most: consistent improvement, not just one-off results.