Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls 11+ guide

Applying to Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls for September 2028? This guide covers the West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test, the qualifying score, how Year 7 places are allocated and the key dates for September 2028 entry.

Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls 11+ at a glance

• School type: girls' grammar school
• Location: Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham
• Number of places in Year 7: 180 (2025-entry figure — Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls confirms each year's admission number in its determined arrangements, published the spring before entry.)
• Qualifying score: there's no fixed pass mark published in advance. When results come out, the letter shows the scores needed for each school over the previous three years. For 2027 entry, the King Edward VI Academy Trust set a minimum qualifying score of 205 for all the Birmingham grammar schools; the 2028-entry figure hasn't been published yet.
• 11+ test: West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test (two papers of about 45 minutes each, mostly multiple choice)

Source: Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls Year 7 Admissions page (2027-entry cycle, read 8 October 2026) and Admission Arrangements for September 2025. Last checked October 2026.

Key dates for September 2028 entry

Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls confirms its exact dates in the spring before each cycle. The windows below follow the 2027-entry timetable: registration ran from Tuesday 5 May 2026 to 4pm on Friday 26 June 2026, the test took place on Saturday 12 September 2026 and results were due by Friday 16 October 2026. We'll update this page as soon as the school publishes its 2028-entry dates.

How to apply to Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls

Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls is selective, so your child needs to sit the 11+ test to be considered for a place.

Register your daughter for the test on the West Midlands Grammar Schools website during the registration window.

Once you have your child's result, you apply by naming Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls on your common application form, which goes to your home local authority. For September 2028 entry the deadline is Sunday 31 October 2027. As it falls on a Sunday, you may find it easier to submit your form in the days before.

Reaching the qualifying score makes your child eligible, but it doesn't guarantee a place. If more qualifying children apply than there are places, the school uses its oversubscription criteria, set out further down this page.

What will my child be tested on?

The West Midlands Grammar Schools Entrance Test is shared by 19 grammar schools across Birmingham, Shropshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Warwickshire. Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls is one of the eight grammar schools in Birmingham in the partnership. Your daughter only needs to sit the test once to be considered for any of the partnership schools.

The test is provided by GL Assessment. Your daughter sits two papers of about 45 minutes each, with timed sections on verbal reasoning, non-verbal reasoning, maths and reading comprehension. Most questions are multiple choice, and answers go on a separate answer sheet. The partnership's own description gives about 50 to 60 minutes per paper, including instructions and example questions.

Marks are weighted 50% for English and verbal reasoning, 25% for maths and 25% for non-verbal reasoning. Scores are standardised for age, so younger children in the year group aren't at a disadvantage, and then added together.

For 2027 entry the test was held on a Saturday in September.

How are places allocated at Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls?

If more children reach the qualifying standard than there are Year 7 places, Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls offers places in the order below. This order comes from the school's admissions policy for September 2025. The school sets its 2028-entry policy separately, and we'll update this table if anything changes.

No more than 36 places go to Pupil Premium girls under criterion 2.

Does Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls have a catchment area?

In the September 2025 arrangements, Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls has no catchment or priority area: places go in order of test score within each criterion. Distance only matters if two girls have the same score. We'll check whether this has changed once the 2028-entry arrangements are published.

Where girls have the same score and only one place remains, the school's Year 7 page gives priority first to looked after and previously looked after girls, then to girls eligible for Pupil Premium, then to the girl who lives closest to the school. The September 2025 arrangements measure distance in a straight line from home to the school's main reception.

If you don't live close to the school, it's worth thinking about how your child will get there every day. How long will the journey take? What transport options are available? Will they be travelling independently or with support?

A longer or more complex journey can affect your child's daily routine, including how much time they have for homework, rest and after-school activities. It's a good idea to think about how manageable the school run will be and whether it will work for your family day to day.

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 daughter 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 daughter feel less overwhelmed and more in control. It ensures she builds skills in the right order, covers everything she needs, and avoids last-minute cramming.

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

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

Build smart exam technique

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

Atom's 11+ practice papers are built to match the format, timing and question styles of real 11+ exams. They're also unlimited — you can download the same paper again and again, and your daughter will get new questions each time. This helps her practise without repeating the same content.

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

Encourage regular reading

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

Encourage your daughter 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 her become more confident in understanding tone, purpose, and meaning across different texts.

Over time, regular reading will broaden her 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 daughter through 11+ preparation, what really matters is knowing she's moving in the right direction — not just how she scored on a single test.

Atom's progress tracking gives you a clear, simple picture of how your daughter is doing in each topic and the direction she's moving in. You can see where she's on track, where she 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.