King Edward VI Five Ways School, Birmingham

Coming up: an open evening on Wednesday 4 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at King Edward VI Five Ways School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 79.3, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.5 in Birmingham and 47 across England.

98% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Birmingham and 47% in England.

That is up from 75.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.68: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 70.6, against 81.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Biology and Physics.

King Edward VI Five Ways School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 387 families put King Edward VI Five Ways School as their first choice and 1380 named it as one of their preferences, for 180 places offered. That is 2.1 first choices for every place. 235 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

King Edward VI Five Ways School admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, King Edward VI Five Ways School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Birmingham's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Birmingham has 8 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to King Edward VI Five Ways School are Bartley Green School (0.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 37.1); E-ACT Shenley Academy (1 mile, Inadequate, Attainment 8 32.9); Hillcrest School and Sixth Form Centre (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.6); and Lift Four Dwellings Secondary (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39).

King Edward VI Five Ways School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

King Edward VI Five Ways School is one of 12 schools run by King Edward Vi Academy Trust Birmingham, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 64.1 in 2024/25.

Of the 179 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 98% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 6% to a further education college.

Of the 198 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 72% went on to university or other higher education, 2% to apprenticeships and 11% into work. 63% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

16.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 27.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Asian (30%), White British (20%) and Mixed (17%).

In 2026, 77 pupils (5.8%) received SEN support and 8 (0.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Northfield Rail Station, about 2.2 miles away in a straight line.

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Balmoral Road (opposite), 160 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood King Edward VI Five Ways School stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 172 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and vehicle crime. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Birmingham (435).

In 2024/25, King Edward VI Five Ways School issued 26 suspensions, 2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to King Edward VI Five Ways School are St Michael's Church of England Primary School (under 0.1 miles), St Peter's Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles), Kitwell Primary School (0.4 miles) and Woodgate Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.