King Edward VI Handsworth School, Birmingham

In 2026, pupils at King Edward VI Handsworth School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 76.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.5 in Birmingham and 47 across England.

100% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Birmingham and 47% in England.

That is up from 74.2 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.8: 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 73.1, against 76.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 3.7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 20 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

King Edward VI Handsworth 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, 207 families put King Edward VI Handsworth School as their first choice and 1145 named it as one of their preferences, for 192 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 115 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

King Edward VI Handsworth 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 Handsworth 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 Handsworth School are King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys (0.4 miles, Good, selective, Attainment 8 71.3); Nishkam High School (0.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 52); King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy (0.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 46.4); and Windsor Olympus Academy (0.8 miles).

King Edward VI Handsworth School's 2026 results were higher than all 3 of them.

King Edward VI Handsworth 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.

125 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about King Edward VI Handsworth School (as of September 2025): 86% would recommend the school, 90% say their child is happy there and 59% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (59%).

Of the 158 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 98% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 3% to a further education college and 1% to an apprenticeship.

Of the 191 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 72% went on to university or other higher education, 3% to apprenticeships and 7% into work. 37% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

29% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Asian (71%), Black (12%) and Mixed (6%).

In 2026, 115 pupils (8.4%) received SEN support and 2 (0.1%) 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 tram or metro stop is Soho Benson Road (West Midlands Metro), about 790 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).

14 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is King Edward School (adjacent), 30 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood King Edward VI Handsworth 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 839 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, criminal damage and arson and vehicle crime. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Birmingham (435), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, King Edward VI Handsworth School issued 6 suspensions, 0.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to King Edward VI Handsworth School are Nishkam Primary School Birmingham (0.1 miles); St Michael's CofE Primary Academy, Handsworth (0.1 miles); Welford Primary School (0.2 miles); and Oasis Academy Benson (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.