King Edward VI Handsworth School: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
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.
Demand has been fairly steady: 197 first choices in 2021, against 207 in 2026.
19% of applications came from families living in another council area.
Across Birmingham, 76% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Birmingham lodged 1099 appeals against secondary school offers; 813 reached a hearing and 88 succeeded (10.8% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 192 | 207 | 1145 | 1.1 | 115 |
| 2025 | 192 | 163 | 1069 | 0.8 | 84 |
| 2024 | 191 | 238 | 1126 | 1.2 | 126 |
| 2023 | 191 | 200 | 1062 | 1.0 | 97 |
| 2022 | 189 | 178 | 1019 | 0.9 | 84 |
| 2021 | 193 | 197 | 910 | 1.0 | 76 |
| 2020 | 189 | 208 | 995 | 1.1 | 74 |
| 2019 | 141 | 231 | 1153 | 1.6 | 161 |
| 2018 | 156 | 263 | 1065 | 1.7 | 174 |
| 2017 | 161 | 234 | 958 | 1.5 | 140 |
| 2016 | 159 | 306 | 1043 | 1.9 | 204 |
| 2015 | 158 | 282 | 928 | 1.8 | 183 |
| 2014 | 159 | 422 | 1096 | 2.7 | 308 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.