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How to prepare for the King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys 11+

A practical parent guide to the King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys 11+ for 2028 entry: format, dates, catchment, prep and next steps.

Consortium paper Paper-based Last reviewed 4 October 2026

The exam at a glance

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is part of the King Edward VI grammar school admissions process in Birmingham. For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that children sit a shared consortium entrance paper set through the King Edward VI Foundation, and the test is paper based.

The school’s admissions information explains that Year 7 admission is organised centrally through the Foundation’s grammar schools admissions process rather than by the school alone. The broad test areas verified for this school are Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Because consortium papers can vary in how subjects are combined or weighted from year to year, parents should always check the Foundation’s current familiarisation information when registration opens.

In practical terms, families should expect an entrance test taken in September of Year 6, usually on a Saturday. On the day, children normally arrive, are checked in, receive instructions from invigilators, and complete the paper or papers under timed conditions with supervised transitions between sections. As this is a selective grammar school test, the best preparation is steady, well-paced practice across all four assessed areas rather than trying to second-guess one narrow paper style.

Because the school and Foundation use a shared process, parents should think of the exam as one part of a wider admissions sequence: registration for the test, sitting the test, then submitting the home Local Authority secondary preference form, and finally waiting for National Offer Day.

Registration and key dates

For this school, registration is handled through the King Edward VI grammar schools admissions process, not as a stand-alone application to the school. The school’s admissions page says that if your child is in Year 5 and wants to sit the entrance test for Year 7, you must register online. It also says registration is open between May and June, and that the entrance test takes place on a Saturday in September of Year 6.

For families aiming at September 2028 entry, the exact 2027 dates may not yet be published. Based on the school’s published admissions guidance, parents should expect the following typical pattern:

  • Registration usually opens in May.
  • Registration usually closes in June.
  • The test is usually on a Saturday in September of Year 6.
  • You must also complete your home Local Authority preference form.
  • Results and offers are issued by Local Authorities on 1 March, or the next working day.

The school does not, on the admissions page we reviewed, publish the exact 2027 opening date, closing date or test date for 2028 entry yet. Parents should therefore check the school’s admissions page and the Foundation registration page regularly from spring 2027 onwards.

When registration opens, have the basics ready: your child’s personal details, current school details, home address and any information requested as part of the online form. If your family may qualify under any priority category, read the policy carefully before submitting, so that you understand whether further evidence is needed and by when.

Useful next steps for parents:

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys is a boys’ grammar school in Birmingham with 150 Year 7 places. The school’s admissions page states that the current admissions map and admissions policy are available, and that proposed map and policy documents have also been published in recent years. That matters because this school uses a catchment-based priority system, so parents should always check the latest map and full policy for the exact rules applying to their child’s entry year.

The school’s admissions page also notes that children eligible for Pupil Premium can receive early access to Atom Home support. For some families, that can be a useful way to begin familiarisation earlier and more steadily.

What can parents say with confidence here? Your child can apply by registering for the consortium entrance test and then naming the school on your home Local Authority application if you want a place to be considered. But whether a place can ultimately be offered depends on the published admissions rules for that year, including score and oversubscription criteria.

What is not safe to assume? The school page we reviewed does not publish a simple public pass mark, a guaranteed qualifying score, or a fixed cut-off distance that parents can rely on in advance. Grammar school admissions are competitive and can vary by year, so it is best to avoid using unofficial forum numbers. Instead, read the latest school policy and map directly once the 2028 entry documents are available.

In short, families should check three things early:

  1. Eligibility to sit the test through the Foundation’s registration process.
  2. Whether your address falls within the relevant admissions area under the published map for your child’s year.
  3. How your home Local Authority application interacts with the test result, because sitting the test alone is not the same as applying for the school.

A month-by-month preparation plan

For most children, the most effective preparation is calm, regular and spread over time. For a September test in Year 6, many families begin gentle familiarisation in Year 5 and increase structure gradually. The plan below is realistic for a busy child; it does not assume daily tutoring or excessive homework.

WhenWhat to do
January to March in Year 5

Start lightly: around 1 to 2 hours a week in short sessions. Build core arithmetic, reading comprehension habits, vocabulary, pattern spotting and careful working. At this stage, accuracy matters more than speed.

April in Year 5

Increase to about 2 hours a week. Introduce each subject separately so your child learns the style of questions without pressure. Keep a notebook of mistakes and new vocabulary.

May to June in Year 5

Use the registration window as a useful milestone. Move to 2 to 3 hours a week. Begin short timed exercises, especially for reasoning and arithmetic fluency, but do not jump straight into full papers.

July in Year 5

Consolidate weak spots before the summer. One short mixed task per subject each week is enough. If your child is tiring, reduce volume and keep sessions purposeful.

August before Year 6

This is often the key month. Aim for 3 to 4 hours a week, split across several days. Start doing timed sections and then full papers once your child understands the methods. Review every paper carefully; the review is where most progress happens.

Early September in Year 6

Focus on confidence, timing and routine rather than learning lots of new content. Complete a small number of well-reviewed timed papers, keep sleep regular, and taper slightly in the final days.

A good rule is that if a child is becoming upset, rushing constantly or dreading every session, the plan is too heavy. It is better to do fewer tasks well than many tasks badly. Consistency beats cramming.

When should you start timed papers? Usually once your child has met the main question types in each subject and can explain basic methods aloud. For many children, that means later in Year 5 or the summer before Year 6 rather than right at the beginning.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

For grammar school consortium tests, maths preparation should centre on secure Key Stage 2 number skills and efficient problem solving. Practise the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio basics, perimeter, area, data interpretation and multi-step word problems. Your child should get used to choosing the right method quickly, estimating to sense-check answers and laying out working neatly enough to avoid careless slips.

A good routine is one fluency task, one reasoning task and one word-problem set each week. If timing becomes an issue, work on mental arithmetic and quick recognition of common problem structures.

English

English practice should cover both reading and writing-related skills. For comprehension, focus on retrieving information, inferring meaning, explaining word choice, following the thread of a passage and using evidence from the text. Vocabulary matters a great deal, so regular reading and discussion are valuable.

For writing skills, practise spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence control and clear expression. Even where the exact format varies, children benefit from being able to read carefully, understand tone and meaning, and write accurate Standard English under time pressure.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning typically rewards strong vocabulary, concentration and familiarity with recurring question types. Children should practise codes, sequences, letter patterns, relationships between words, classification, hidden words and quick deduction tasks. The exact mix can vary, which is why broad coverage is sensible.

The best approach is to learn one question type at a time, then mix types together. Keep a vocabulary list, revisit errors and encourage your child to spot the instruction words that tell them exactly what to do.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning usually focuses on shapes, patterns, rotation, reflection, symmetry, similarity, odd-one-out tasks and visual sequences. This is often less familiar at school, so children benefit from explicit teaching of the common transformations before they tackle timed practice.

Use short, regular sessions. Ask your child to say what has changed from one figure to the next: for example rotation, shading, number, position or line direction. That habit of naming the rule helps accuracy and speed.

Because ElevenReady’s verified school data says the current shared paper usually covers all four subjects, parents should prepare all four rather than dropping one area too early. Once the consortium publishes the exact current format for your child’s year, you can fine-tune the balance.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used as a learning tool, not just a score generator. Start with untimed or lightly timed sections so your child can understand the method. Move to timed work later, and only use full papers once the basics are secure.

A simple pattern works well:

  1. Choose one paper or section.
  2. Set clear conditions: quiet room, visible clock, no interruptions.
  3. Mark it promptly.
  4. Spend at least as long reviewing as completing the paper.
  5. Record mistakes by type so the next week’s work is targeted.

Do not use every paper at once. Keep some back for the final few weeks so your child still has fresh material later in the summer.

Useful ElevenReady resources for this school:

If you use a mock exam, treat it as practice in routine as much as content: listening to instructions, managing nerves, pacing each section and recovering after one difficult question. One or two well-chosen mocks are usually enough for most children.

On the day

Keep the morning simple. Aim for a normal breakfast, plenty of time to travel, and a calm tone at home. Last-minute cramming rarely helps; confidence comes more from routine than from one final worksheet.

Pack what the instructions ask for and avoid assumptions. Read the test-day email or letter carefully when it arrives. The night before, lay out clothes, check the route and agree what time you will leave.

Helpful reminders for children are straightforward:

  • Listen carefully to the invigilator before each section.
  • If a question feels hard, keep moving and come back if allowed.
  • Check that answers are recorded in the right place.
  • Work steadily rather than racing the first few questions.
  • If nerves appear, pause for one slow breath and restart.

After the exam, try not to conduct a detailed post-mortem in the car home. Most children feel better if the day is treated as finished once they walk out.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

After the test, families still need to follow the full school admissions process. The school’s admissions information makes clear that a home Local Authority preference form must be completed. Sitting the entrance test does not replace naming the school on your secondary application.

The school states that results will be sent out by Local Authorities on 1 March each year, or the next working day. In practice, this is the national school offer timeline used for secondary transfer.

If your child is not offered a place, the next steps depend on the information issued that year. Families are usually told whether they have the right to join a waiting list and how the appeal process works. Appeals are not a re-sit of the test; they are about whether the admission decision should be overturned under the published legal process. If you reach that stage, read the school’s and Local Authority’s appeal guidance carefully and keep to the deadlines given.

If your child is offered a place, follow the acceptance instructions promptly and keep an eye out for transition information from the school.

What has changed recently

The school’s admissions page currently points parents to the current admissions map and admissions policy for 2024 entry and also to proposed admissions map and admissions policy for 2025 entry. That indicates the school and Foundation have published admissions-area and policy material for consultation or update in recent years, so parents should make sure they read the version for their own child’s entry year rather than relying on older maps.

The admissions page also states that children eligible for Pupil Premium can receive early access to Atom Home support, which is a notable practical support point for some families.

We did not find an official announcement on the school page we reviewed stating a newly published change to the exam board for 2028 entry. ElevenReady’s verified school data for this guide is that 2028 entry uses a consortium-set paper via the King Edward VI Foundation. Parents should check the current admissions cycle pages when they open for any further updates to format or process.

Frequently asked questions

When should my child start preparing for Camp Hill Boys?

For a September test in Year 6, many children start gentle preparation in Year 5. A steady build-up from light skills work to timed practice over the summer is usually enough.

Is the King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys test CEM or GL?

For 2028 entry, ElevenReady’s verified information is that it is a consortium-set paper via the King Edward VI Foundation. Parents should check the current Foundation familiarisation materials for the exact published format.

What subjects should we prepare for?

Prepare Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Even if the exact paper structure changes, broad preparation across all four is the safest approach.

How many places are available in Year 7?

The school’s admissions information gives a Year 7 intake of 150 places.

Do we apply directly to the school?

No. The test registration is handled through the King Edward VI grammar schools admissions process, and you must also complete your home Local Authority secondary preference form.

Does the school publish a pass mark?

Not on the admissions material we reviewed. It is best not to rely on unofficial numbers; check the school’s current admissions page and policy for the latest official information.

When do results come out?

The school says results are sent out by Local Authorities on 1 March each year, or the next working day.

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Sources

Preparing for other schools in Birmingham

Written by ElevenReady from the school's published information and reviewed by a person before publishing. Last reviewed 4 October 2026. Exam arrangements change. Check the school's admissions page for the current year.