How to prepare for the King Edward VI Five Ways 11+

The exam at a glance

King Edward VI Five Ways School is part of the West Midlands Grammar Schools admissions process. For children applying for Year 7 entry in September 2028, the school’s published admissions information directs families to the West Midlands Grammar Schools timetable and registration route.

The entrance test is a shared consortium paper. ElevenReady’s verified school data confirms that parents should prepare across Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Consortium schools sometimes vary the exact mix or weighting used within a shared testing process, so it is sensible to check the school and consortium information again when the 2028 registration window opens.

The school’s admissions information for the current cycle shows the test taking place in September, with candidate information sent shortly beforehand and results released in October. That gives families a clear planning shape even when a future year’s timetable has not yet been published.

In practical terms, most children should expect the day to involve:

arrival and registration at the named test venue
a brief settling-in period and instructions from invigilators
the consortium entrance test paper or papers
short breaks or pauses between sections if the test format requires them
a collection process at the end

The school admissions page does not clearly confirm the delivery method for 2028 entry on the materials reviewed, so parents should check the latest school and consortium guidance when booking opens.

Registration and key dates

For this school, families register through the West Midlands Grammar Schools process rather than by making a direct application to the school alone. The King Edward VI Five Ways admissions page links parents to the wider grammar schools admissions timetable and registration information.

For the most recently published cycle visible on the school’s admissions page, the timetable for 2027 entry was:

registration opened on 5 May 2026
deadline for reasonable adjustments requests was 12 June 2026 at 4pm
registration deadline was 26 June 2026 at 4pm
test information was sent in early September 2026
entrance test date was 12 September 2026
results were released on 16 October 2026
local authority preference deadline was 31 October 2026
National Offer Day was 1 March 2027

For 2028 entry, use those dates as a guide only until the new timetable is published. In other words, registration usually opens in May, closes by late June, the test is typically in September, and results are usually released in October.

When registration opens, parents should expect to complete the consortium’s online registration form. If your child may need access arrangements or reasonable adjustments, do not leave this late: the published timetable shows that the deadline for those requests can fall earlier than the main registration deadline.

After registering for the test, families must also complete their local authority secondary school preference form. Sitting the test alone is not enough; if you want to be considered for a place, the school must also be named on the Common Application Form by the local authority deadline.

If you want a simple way to keep track of new dates when they are published, ElevenReady’s page for this school is here: Free email alerts for this school's key dates.

Who can apply: catchment and admissions

King Edward VI Five Ways School is a selective grammar school with admissions organised through the school’s published policy and the West Midlands Grammar Schools testing process. The school’s admissions page states that it admits pupils at two main entry points, Year 7 and Year 12, and may also offer in-year admissions for Years 7 to 10 when places become available.

The school uses a catchment priority model. The admissions page links to an Admissions Catchment Map 2026, so families should check the map carefully against their home address rather than relying on assumptions. For selective schools, small address details can matter.

The same admissions page states that for entry in September 2025 the qualifying score was 205 and the priority score was 224. These are historical figures, not promises for future years. They can move from one cohort to another, so they should be treated only as a guide to the level of competition.

The school also says that children eligible for Pupil Premium can access free Atom Home familiarisation support. That is worth exploring early if it applies to your family, as familiarisation can help children approach the test format with more confidence.

Because admissions rules can be updated, parents should check three things when the 2028 policy is published:

the latest catchment map
the oversubscription order and any priority groups
whether the school has published updated historical score information

If you want a single school-specific overview page to revisit as updates appear, see The King Edward VI Five Ways School 11+ guide (format, catchment, dates).

A month-by-month preparation plan

For a child sitting the test in September of Year 6, steady preparation through Year 5 is usually more helpful than intense cramming at the end. A good rule is to build skills first, then timing, then exam stamina.

September to December of Year 5

Focus on routine rather than pressure. Around 1 to 2 hours a week is enough for most children at this stage.

Read widely: fiction, non-fiction, newspapers for children and short classic extracts.
Strengthen core maths: number facts, place value, fractions, percentages, ratio, multi-step word problems.
Introduce verbal and non-verbal reasoning gently so the question styles do not feel strange later.
Keep a vocabulary notebook and talk about unfamiliar words in context.

January to March of Year 5

Increase to about 2 to 3 hours a week, split over short sessions.

Work topic by topic, not paper by paper.
In English, practise comprehension using short timed extracts only occasionally.
In maths, begin mixing topics so your child has to choose a method independently.
For reasoning, learn the common patterns and keep accuracy high before chasing speed.

April to May of Year 5

This is a sensible point to become more exam-specific. Aim for 3 hours a week.

Start short timed sections rather than full papers.
Notice which subjects drain confidence fastest and give those extra practice.
Build answer-sheet discipline if the consortium requires quick recording of answers.
Keep one day each week completely free of 11+ work.

June to early July of Year 5

Move to 3 to 4 hours a week, still with plenty of breaks.

Begin full or near-full papers under realistic conditions.
Review every mistake carefully: was it knowledge, reading accuracy, timing or nerves?
Practise switching between subjects calmly.
If registration is open, complete it in good time and note any deadlines for access arrangements.

Summer holidays before Year 6

Keep the work regular but not overwhelming. Around 3 to 4 hours a week is realistic for many children.

Do one or two timed papers each week at most, with proper review afterwards.
Revise weak areas in short bursts.
Keep reading daily.
Protect sleep, exercise and family time so your child arrives in September fresh.

Late August to test week

Taper rather than intensify.

Use short confidence-building refreshers.
Do not introduce lots of new material.
Practise calm starts: read instructions, mark key information, move on from sticky questions.
In the final two or three days, prioritise rest and routine.

Subject by subject: what to practise

Maths

Prepare for strong Key Stage 2 arithmetic and problem solving. Children should be confident with the four operations, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, averages, area, perimeter, basic algebraic thinking and multi-step word problems. The most useful practice is mixed-topic work, because selective maths questions often test whether a child can identify the right method quickly.

Revise methods until they are secure and accurate.
Practise mental maths daily.
Use timed mini-sections to improve pace without losing marks through rushing.
Teach your child to underline key facts in word problems.

English

For consortium-style English preparation, focus on comprehension, inference, vocabulary and precise reading. Some schools also expect children to be comfortable with spelling, punctuation and grammar conventions within a broader English paper. Because the exact mix should be confirmed with the consortium’s published format, the safest preparation is broad and skills-based.

Read texts from different genres and periods.
Discuss why a writer chose particular words or phrases.
Build vocabulary steadily rather than memorising random word lists.
Practise retrieving evidence from a passage before answering.

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning rewards familiarity with recurring question types. Children often improve most when they learn the underlying patterns and the vocabulary needed to spot them quickly. Strong spelling and word knowledge help here as much as formal reasoning drills.

Practise codes, sequences, relationships, letter patterns and word-based logic.
Learn to identify the type of question before solving it.
Keep a notebook of difficult words, prefixes and suffixes.
Use short timed sets once accuracy is established.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

Non-Verbal Reasoning usually involves visual patterns, rotations, reflections, shape sequences, similarities and spatial logic. Children often find this easier once they know the standard transformations to look for.

Teach common pattern rules explicitly.
Practise spotting changes in shape, position, shading and orientation.
Encourage your child to compare answer options methodically rather than guessing from first impressions.
Use regular short practice to improve speed and visual scanning.

Across all four subjects, the best preparation is review. A paper completed and analysed properly is worth more than several rushed papers with no follow-up.

Practice papers and mock exams

Practice papers are most useful when they are used sparingly and reviewed properly. A simple pattern works well:

start untimed, so your child learns the question types
move to short timed sections
use full papers only once the basics are secure
review every error by category
revisit weak areas before doing another paper

Try not to turn every weekend into a mock exam. For many children, one properly reviewed timed paper per week in the final run-up is enough. Too many papers can make scores wobble through fatigue rather than showing true progress.

If your child is anxious, make the first few timed papers feel ordinary: same pencil case, same table, short snack break afterwards, then a calm review. Familiarity lowers nerves.

Use school-specific materials where possible. ElevenReady’s free resources for this school are:

If you book a mock exam elsewhere, treat it as practice, not prophecy. The main value is learning how your child manages timing, instructions, pressure and recovery after one difficult section.

On the day

Keep the morning simple and predictable. A child who feels calm and well-rested will usually perform more consistently than one who has done extra last-minute drilling.

Lay out clothes, stationery and travel plans the night before.
Allow plenty of time so there is no sense of rushing.
Choose a familiar breakfast and keep hydration sensible.
Bring any documents or items requested in the test instructions.
Avoid discussing scores, cut-offs or school pressure on the journey.

Useful reminders for children are brief:

listen carefully to instructions
read the question fully
do the easy marks first
if stuck, move on and come back if there is time
one hard question does not spoil a paper

After the test, resist the temptation to conduct a full post-mortem in the car. Most children benefit from food, rest and a complete change of subject.

After the exam: results, allocation and appeals

Once the test has been marked, results are released before families submit or finalise their school preferences. On the timetable published on the King Edward VI Five Ways admissions page for the current cycle, results were released in mid-October, ahead of the 31 October local authority preference deadline.

That order matters. Families can see the test outcome before confirming their Common Application Form choices, but they still need to list the school on the form if they want to be considered for a place.

After preferences are submitted, places are allocated on National Offer Day through the local authority process. For the currently published cycle on the school page, that was 1 March 2027.

If your child does not receive an offer, the next steps usually include:

joining any waiting list for which they are eligible
checking the school’s published admissions policy carefully
considering whether there are grounds for an appeal

Appeals are not a re-sit of the test. They usually focus on whether the admissions rules were applied correctly and, where relevant, whether there are exceptional reasons why a place should be offered. The school and local authority admissions information should set out the formal process for the relevant year.

What has changed recently

The school’s admissions information for the latest cycle reviewed shows an updated timetable for 2027 entry, including registration opening on 5 May 2026, a June registration deadline, a September test date and October results. The school page also states the qualifying and priority scores used for September 2025 entry and links families to the Admissions Catchment Map 2026.

Beyond those published updates, we did not find any separately announced recent change on the reviewed sources to the school’s exam board away from the West Midlands Grammar Schools consortium route. Parents should still check the school and consortium pages when the 2028 arrangements are published, in case the exact test format or delivery details are updated for that cohort.

Frequently asked questions

When should we start preparing for King Edward VI Five Ways School 11+?

For most children, steady preparation from the start of Year 5 is enough. Begin with core skills and reading, then add timed practice later in Year 5.

Is King Edward VI Five Ways in the West Midlands Grammar Schools test?

Yes. The school’s admissions page directs families to the West Midlands Grammar Schools admissions process and timetable.

What subjects should my child prepare for?

Prepare for Maths, English, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning. The shared consortium format can vary, so check the latest published format when registration opens.

Does the school have a catchment area?

Yes. The admissions page links to an Admissions Catchment Map, so it is important to check your address against the current published map.

What were the recent qualifying and priority scores?

The school states that for September 2025 entry the qualifying score was 205 and the priority score was 224. These figures can change, so they should not be treated as guaranteed for future years.

Do we need to name the school on the local authority form as well as register for the test?

Yes. Registering for the test is separate from submitting your school preferences, so you must also include the school on your local authority application if you want to be considered.

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Sources

King Edward VI Five Ways School admissions: School website and admissions route; school admits at Year 7 and Year 12 and may offer in-year admissions for Years 7 to 10; admissions page links to Admissions Catchment Map 2026; qualifying score for September 2025 was 205; priority score for September 2025 was 224; Pupil Premium children can acce
West Midlands Grammar Schools: Consortium registration route and timetable source referenced by the school; confirms that participating schools use a shared grammar schools admissions process.
King Edward VI Five Ways School: School identity and official website for King Edward VI Five Ways School.

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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.