Bishop Vesey's Grammar School
Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield is a boys’ grammar school with a mixed sixth form and 192 Year 7 places. Boys sit the test shared by Birmingham’s eight grammar schools and need 205. Its 2027 policy is new: it ranks boys by score within distance zones, with Zone 1 a 12-mile radius of the school.
At a glance
- Where
- Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands (Birmingham)
- Takes
- Boys, mixed sixth form
- Year 7 places
- 192
- Applicants
- 1,059 for 2026 entry, about 5.5 for each place. This counts the times the school was named on local authority application forms, not the number who sat the test.
Applicants figures aren’t counted the same way at every school, so they don’t compare from one school to another.
Admissions
The test
The Grammar Schools in Birmingham entrance test, set by GL Assessment and shared by the 8 Birmingham grammar schools: two multiple-choice papers of about 60 minutes (English comprehension, verbal reasoning, maths, non-verbal reasoning), weighted 50% English and verbal reasoning, 25% non-verbal reasoning and 25% maths, with scores standardised for age.
What qualifies
Boys must reach the qualifying score of 205 (2027 entry) and are then ranked by score within each category. For 2026 entry the last pupil premium offer in March was 210 (205 by September) and the last other offer 229 (225 by September), under the 2026 policy, which had no zones.
Who gets priority
In order: looked after and previously looked after boys in Zone 1 (a 12-mile radius of the school) by score; pupil premium boys in Zone 1 by score, limited to 38 places; other boys in Zone 1 by score; then boys in Zone 2 (12 to 20 miles) by score; then Zone 3 (beyond 20 miles). A boy with an EHCP naming the school, living in Zone 1 and reaching 205 is admitted first; equal scores are split by straight-line distance, and siblings get no priority.
Registering
Registration ran from 5 May to 4pm on 26 June 2026 on the West Midlands Grammar Schools website (westmidlandsgrammarschools.co.uk), with the pupil premium box ticked when registering. The test was on Saturday 12 September 2026 (AM and PM sessions); scores came by 16 October 2026 and the local authority form was due by 31 October 2026.
Open events
A ticketed Year 4 and 5 open event on Thursday 11 June 2026 (sessions from 4pm to 6.45pm); the Sixth Form Open Evening is on Thursday 26 November 2026.
Good to know
Boys 11 to 16 with a co-educational sixth form (at least 80 external places; 52 points across the best 8 GCSEs and grade 5 in English Language and maths). The 2027 policy (version 2, September 2026) is new: priority now goes to Zone 1, proof of a Zone 1 address was due by 31 October 2026 and pupil premium evidence is due by the end of November 2026. Its pupil premium section gives the test form deadline as 4pm on 30 June 2026, while the school's admissions page and the King Edward VI Foundation give 4pm on 26 June 2026. Offers come from the local authority on 1 March 2027; appeals are run by Birmingham's School Admissions and Pupil Placements Service. The applicants figure is the number of times the school was named on local authority forms for 2026 entry (306 as first preference), from DfE school-level data, not the number who sat the test.
Not confirmed yet
- Number of boys who sat the September 2026 test is not published by the school or the King Edward VI Foundation.
- Whether 26 June or 30 June 2026 was the binding registration deadline (the policy and the website differ).
Check these on the official page: bvgs.co.uk/app/uploads/2026/09/Admissions-Policy-September-2027-V2.pdf
The 11+ in Birmingham
The papers, registration, test dates, results and how qualifying works for every school there.
With Exam Prep, Thena sets practice papers in your child’s test’s style and goes over every mistake with them on her board: £49 a month with the Solo plan.
More on the 11+
Sources
Every fact here comes from the official pages below. Admissions rules change each year, so check them there before you rely on them.
- bvgs.co.uk
- bvgs.co.uk/admissions/year-7-admissions
- bvgs.co.uk/app/uploads/2026/09/Admissions-Policy-September-2027-V2.pdf
- bvgs.co.uk/app/uploads/2025/10/Admissions-Policy-2026.pdf
- bvgs.co.uk/admissions/open-events
- bvgs.co.uk/admissions/sixth-form-admissions
- kingedwardvifoundation.co.uk/the-test
- kingedwardvifoundation.co.uk/admissions-timetable
- kingedwardvifoundation.co.uk/results-and-offers
- kingedwardvifoundation.co.uk/pupil-premium
- westmidlandsgrammarschools.co.uk
- explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/primary-and-secondary-school-applications-and-offers
- content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/0bf4f9cf-721d-44e3-8473-266c87e17e00/files?fromPage=ReleaseDownloads
Checked 2 November 2026.
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