King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus Entrance Exam Information 2024
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Table of Contents
Introduction
King Edward’s School (KES) is an independent day school for boys in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by King Edward VI in 1552, the school shares the site with King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS).
The Year 7 curriculum covers art, biology, chemistry, classics, design & technology, drama, economics & business management, English, geography, history, ICT, mathematics, MFL, music, religious studies & philosophy, pe & games and physics.
KES offers around 50 clubs and societies, ranging from academic to creative and sporting pursuits. Furthermore, it organises expeditions to far-off destinations like Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Guyana, and Madagascar.
Likely the most diverse independent school in the country, KES offers the IB diploma with the aim of developing pupils’ genuine intercultural understanding, intellectual curiosity and social versatility. The academically ambitious curriculum, coupled with an imaginative and wide-ranging co-curricular programme, complements the culture of open-mindedness and kindness, which helps boys mature into adults who are willing and ready to contribute to the world beyond school.
King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus (11+) Exam Information 2024
Address: Edgbaston Park Road Birmingham B15 2UA
County: West Midlands
Admissions info: admissions@kes.org.uk or 0121 415 6056
School type: Independent day school for boys
Open day: March, June, September
11+ Exam date: October of Year 6
11+ Exam type / Board: School’s own
Open Events for King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus (11+) Entry
The school holds Open Days each term, offering families the opportunity to explore the campus via a pupil-led tour; meet staff and current parents, and hear from the Head. There is no need to book a place for these events.
Individual visits can also be arranged. For further information, please contact the Admissions Team. You can view the school’s exact location on the map below:
King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus (11+) Admissions
Around 130 places are available in Year 7. To apply for one, you should complete an application form and pay the non-refundable registration fee of £25. KES will also request a recent school report from your child’s current Head.
The entrance examination will be held in October. Following the examination, if your son is an Assisted Places and Scholarships applicant or he is on the borderline, he will be invited to attend an interview (in November).
The school sends out written offers of places. To accept a place, you will be expected to pay a non-refundable deposit of £400, refunded at the end of your child’s career at KES.
King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus (11+) Scholarships and Bursaries
At 11+, the school offers Academic and Music Scholarships. These are awarded on merit and range in value from 5%-50% of the annual school fees. Academic scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance in the entrance exam and the interview. No separate application is required.
The school’s Assisted Places Scheme provides support with fees and ensures that the school is accessible to all able boys. Assisted Places are means-tested and the level of support provided depends on the total family income. For families who earn less than £20,000 annually, the school covers 100% of the fees.
To apply for financial support, you should indicate your interest in the application form for Year 7 by ticking the box that asks whether you wish to be considered for an Assisted Place. You will then be sent an Assisted Place application form which will request further details regarding your finances. The form must be returned to the school prior to the 11+ entrance exam.
Boys who are awarded a full Assisted Place may be entitled to free school meals, free travel, a uniform grant and payment for compulsory educational trips. For more details, please follow this link or contact the school directly.
King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus (11+) Exam Format
The King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11+ entrance examination consists of the following tests:
- English
- Mathematics
- Verbal Reasoning
The English paper examines both comprehension and writing skills, including inference, spelling, vocabulary and punctuation. Marks will be awarded for good use of imagination, creativity, form, purpose, organisation, cohesion and sentence structure.
The maths exam assesses your son’s problem-solving abilities and arithmetic skills. The paper will include questions on number, measurement, geometry, algebra and statistics.
The Verbal Reasoning paper is primarily designed to test and assess his logical thinking, use of English language and vocabulary.
Please see below for further details and recommendations on how to prepare for the King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11+ entrance examinations.
How to Prepare for the King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus (11+) Exam
One of the best ways to prepare for a competitive entrance exam is to use our practice tests. Getting to know the types of questions and the format of the actual exam will help boost your child’s confidence.
Aside from becoming familiarised with the exam format, our practice tests will ensure that your child responds to the questions in an efficient and effective manner. They also provide an excellent opportunity for your child to practise working under time pressure.
Our 11+ practice tests are thoroughly researched and up to date. They are designed to reflect the demands of a competitive entrance exam and are successfully used by hundreds of thousands of students every year. Our recommendations to help your child prepare for the King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 plus entrance examination can be found below.
King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11 Plus (11+) Exam Practice Papers
NOTE: The following English and Mathematics practice tests are in standard format, which means that students need to write in their own answers rather than choose from a list of multiple-choice options. This matches the 11+ Exam format used by the school.
English
We highly recommend the following packs to prepare successfully for the King Edward’s School 11+ English paper. They will help improve your son’s comprehension skills, such as inference, and writing skills, including spelling, vocabulary and punctuation:
Comprehension
11+ Complete Comprehension Guide
Writing
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended 11+ resources for the KES Birmingham English exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
11+ English Bundle - Save 30%
If you’d like to have your child’s writing assessed and marked, you may be interested in our Writing Marking Service. Please click here to learn more.
Mathematics
We highly recommend the use of the following packs to help develop your son’s arithmetic and problem-solving skills within the examination context of the King Edward’s School 11+ maths test:
Full Practice Tests
Skill Specific Practice
11+ Fractions, Decimals & Percentages
11+ Reflection, Rotation & Symmetry
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended 11+ resources for the KES Birmingham mathematics exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
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Verbal Reasoning
Practice Tests
To develop your son’s Verbal Reasoning abilities ahead of the King Edward’s School 11+ entrance examination, we suggest that you make use of the following packs that cover all of the key question types:
Skill Specific Practice
The following topic specific packs will help your son prepare for the various question types that could come up in the King Edward’s School 11+ Verbal Reasoning exam:
Masterclasses
11+ Verbal Reasoning Masterclass
✅ You can now purchase a bundle of all of our recommended 11+ resources for the KES Birmingham Verbal Reasoning exam at a large discount. Click the button below to learn more:
11+ Verbal Reasoning Bundle - Save 30%
Don’t forget to use the code eppdiscount at checkout to get 10% off orders over £70 and 20% off orders over £250 if you don’t buy a bundle.
Interviews
This guide covers all the key concepts your child needs to be aware of for the 11+ interview:
11+ Interviews – The Complete Guide
Our practice tests aim to show what sort of questions were included in King Edward’s School, Birmingham, 11+ past papers. The information provided about King Edward’s School, Birmingham, was believed to be correct at the time of publishing. However, please be aware of future changes. We advise you to contact the school directly if you are unsure of anything. School contact details are provided within the post.
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