West Midlands — Standalone School Tests
These eight West Midlands grammars sit outside the Birmingham (KEF) consortium — each administers its own test with separate registration. Walsall's two Queen Mary's schools share a GL-based format; the Shropshire and Warwickshire-area schools each run their own arrangements.
Exam board
Varies by school (GL Assessment and school-commissioned papers)
Test duration
58 min
Papers
2
Year 7 places
1,104
Across consortium
Applicants per place
4.0×
Typical competition
Test format
Format details aren't published centrally for this consortium — check each school's individual admissions page.
Selection methods used
Subjects tested
Subject list isn't published — typically a mix of English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Competition (latest)
4,770 applicants chasing 1,104 places · 4.0× per place
Annual timeline
Confirm exact dates each year on the council pageRegistration opens
Varies by school — typically May–June of Year 5
Registration deadline
Varies by school — commonly late June–July
Test window
September of Year 6 (most schools)
Results release
October, before the 31 October CAF deadline
How to prepare
- Register with each school individually — there is no shared application for this group.
- Queen Mary's Grammar and Queen Mary's High (Walsall) use GL Assessment-style reasoning papers.
- Check each school's familiarisation materials — formats differ between GL multiple-choice and written papers.
- If applying to Birmingham grammars too, note the KEF consortium test is a SEPARATE registration.
- Catchment rules vary — several of these schools give priority to defined local areas.
Important to know
- Each school's test per our verified records:
- Queen Mary's Grammar School (Walsall) — GL Assessment: Verbal, Non-Verbal and Numerical Reasoning
- Queen Mary's High School (Walsall) — GL Assessment: Verbal, Numerical and Non-Verbal Reasoning
- King Edward VI School (Stratford) — English, Verbal/Non-Verbal Reasoning, Mathematics
- Haberdashers' Adams (Newport) — English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning
- Alcester Grammar, Newport Girls' High, Wolverhampton Girls' High, Stratford Girls' Grammar — check each school's current admissions page for this year's format
Official links
Sources used on this page
- Individual school admissions pages (verified per school in our records)
- GOV.UK secondary school admissions guidance
Schools using this test(8)
Alcester Grammar School
Warwickshire · mixed
Haberdashers' Adams
Telford and Wrekin · mixed
King Edward VI School
Warwickshire · boys
Newport Girls' High School Academy
Telford and Wrekin · girls
Queen Mary's Grammar School
Walsall · boys
Queen Mary's High School
Walsall · girls
Stratford Girls' Grammar School
Warwickshire · girls
Wolverhampton Girls' High School
Wolverhampton · girls
Where to go next
- Each school sets its own qualifying score and oversubscription rules — open a school page above for the per-school detail.
- Use the Chances Calculator with your postcode to see your likelihood at every school in this consortium.
- Council and school admissions pages are the authoritative source for registration deadlines and test dates.