Admissions
The central aim of King Edward’s School is to provide an education for able boys, regardless of their background.
In the admissions process we do all that we can to ensure we offer places to the boys who have the greatest potential to benefit from a King Edward’s education.
King Edward’s is a highly academic school, but it is also a thriving community full of individual talents and personalities. Our selection process has been designed to identify boys who are not only able to succeed here academically, but who will also contribute to the life of the school.
In addition to the entrance exam, we place much emphasis on school reports and also interview a high proportion of candidates. We want to make sure that the boys who come here will make the most of the opportunities available to them.
To ensure the school is accessible to those candidates that we believe would flourish at King Edward’s, we provide a significant number of means-tested Assisted Places and also scholarships for both academic performance and musical ability. The boys here are individuals and it is the diversity of their backgrounds and interests that enriches our school community.
The normal entry points to the School are at 11+ (Year 7) and 16+ (Sixth Form), although boys are occasionally considered for other year groups should there be availability. The majority of boys enter the School in Year 7 and stay with us for the Sixth Form.
If you have not yet visited the school, we would strongly recommend you come along to one of our Open Events or arrange an individual family visit to get a feel for what life is like at King Edward’s and experience what makes our education so unique.
How to apply
The steps below will provide you with the information you need to make an application to the school.
Please note that KES does not accept applications from international students. Boys applying to the school must hold either a UK passport or the relevant visas to remain in the UK, and must be living locally with their family.
After submitting the application form, expect a confirmation email and payment receipt; if not received, please email: admissions@kes.org.uk.
Application form
The first step in the application process is to complete the 11+ application form online.
This form provides us with all the information we need to be able to register your son for the examination and enables you to express an interest in applying for an Assisted Place and/or music scholarship, if applicable.
A non-refundable registration fee of £50+VAT will be payable at the time of application, unless you provide proof of receipt of Universal Credit, Income Support or Job Seeker’s Allowance (not Tax Credits). A recent passport style photograph will also need to be uploaded.
On receipt of the application form, we encourage you to view our advice sheet about the 11+ examination and sample questions available on our website. We will also request a headteacher’s report from your son’s current school before the examination.
Entrance examination
The entrance examination consists of three one-hour papers in English, Mathematics and Verbal Reasoning. The English and Mathematics papers are written and set by the school and we advise that parents do not seek additional tuition for the examination.
Interviews
Following the examination, a considerable number of boys are invited to attend an interview. These are primarily with candidates for Assisted Places and Scholarships and for boys on the borderline.
Interviews, along with the headteacher’s report, form an essential part of the application process in ensuring that we offer places to boys who will be able to make the most of a King Edward’s education and non-academic achievements and activities carry considerable weight.
Results
All parents are notified by post as to the outcome of their son’s application, whether they have or have not been offered a place, a scholarship, an Assisted Place or if they are on the reserve list.
To accept a place, a non-refundable deposit is required of £400 from all full fee-paying parents.
If you decide to decline the offer of a place, we ask that you inform us as soon as possible so that we may offer the place to a candidate on the reserve list.
Important dates for 11+ entry
11+ application opens for 2025: Thursday 28 March 2024
11+ application deadline for 2025 entry: Monday 23 September 2024 at 12 noon.
11+ SEN consideration deadline: Monday 16 September
Entrance exam: Saturday 5 October 2024
Interviews by invitation only for academic scholarships, Assisted Places and boys on the borderline: November 2024 TBC
Music scholarship auditions: November 2024 TBC
Results sent by letter to parents: Monday 9 December 2024
Acceptance deadline: Tuesday 4 March 2025
Apply
Applications for 11+ entry should be made via our online registration system.
Our Sixth Form offers an outstanding education for able pupils who like original ideas and new challenges, and we are delighted to welcome a number of new pupils in Year 12 each year.
From September 2025, we will offer a wide range of A Level subjects across literature and humanities, the arts, social sciences, modern foreign languages, classical languages, maths and the sciences, plus the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), inspiring each pupil’s imagination and enabling him to develop his intellectual passions.
If we feel that an applicant has the potential to study successfully at KES, he is invited to an interview with a member of the Senior Leadership Team, and usually a Head of Department. All offers made are conditional upon final GCSE results and candidates are required to attend KES on GCSE results day to confirm their final results.
Sixth Form entry requirements
General requirements
We would usually expect a pupil to have gained a minimum of Grade 7 in GCSE Maths and Grade 7 in GCSE English Language or GCSE English Literature. We also expect entrants to the Sixth Form to have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 7.2 or higher but pupils with a lower GPA who meet the entrance requirements in other respects will be invited to a meeting to discuss the most suitable Sixth Form programme for them.
AND
Subject-specific requirements
A pupil will be expected to have gained a minimum of GCSE Grade 7 in his chosen A Level subjects, with the following exceptions for which there are different minimum entry requirements:
- Maths: Grade 8 in Maths
- Further Maths: Grade 8 in Maths (also with the completion of an Additional Maths course that we will provide during the summer preceding Year 12)
- Biology: Grade 7 in Maths and Grade 7 in Biology*
- Chemistry: Grade 7 in Maths and Grade 8 in Chemistry*
- Physics: Grade 7 in Maths and Grade 7 in Physics*
- Mandarin: Grade 8 in Mandarin
- PE: Grade 7 in PE and one sport played at a representative level.
*If a pupil has studied Dual Award Science at GCSE and wishes to study a science at A Level, we would expect him to have gained a minimum of 8/8.
If a pupil wishes to study an A Level subject he has not pursued at GCSE, we would expect the following:
- Politics: Grade 7 in an essay-based subject such as History or English
- Computer Science: Grade 8 in Maths (also with the completion of preparatory work during the summer preceding Year 12)
- Religious Studies: Grade 7 in English (Language or Literature)
- Economics: Grade 7 in Maths
- Psychology: Grade 7 in English (Language or Literature) and Grade 7 in a science
- PE: Grade 7 in Biology** and one sport played at a representative level.
** If a pupil has studied Dual Award Science at GCSE and wishes to study A Level PE, we would expect him to have gained a minimum of 7/7.
Important dates for 16+ entry
2025 entry
Applications to join Year 12 in September 2025 will open on Monday 4 November 2024.
The deadline will be Monday 3 February 2025. Interviews will take place throughout February and March 2025.
Application form
The first step in the application process is to complete the 16+ application form online. This form provides us with all the information we need to be able to register your son for the examination and enables you to express an interest in applying for an Assisted Place and/or music scholarship, if applicable.
A non-refundable registration fee of £50+VAT will be payable at the time of application, unless you provide proof of receipt of Universal Credit, Income Support or Job Seeker’s Allowance (not Tax Credits). A recent passport style photograph will also need to be uploaded.
We will also request a headteacher’s report from your son’s current school upon receipt of application.
Entry process
Entrance into the Sixth Form (16+) consists of interviews, predicted GCSE results and a headteacher’s report.
Offers
Following the interviews and a satisfactory report from the candidate’s current school, a conditional offer may be made. A final offer will be made on GCSE results day upon confirmation of grades.
Apply
Applications for Sixth Form entry should be made via our online registration system.
“KES allows you to achieve beyond your expectations and make new friends that will stay with you for perhaps your entire life. Everyone encourages you to be the best version of yourself. My teachers make every day at school an adventure!”
Vivek
Contact the Admissions Office
For further information on any part of the admissions process or to arrange a visit to the school, please get in touch:
Admissions Office
0121 415 6056
admissions@kes.org.uk
