Advice for secondary schools in Birmingham

[Us3rnam3]

Hi👋
I will be relocating with my family to Birmingham from the UAE. My 11 yr old child goes to an Indian curriculum school here ( grade 7).

1. I was wondering which year would they get an entry in.

I've tried contacting a few councils but they asked me to get in touch with them when I move to the area, which has made me really anxious.

1. Do the kids have to take an entrance exam?
2. Is it possible to get a place in a Grammar school once we move (in September 2022)

Thank you!

When is your child 12? If it’s between 1st Sept 2022 and 31st Aug 2023 they will be in Year 7, the first year of secondary school. If they are 12 between today and 31st Aug 2022, they will be in Year 8.

You can’t apply until the child is resident in Birmingham. You can ask the council which schools have spaces, and apply to them. The council will find your child a place somewhere, but it might not be a school you’ve picked, or that close. You can appeal for a different school, there are some experts on here if that happens.

I assume grammar schools will have an exam, yes. I don’t know the specifics of that.

Depends on your child's dob. Is their 12th birthday after 31st August? If it is they will go into Y6 this year.

It's standard not to be able to apply for a school until you have an address.

Grammar schools have entrance exams. Ordinary state schools don't. The King Edward's grammars have a website where you can check the dates of the exams. They happen this half term before the deadline for Y7 school applications at the end of October.

You will also need to apply for a Y6 place when you arrive - that is an in-year application and you can usually just apply direct to school.

Y7 applications are a central process run by Birmingham City Council (or whichever council area you want a place in) - their website will have more info on how it works.

Op if you are moving next month, do you not have an address? If you do, the LA should be able to advise which schools in your area will have spaces.

They will offer you a place but as Pp says, it may not be the school you choose.

If your child is 12 after Sept 1, they will at least be starting in Yr 7, which is the usual first year of secondary. But places are allocated in March and the must popular schools are likely to be full.

You can go on waiting lists and you can appeal for your preferred school.

No entrance exams apart from for selective schools - most dc attend a comprehensive tho I believe there are state grammars in Brum. No idea about whether they operate waiting lists tho.

I'm wondering if I got my dates wrong and PP is right. I don't think your child is Y6, they will be either Y7 or Y8. Apologies

Is it possible to get a place in a Grammar school once we move (in September 2022)
There are about 140,000 children in a school year in Birmingham. The KE Grammar schools take about 600 pupils in Year 7. So if your child is in the top 0.5% and you apply at the right time, you might get in.

It's extremely unlikely that your DC will get in.

@HipsterCoffeeShop a child who is 11 now will be going into Yr 7 in Sept or possibly Yr 8 (if they turn 12 in the next 7 days) so your info about Yr 7 applications is sadly not useful.

Ah sorry x post

Sorry. That should be 14,000. So make that top 4%.
Still not happening.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. My child is 11 years old (born in march 2011), so they would be eligible for year 7, I presume.

It was helpful to understand the odds of getting into a Grammar school. We missed the deadlines for the year 7 admissions for this year anyways.

Yes, your son will be in Year 7 in this Sept.
As far as know, Birmingham Council doesn't offer any school finding support for in-year admission. Parents need to call or send email to each school to check if any spot available when you have an address there.

Are you aware that Solihull is a distinct Education Authority? Solihull is very naice. It doesn't have the Grammar system but does have a lot of excellent comprehensives.

The Birmingham conurbation is covered by several Education Authorities. It is difficult to explain to an outsider where the boundaries lie - it's not obvious. Here's a list of all the Education Authorities in England; you will see the West Midlands EA listed together. You could consider living in, say, the nearer parts of Warwickshire or Worcestershire and commuting in to work.