Schools in Birmingham

Birmingham school comparison signals

Metrics use latest available published data where present. Local authority averages can be unavailable when a metric is not published for enough schools in the selected authority.

Search paths for Birmingham

Birmingham City Council coordinates Reception, infant-to-junior, secondary, and in-year applications for Birmingham residents. Parents can list up to 6 preferences. Use SchoolHub to compare schools, then confirm each school's official admission arrangements, cut-off distances, and any supplementary form requirements before submitting preferences.

Birmingham school admissions guide for parents

This guide is based primarily on Birmingham City Council's admissions pages as available on 23 May 2026. The timetable dates shown reflect the 2025 to 2026 admissions cycle (September 2026 entry). Birmingham publishes updated timetables and determined admission arrangements each year, so parents should always re-check the live Birmingham pages for the exact dates in their child's year of entry.

Executive summary

Birmingham City Council's School Admissions and Fair Access Service coordinates applications for Birmingham residents. Parents applying for either primary or secondary schools can list up to 6 school preferences, more than the 4 allowed in many other English councils. Birmingham operates a coordinated scheme with neighbouring local authorities, so Birmingham residents apply through Birmingham City Council even when listing schools outside the city.

For the current published cycle, the key deadlines are 15 January 2026 for primary Reception and infant-to-junior transfer, and 31 October 2025 for secondary Year 7. Offer days are 16 April 2026 for primary and 2 March 2026 for secondary. Birmingham also has 8 grammar schools all belonging to the King Edward VI group or similar, which share a single selective test administered on 13 September 2025 through the West Midlands Grammar Schools consortium.

The biggest parent mistakes Birmingham warns about are: applying after the closing date (late applicants are significantly less likely to receive a preferred-school offer); assuming nursery attendance gives Reception priority (it does not); and confusing the home address used for admissions with the address for transport eligibility. Distance to school is a key tiebreaker at most Birmingham community schools, and cut-off distances change each year based on demand.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP), placement is handled through the SEND process separately from the standard allocation round. The school named in Section I of the EHCP must admit your child.

How the Birmingham system works

Birmingham uses a largely two-tier pattern: primary schools (Reception to Year 6, or infant Year R–2 followed by junior Year 3–6 at separate linked schools), then secondary from Year 7. Birmingham also has 14 to 19 academies admitting from Year 10, as well as the 8 grammar schools that test selectively for Year 7 entry. There are also some middle school arrangements in parts of the city.

The legal framework is national. All maintained schools and academies must follow the School Admissions Code, and appeals are governed by the School Admission Appeals Code. Birmingham's coordinated process sits within that national framework.

Under the coordinated scheme, all normal-round applications are considered simultaneously. Schools apply their own published oversubscription criteria. Birmingham uses your ranked order only if more than one school could offer your child a place — in that case, you receive the highest-ranked offer. Schools do not see the order in which you ranked them.

Birmingham City Council will only process applications if you live in Birmingham and pay council tax to the authority.

Primary and secondary process comparison

Key dates and deadlines

The dates below are Birmingham's published timetables for the 2025 to 2026 admissions cycle (September 2026 entry). Parents should treat them as the current official benchmark but re-check Birmingham's live pages each year.

Secondary Year 7 timetable

Primary Reception timetable

Late applications are accepted after the closing date but are processed after all on-time applications. Birmingham says late applicants are significantly less likely to receive an offer from one of their preferred schools.

Applying for a place

Normal-round primary (Reception and infant-to-junior)

Birmingham children usually start Reception in September after their fourth birthday. For example, a child born between 1 September 2021 and 31 August 2022 will start school in September 2026.

Apply online in the Autumn before your child is due to start school. You can list up to 6 preferences. Key points:

• Nursery attendance does not give automatic priority for Reception at the same school. You still need to apply in the normal round.
• If your child attends a primary school (all-through to Year 6), no separate junior application is needed when they reach Year 3 — they transfer automatically.
• If your child attends an infant school, you must apply for a junior school place during the normal round.
• Read each school's admission arrangements before applying, especially for academies, voluntary aided, and foundation schools, which set their own oversubscription criteria and often require a Supplementary Information Form submitted directly to the school.
• Birmingham community schools typically prioritise looked-after children, then linked infant-to-junior siblings, then siblings already at the school, and then distance (nearest home measured by straight line).

Normal-round secondary (Year 7)

Apply online in early Autumn of Year 6. You can list up to 6 secondary schools. Birmingham residents apply through Birmingham City Council even when listing schools outside the city.

• Distance matters: Most Birmingham community secondary schools use home-to-school straight-line distance as a tiebreaker. Cut-off distances published in the determined admission arrangements change each year.
• Read each school's admission arrangements before applying. Academies and voluntary aided schools set their own oversubscription criteria.
• Do not submit your application until you have received your grammar school test results if you are applying for a grammar school (results are published before the closing date of 31 October).
• If you are applying for a grammar school in another local authority outside the West Midlands Grammar Schools group, be aware that some external grammar schools return results after Birmingham's closing date. You must still submit by 31 October 2025 to be classed as on time.

Grammar schools

Birmingham has 8 grammar schools, all selective and requiring a test. There is one shared entry test across all Birmingham grammar schools and the wider West Midlands Grammar Schools group.

Birmingham grammar schools:

• Bishop Vesey's Grammar School for Boys
• King Edward VI Aston School
• King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys
• King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls
• King Edward VI Five Ways School
• King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys
• King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls
• Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls

Key grammar school dates:

Only children born between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2015 can take the test for September 2026 entry.

Registering for the test is not the same as applying for a place. You must also complete your home local authority's application form. Most Birmingham grammar schools still operate catchment areas even after a child passes the selective test — parents should check each school's admission arrangements.

Birmingham strongly recommends not submitting your online application until you have received the grammar school test results (before 17 October 2025), because you need to decide whether to include a grammar school as one of your 6 preferences.

14 to 19 academies

Birmingham also has specialist 14 to 19 academies admitting from Year 10. Applications for these are made through a separate process — contact Birmingham City Council or the school directly for details.

In-year admissions

If you are moving into Birmingham, or want to change schools during the year, complete an Application for a Change of School In-Year form and take it to your preferred school with proof of address. If you want a place at a school outside Birmingham, contact that local authority directly.

Address rules, eligibility, and documents

Your child's home address is the address where they live on a day-to-day basis and where the council tax is paid. Birmingham requires proof of address for both in-year applications and when any address-related queries arise during the normal round.

A list of acceptable proofs is available on Birmingham's proof of address page. Providing a false or temporary address to gain advantage in the admissions process can lead to an offer being withdrawn.

Children of service personnel with a confirmed posting may be able to apply using a future address — see Birmingham's guidance on school places for families of service personnel.

Arrivals from Hong Kong on the British National (Overseas) visa have specific guidance on the Birmingham admissions pages.

Refugees and asylum seekers also have dedicated guidance on the Birmingham admissions pages.

Oversubscription, waiting lists, and appeals

Oversubscription criteria (community schools)

Where a school receives more applications than it has places, Birmingham community schools typically apply criteria in this order:

1. Looked-after children and previously looked-after children (including those from outside England)
2. Children with a sibling already at the school (for secondary) or at the linked infant school (for junior transfer)
3. Children living nearest the school (straight-line distance)

Academies, voluntary aided, and foundation schools set their own oversubscription criteria in their determined admission arrangements. Always check the school's own arrangements.

Waiting lists

If your child is not offered any of their preferred schools, they can be placed on a waiting list. Waiting lists are re-ranked according to the school's oversubscription criteria each time a new applicant is added, not on a first-come-first-served basis. Position on a waiting list can go up or down.

Appeals

If you are refused a place at your preferred school, you have the right to appeal to an independent appeal panel. Key points:

• All Birmingham school appeals are held remotely using Microsoft Teams (accessible from phone, tablet, or browser).
• Appeal papers (including the school's written case for refusing admission) are emailed to you before the hearing.
• You can submit additional information in support of your appeal before the hearing.
• For September 2026 entry:
  • Secondary: submit appeals by 13 April 2026; hearings from 16 June 2026
  • Primary: submit appeals by 15 May 2026; hearings from 17 July 2026
• Contact the School Appeals Team at edappealsadmin@birmingham.gov.uk
• Contact the School Admissions Service at admissions@birmingham.gov.uk or phone 0121 303 1888

If you need an interpreter for your appeal hearing, request one when you respond to the appeal invitation email — this is provided free of charge.

SEND and EHC plans

Children with an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) are not allocated through the standard admissions round. If a school is named in Section I of your child's EHCP, that school must admit your child. The placement is coordinated by Birmingham's SEND team.

For children with SEND who do not have an EHCP, apply through the normal admissions round in the usual way.

Birmingham's SEND Local Offer provides further information about SEND support available in the city.

If the dispute concerns the school named in an EHCP, the route is usually the SEND Tribunal, not a standard school admissions appeal.

Practical tips, FAQs, and official links

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying late: Late applications are processed after all on-time applications and are much less likely to result in a preferred-school offer.
• Listing too few preferences: Use all 6 preferences. If you list only 1 school and are refused, you receive the nearest school with a vacancy — which may be far away or not your choice.
• Assuming nursery gives priority: Attendance at a nursery class attached to a school does not give your child automatic or priority admission to that school's Reception.
• Missing a school's own supplementary form: Academies, faith schools, and foundation schools often require an additional form returned directly to the school. Missing it can mean being assessed under a lower-priority criterion.
• Applying for grammar school before receiving test results: Birmingham recommends waiting until you have the results (available before 17 October) before submitting, so you can make an informed decision about including a grammar school in your preferences.
• Confusing cut-off distances: Published cut-off distances from previous years are a guide only. They change each year based on demand. Do not rely on them as a guarantee.

Official contacts and links

High-attainment secondary schools in Birmingham