Quick answer
West Midlands scores are easy to over-generalise because the shared test covers many schools. Read the official score first, then identify the school, admissions category and historic offer context that actually apply to the child.
- The shared test uses English comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematics and non-verbal or spatial reasoning.
- The published weighting is 50% English/verbal reasoning, 25% non-verbal reasoning and 25% mathematics.
- King Edward VI publishes qualifying, priority and historic offer-score context for its Birmingham grammar schools.
The shared test is only the start
The West Midlands entrance test is designed to serve multiple grammar school areas. That is convenient for parents, but it can make score conversations messy. A single score may be discussed across Birmingham, Warwickshire, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Shropshire contexts, even though school admissions rules are not identical.
The official test page explains the subject weighting and age standardisation. The admissions reading comes later: which school, which category, which local rules, and which historic offer data if the school publishes it.
Qualifying, priority and last-offered scores
Qualifying score
- What it means
- The minimum score needed to be considered under a school or group policy.
- Parent caution
- It is not the same as the last score that received an offer.
Priority score
- What it means
- A score used in some admissions categories, such as King Edward VI policies.
- Parent caution
- It still sits inside school-specific criteria such as catchment and category.
Cut-off or last-offered score
- What it means
- Historic allocation context for a named school and category.
- Parent caution
- It describes a previous year, not a current-year promise.
Example
A child has a score above a published qualifying score. That means the application can be considered under the relevant school rules. It does not mean the child has met the historic score for a high-demand category at a named Birmingham school, and it may say very little about a Warwickshire grammar unless that school’s own admissions context is checked.
Another child is in catchment for one school but not another. The same score can feel different because the admissions category changes.
What parents should check
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The exact school group
Separate Birmingham, Warwickshire and other West Midlands schools before judging the score.
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The admissions category
Catchment, pupil premium, looked-after status and other criteria can change how the same score is used.
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The difference between threshold and offer history
A qualifying score is not a historic last-offered score.
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The current school policy
Use published historical data as context, then read the policy for the entry year.