Admissions policies are written for people who already understand them. This is every term you are likely to meet, in plain words, with a link to the guide that explains it properly.
Scores and thresholds
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Standardised score | A raw mark adjusted for a child's age so that older and younger children in the same year are compared fairly |
| Median of 200 | The middle of the partnership's scale. Not the national GL model of a mean of 100 |
| Age weighting | The adjustment itself. Applied automatically, with no form to complete |
| Qualifying score | The minimum to be considered at all. 205 for King Edward VI Birmingham schools, 2026 entry |
| Priority score | A higher threshold which, with catchment, lifts an applicant into a stronger category. 224 for 2026 |
| Minimum Qualifying Score (MQS) | Walsall's term for its qualifying threshold. Queen Mary's Grammar published 180 for 2026 |
| Automatic Qualifying Score (AQS) | Warwickshire's term, set after the test by a Committee of Reference |
| Required Minimum Academic Standard | A lower Warwickshire figure governing the waiting list |
| Lowest score offered a place | An outcome of one year's competition, not a threshold. Easily confused with the two above |
Those last four are the most mixed up terms in the whole process. See our guide to the standardised score.
Places and criteria
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Published Admission Number (PAN) | How many places a school offers in Year 7. Ranges from 87 to 192 across the partnership |
| Oversubscription criteria | The ordered list deciding who gets a place when there are more qualified applicants than places |
| Catchment area | A defined list of electoral wards, specific to each school. Not a radius |
| Priority area or priority circle | Warwickshire's equivalent, drawn as a circle of defined radius from a fixed point |
| Pupil premium | Funding attached to children eligible for free school meals, used as an admissions criterion |
| Looked after child (LAC) | A child in local authority care. Always the first criterion |
| Previously looked after (PLAC) | A child adopted from care, or subject to a child arrangements or special guardianship order |
| Sibling | Usually a tie-break only, and defined as living at the same address with a qualifying relationship |
| Tie-break | What separates children with identical scores, commonly a sibling then straight-line distance |
| EHCP | Education, Health and Care Plan. A child whose plan names a school is admitted first |
| Partially selective | A school allocating only some places by ability. Ashlawn is the partnership's example |
See our guide to catchment and our guide to sibling priority.
The process and its dates
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Registration | Booking the test, with the partnership, May to late June of Year 5 |
| Preference form | Applying for school places, with your home local authority, by 31 October |
| Common Application Form (CAF) | The official name for that preference form |
| Equal preference | Each school considers your child without knowing your ranking. So rank truthfully |
| National Offer Day | 1 March, when offers are issued |
| Waiting list | Reordered by the criteria whenever anyone joins or leaves. Not a fixed queue number |
| In-year admission | Applying outside the normal round, from January of Year 7 onwards |
| Late application | Anything after 31 October. Processed after National Offer Day |
| Appeal | A hearing before an independent panel. Birmingham upheld about 4% in 2025 |
| Access arrangements | Adjustments such as extra time. The deadline falls before registration closes |
| Out of cohort | A child taught outside their normal age group, needing permission in advance |
See our guide to ranking preferences and our registration guide.
The test itself
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| The partnership | The 19 West Midlands grammar schools sharing one entrance test |
| GL Assessment | The organisation that sets the test |
| Verbal reasoning (VR) | Reasoning with words and letters. A branch of English |
| Non-verbal reasoning (NVR) | Reasoning with shapes and patterns |
| Spatial reasoning (SR) | Relationships between shapes and space. Assessed within the NVR component |
| Familiarisation guide | The partnership's free sample booklet. Not a past paper |
| Answer sheet | The separate sheet that is the only thing marked. Mark with a line, rub out mistakes, never cross out |
| Individually timed sections | Each section is timed separately and cannot be revisited |
Two things worth repeating because they decide marks on the day. Only the answer sheet is marked, so working in the booklet earns nothing. And no past papers exist, because none of the 19 schools release them.
See our guide to exam day and our guide to past papers.
See where your child stands today
Timed sections in the GL Assessment format, marked instantly, with a topic-by-topic breakdown. No sign-up to start.
Nobody explains these, and the policies assume you know
Admissions documents are written by people who use this vocabulary daily, for people who are meeting it for the first time, usually while anxious. That is a bad combination and it is why so much of what I do is translation rather than teaching.
The terms that cause the most damage are the four score words. Qualifying score, priority score, minimum qualifying score and the lowest score actually offered a place are four different things, and quoting the wrong one at a family can change their whole plan. I have seen parents write off a year on the strength of a number that did not mean what they thought.
So keep this page open in October. If a letter or a policy uses a word at you and assumes you understand it, look it up here rather than guessing, and then go and check your own school's determined admissions policy, because that is the document that actually decides it.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a qualifying score and a priority score?
The qualifying score is the minimum to be considered at all, 205 for the King Edward VI Birmingham schools in 2026. The priority score is higher, 224 for the same year, and combined with living in catchment it places an applicant in a stronger admissions category.
What does equal preference mean?
Each school considers your child against its own criteria without knowing where you ranked it. If more than one would offer a place you receive the highest-ranked of those offers, so ranking an ambitious school first costs you nothing at the schools below it.
What is a Published Admission Number?
The number of places a school offers in Year 7. Across the partnership these range from 87 at King Edward VI Stratford to 192 at King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls, and the figure matters as much as the score when judging your chances.
What is the Automatic Qualifying Score?
Warwickshire's term for the score that puts a child in line for a place. It is set after the test by a Committee of Reference, alongside a lower Required Minimum Academic Standard which governs the waiting list.
What is the difference between registration and the preference form?
Registration books the entrance test with the partnership in May or June of Year 5. The preference form applies for school places through your home local authority by 31 October. You must complete both, and missing the June registration cannot normally be recovered.