Haberdashers' Adams admits 135 day pupils, boys and girls, plus up to 15 boarding boys into Year 7. It sits in Newport, Shropshire, it is part of the same West Midlands partnership as the Birmingham grammar schools, and it uses the same entrance test.
There is one procedural trap here that can end a Birmingham application before it starts, and I want to put it near the top rather than bury it.
The tick box that catches people out
When you register for the shared entrance test, its determined admissions policy for 2027-2028 requires you to tick SWW on the online form so your child's data is shared with the school.
The policy is blunt about what happens if you do not: your child will not be considered for Haberdashers' Adams even if you put the school on your local authority preference form.
So a family can sit the test, score well, name the school in October, and never be in the running. Tick the box at registration in June. There is no fixing it later.
Places, and who they are for
| Place type | Year 7 intake |
|---|---|
| Day places | 135, boys and girls |
| Boarding places | Up to 15, boys only |
| Entrance test | The shared West Midlands partnership test |
| Test date for 2027 entry | 14 September 2026 |
| Waiting list runs until | 31 December 2027 |
The school moved to co-educational admission into Year 7 in 2024, so day places are open to girls as well as boys. Boarding remains boys only.
How places are allocated
Once your child has reached the required academic standard, day places are allocated in this order:
- Looked-after and previously looked-after children.
- Children recorded as receiving pupil premium or service premium funding in the October school census. These children need a qualifying score no lower than 5% below the general qualifying score.
- Children on roll at one of the designated primary schools, which are in the Telford, Newport and Wrekin area.
- Everyone else, in rank order of test score, with straight-line distance as the tie-break.
Read criterion 3 carefully if you are in Birmingham, because it is the one that places you. Your child will not be at a designated primary, so you are in criterion 4, competing on score against every other out-of-area applicant.
That is not a reason to stay away. It is a reason to be realistic: a Birmingham application here lives or dies on the mark.
Pupil premium lowers the bar here. In Birmingham it does not
This is the comparison I most want families to understand, because getting it wrong costs real places.
At the King Edward VI Foundation, the qualifying score applies to everybody. Pupil premium does not reduce it. What it changes is the category your child is considered in.
Adams' does something different and more generous: a pupil premium child qualifies at a score up to 5% below the general threshold, and sits in the second criterion, ahead of the designated primary schools.
If your child is eligible, submit the pupil premium form by the registration deadline. The policy is explicit that nothing can be submitted after it.
Boarding, and what it is actually for
The 15 boarding places are the genuine differentiator, and they are not allocated on score alone. Every boarding applicant and their parents are interviewed, and the criteria run: looked-after children, then children of UK Armed Forces families qualifying for Ministry of Defence boarding assistance, then children with a defined boarding need, then rank order.
"Boarding need" is defined in the policy, and it includes living too far away to attend as a day pupil, and benefiting from a firm external framework of support.
I would be careful here. Boarding at eleven is a very big decision and the right reason for it is almost never that the day places looked competitive.
The honest point about distance
Newport is a long way from Birmingham. Further than Walsall, further than Wolverhampton, and the journey is not a simple one on public transport.
Before this goes on your preference form, work out the actual door to door journey on a wet Tuesday in January, and ask yourself whether an eleven year old will still be doing it happily in Year 9. If the answer depends on you driving twice a day for five years, that is worth knowing in October rather than in September.
See our guide to ranking preferences for how to place a school like this on the form, and our registration guide for the June deadlines.
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Read criterion three before you fall in love with the school
Families get excited about Adams' because of the boarding and the reputation, and then they put it second on the form without reading how places are actually handed out. The part that decides a Birmingham application is criterion three, the designated primary schools, and your child will not be on that list.
That puts you in criterion four, ranked on the mark against every other out-of-area child. It is a perfectly honest route and children do take it. But it is a different proposition from applying with local priority behind you, and you should go in knowing which queue you are standing in.
The other thing I would say is about the tick box. I have seen enough families undone by a procedural step in June that I now treat registration as the real deadline, not October. Do it carefully, read every option on the form, and keep a copy of what you submitted.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
Does Adams' Grammar School take girls?
Yes, for day places. Haberdashers' Adams moved to co-educational admission into Year 7 in 2024 and admits 135 day pupils, boys and girls. The up to 15 boarding places in Year 7 remain boys only.
Can a Birmingham child apply to Haberdashers' Adams?
Yes. It is one of the 19 West Midlands partnership schools and uses the same entrance test, so your child sits one test. You must tick SWW at registration so the data is shared with the school, and you must still name it on your home local authority preference form by 31 October.
What happens if I do not tick SWW when registering?
Your child will not be considered for Haberdashers' Adams, even if you name the school on your local authority preference form. The school's determined admissions policy states this explicitly, and the registration deadline is the final point at which it can be done.
How many places does Haberdashers' Adams have in Year 7?
135 day places for boys and girls, plus up to 15 boarding places for boys, for 2027 entry. Those numbers come from the school's determined admissions policy for 2027-2028 and are reviewed annually.
Does pupil premium help at Adams' Grammar School?
Yes, and directly. Children recorded as receiving pupil premium or service premium funding in the October school census qualify at a score no lower than 5% below the general qualifying score, and sit in the second oversubscription criterion. The pupil premium form must be submitted by the registration deadline.
How are boarding places at Adams' allocated?
Not on test score alone. All boarding applicants and their parents are interviewed, then places are allocated to looked-after children, children of UK Armed Forces families qualifying for Ministry of Defence boarding assistance, children with a defined boarding need, and finally in rank order of test score.