A good 11+ score in Birmingham is one that clears the threshold set by the school you are applying to. There is no universal pass mark, so the number that counts as good depends entirely on where you are applying and, in some cases, on where you live.
For 2026 entry the King Edward VI Foundation used a qualifying score of 205 and a priority score of 224 across its Birmingham grammar schools (King Edward VI Foundation, results and offers). As a working answer: 205 puts your child in contention, and 224 or above is a genuinely strong score that opens the priority category for families inside the catchment.
The short answer, in one table
Every figure below is a published 2026 entry number, not an estimate.
| Score | What it means for a Foundation applicant |
|---|---|
| Below 205 | Below the qualifying score. The application is not ranked for a King Edward VI Foundation place. |
| 205 to 223 | Qualified. In contention, and ranked against every other applicant who also cleared the bar. A score sitting right on 205 is far more exposed than one near the top of this band. |
| 224 and above | At or above the priority score. Combined with living inside the school's catchment, this lifts the application into a stronger admissions category. |
Notice what the table does not say: it never promises a place. Clearing a threshold makes an application eligible, not successful, and that gap is where most of the disappointment on results day comes from.
Why your child's score has two parts
Your child does not sit one paper and receive one mark. The test is made up of two papers, and each produces its own combined standardised score: English together with verbal reasoning in one, non-verbal reasoning together with mathematics in the other. Those two combined scores are added together, and the resulting total is the figure schools actually rank.
That structure explains the published weighting of 50% for English and verbal reasoning, 25% for non-verbal reasoning and 25% for mathematics (West Midlands Grammar Schools, the entrance test). The first paper carries half the result on its own, and the second paper makes up the other half, split evenly between its two subjects.
It matters for two practical reasons. Strong verbal work is worth more than any other single strength, because English and verbal reasoning together decide half the total. And because the total is built from two components, a single component score is roughly half the size of the total, which is where a great deal of confusion begins.
The 200 scale is not the national 100 scale
This is the disambiguation that trips up more Birmingham parents than anything else, and it is worth being precise about.
The national GL standardised age score (often written SAS) is centred on a mean of 100, and grammar school entry is commonly quoted at roughly 111 and above. That is the model national tutoring sites default to, because it applies across most of the country.
The West Midlands total is different. Results across the partnership use an age-weighted standardisation around a median score of 200 (Queen Mary's Grammar School, September 2026 entry). That is why every local threshold you will see quoted sits in the 180 to 225 range rather than in the 100s.
Here is the trap. Because the total is the sum of two combined scores, an individual component sits near half the total, which puts it in the same neighbourhood as a national SAS figure. A parent glancing at one part of the results letter can easily read it as a national-style score and conclude their child is far behind or far ahead. Always check whether the number in front of you is a component or the total, and whether it is on the 200 scale or the 100 scale.
If you want the full mechanics of how the standardised score is produced, I have written that up separately in the Birmingham 11+ pass mark guide.
So what should you actually aim for?
My honest advice is to aim clear of the threshold rather than at it. A child who lands on 205 has qualified, but sits at the bottom of a ranked list. A child at 224 or above has both qualified and reached the priority score, which changes the category their application is considered in.
Aiming for the priority score is a more useful target than aiming for the qualifying score, even for families who are not in a catchment area, simply because it builds in headroom. Thresholds move every year with the strength of the cohort, and the only protection against that movement is margin.
Outside Birmingham, good looks different again
The same test is used across the partnership, but the thresholds are set school by school, and Walsall makes the point sharply. For 2026 entry Queen Mary's Grammar School published a minimum qualifying score of 180, a lowest score offered a place of around 200, and a lowest waiting list score of 225 (Queen Mary's Grammar School, September 2026 entry).
Read those together and the lesson is stark. A score of 185 cleared that school's qualifying bar and still did not receive an offer, because offers in practice ran out around 200. The school marks its 200 figure as approximate and subject to governors' confirmation, so treat it as an indication. Queen Mary's High School, the girls' school in Walsall, does not publish equivalent figures, so do not assume the boys' school numbers carry across.
The practical takeaway: a score that is comfortably good for one partnership school can be marginal at another. Check the school, not the region.
Papers are coming
GrammarPath practice papers for the West Midlands test are on the way. Join the list and we will email you the moment they launch.
Consistency across both halves is what counts
The question I'm asked most is "my child scores this on practice papers, is that enough?" My honest answer is that it's worth understanding how the real result is reported: not as four separate subject percentages, but as two combined standardised scores, English with Verbal Reasoning as one, Non-Verbal with Maths as the other, which add up to the total.
What I've learned watching students go from practice to the real exam is that those achieving a steady, consistent performance across both halves under properly timed conditions are the ones who tend to pass. It's rarely perfectly even, a child might be stronger on the Non-Verbal and Maths side than the English side, but consistency across the whole is what counts.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
What is a good 11+ score in Birmingham?
A good score is one that clears the threshold set by the school you are applying to, because there is no single pass mark. For 2026 entry the King Edward VI Foundation used a qualifying score of 205 and a priority score of 224. Anything from 205 up puts a child in contention at a Foundation school, and 224 or above unlocks the priority category for families living inside the catchment.
Is 205 a good 11+ score?
For 2026 entry, 205 was exactly the qualifying score for King Edward VI Foundation schools, so it was the minimum needed to be considered rather than a comfortable position. Applicants at or above the qualifying score are ranked against each other, so a score sitting right on the threshold is far more vulnerable than one well clear of it.
What is the highest 11+ score in Birmingham?
The schools do not publish a maximum. Because results use an age-weighted standardisation around a median of 200, scores spread above and below that midpoint, and published figures such as the 224 priority score and a 225 waiting list score in Walsall give a sense of where the upper band sits in practice.
Is the Birmingham 11+ score the same as a standardised age score of 100?
No. The national GL model centres on a mean of 100, with grammar entry often quoted around 111 and above. West Midlands results are standardised around a median of 200 for the total. Comparing a local total against the national 100 scale will mislead you badly in either direction.
Does a good score guarantee a grammar school place?
No. Clearing the qualifying score makes an application eligible, not successful. Places are allocated by each school's oversubscription criteria, which weigh catchment, pupil premium status and rank order of score. In Walsall for 2026 entry the minimum qualifying score was 180, but offers ran out at roughly 200, so children who qualified still missed places.