Yes, but only when a place falls vacant, and your child will have to sit a test set by the school. This is in-year admission, and it works nothing like the Year 7 round.
It is a real route, and it is a narrow one. Both halves of that sentence matter.
The first term of Year 7
If a vacancy arises during the first term, the school does not open a fresh process. It goes back to the waiting list that existed from 1 March, and offers the place using the normal admissions criteria.
That list is made up of children who sat the entrance test and achieved the qualifying score but did not receive an offer from that school or a school they preferred. If your child is in that position, make sure you are on the list and stay on it.
From January of Year 7 onwards
After that, the process changes, and King Edward VI Handsworth's determined admissions policy sets it out clearly.
- From January after a pupil starts Year 7, parents may apply at any point for a place.
- Vacancies normally only arise when a current pupil leaves. Grammar schools have very low turnover, so there may be none in a given year.
- An applicant who cannot be offered a place is added to the school's waiting list, and parents are told of their right of appeal.
- When a vacancy does arise, candidates on the waiting list are invited to take a test, and the place is awarded to the highest scoring candidate above a minimum standard.
So this is not the 11+ again. It is a separate, school-set assessment, taken only if a vacancy appears, in competition with whoever else is waiting.
How realistic is it?
| Route | What has to happen |
|---|---|
| First term of Year 7 | A vacancy, and your child high on the 1 March waiting list |
| Mid Year 7 to Year 11 | A pupil leaves, your child is on the list and scores highest in the test |
| Year 12 | A published external intake with GCSE entry requirements |
Be realistic about the middle row. Families move away and places occasionally open, but there is no annual intake to plan around, and the number of places is whatever happens to come free.
The clearest route in later is Year 12, where schools do publish an external intake. King Edward VI Handsworth expected around 20 external Year 12 places for September 2026, with published GCSE requirements. That is a genuine, plannable opportunity in a way that mid-year entry is not.
What to do
- Get on the waiting list and stay on it. It costs nothing.
- Apply in-year directly to the school, from January of Year 7 onwards.
- Ask how many in-year places came up last year. Schools will tell you, and the answer will tell you whether to plan around it.
- Keep the current school working. A strong record matters for Year 12 entry and for an appeal.
- Look seriously at Year 12, which is the properly published route.
See our guide to how waiting lists really move.
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Stay on the list, and look hard at Year 12
Families ask me about this every year, usually in the spring after a result that did not go their way, and I try to give them the honest shape of it. Yes, children do join later. No, it is not something you can plan around, because a place only exists if somebody leaves.
What you can do costs nothing: get on the waiting list and stay on it. Those lists genuinely move from March onwards as families accept places elsewhere, and a child sitting on a list is in a much better position than a child whose parents gave up in March.
The route I would point people towards, though, is Year 12. That is a published intake with published entry requirements, which means you can actually work towards it. A child who does well at GCSE has a real, plannable opportunity there, and in my experience that is a far better thing to aim at than waiting five years for a vacancy that may never come.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
Can a child join a Birmingham grammar school after Year 7?
Yes, but only when a place falls vacant. From January after a pupil starts Year 7, parents may apply at any point, and if a vacancy arises candidates on the waiting list are invited to take a test set by the school, with the place going to the highest scoring candidate above a minimum standard.
Do you have to sit the 11+ again to join in Year 8?
Not the 11+ itself. In-year entry uses a test set by the school, taken only if a vacancy arises, and candidates on the waiting list are invited to sit it. The place is then awarded to the highest scorer above a minimum standard.
How often do in-year places come up at grammar schools?
Rarely. Vacancies normally only arise when a current pupil leaves, and grammar schools have very low turnover, so there may be none in a given year. Ask the school how many came up last year, because the answer tells you whether it is worth planning around.
What happens if a place comes up in the first term of Year 7?
The school uses the waiting list that existed from 1 March rather than starting a new process. That list contains children who sat the entrance test and achieved the qualifying score but did not receive an offer from that school or one they preferred.
Is Year 12 easier to get into than mid-year entry?
It is far more plannable. Schools publish an external Year 12 intake with GCSE entry requirements: King Edward VI Handsworth expected around 20 external places for September 2026. Mid-year entry depends entirely on whether a current pupil happens to leave.