Pick the school first, then find out what its catchment actually is, then choose where to live. Doing it in that order is the whole of this article.
Families relocating to Birmingham routinely do it backwards: choose an area that sounds right, move, and then discover which schools that address does and does not reach.
Why the order matters so much
At the King Edward VI schools, catchment is not a radius. Each school publishes its own catchment built from named electoral wards, so two addresses a few hundred metres apart can fall on opposite sides, and being inside one school's catchment says nothing about another's.
It also does real work. Applicants who reach the priority score and live inside the catchment sit in a higher category than applicants who only reach the qualifying score, and no number of extra marks moves a child between those categories. Only the address does.
So if you are moving anyway, the catchment is the one variable you genuinely control.
How to do it properly
- Shortlist two or three schools before you look at a single property.
- Get each school's current catchment from the school or the Foundation. Ask which wards are in it this year, because they are reviewed.
- Check a specific address, by ward, not by how far it looks on a map.
- Check it against every school on your list. One address will not cover them all.
- Only then look at houses.
| Order | Do this | Why it has to come first |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Shortlist two or three schools | Everything else depends on which ones |
| 2nd | Get each school's current catchment wards | They differ per school and are reviewed |
| 3rd | Check candidate addresses by ward | Distance on a map tells you nothing |
| 4th | Check the non-selective schools too | Their rules are tighter and distance-driven |
| 5th | Then look at houses | By now the address does real work for you |
Our guide to Foundation catchment explains how the wards and the score thresholds interact.
Do not forget the non-selective schools
This is the part relocating families most often miss, and it causes real trouble.
You are not only applying for a grammar school. Your preference form will include non-selective schools too, and those have their own catchments and distance rules, which are usually tighter and more distance-driven than the grammar schools'.
So an address chosen purely to reach a grammar school can leave you a long way down the list for every ordinary secondary near you. If the grammar place does not come off, that is the outcome you are left with. Check both.
Timing
The address that counts is where the child actually lives when the application is considered, and you may be asked for evidence such as a tenancy agreement or council tax bill.
Move before the application is considered rather than after, tell the authority and every school on your list in writing, and keep the paperwork. A place offered on an address you do not really live at can be withdrawn, including after your child has started. See our guide to moving house after applying.
Look wider than Birmingham
One more thing worth knowing before you commit to a postcode.
the King Edward VI Foundation sets its qualifying score for its Birmingham schools only. The Walsall, Wolverhampton, Shropshire and Warwickshire schools in the same partnership set their own, and several are lower. Wolverhampton Girls' High School has no catchment at all.
If you are moving into the region with a choice of where to land, that changes the map. See our guide to all nineteen schools.
See where your child stands today
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Move to the catchment, not to the area
A lot of parents and new families move into Birmingham, and the important thing to understand is that whichever school you have in mind, it is better to move near to that school's catchment.
The catchment thing always confuses people, and it does so especially when they are also applying for normal state schools, which have their own rules. So it is very important to situate yourself within the catchment of the potential grammar school you are actually aiming at.
Regardless of which school a family has in mind, catchment normally gives an easier route to selection. It is the one part of this you can genuinely control if you are moving anyway, and it is worth doing in the right order: the school first, then the catchment, then the house.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
Where should I live in Birmingham for the grammar schools?
Choose the schools first, get their current catchments, then check specific addresses by ward before looking at properties. Each King Edward VI school publishes its own catchment built from named electoral wards, so being inside one says nothing about another.
Does living in the catchment guarantee a grammar school place?
No, but it changes which category your child is considered in. Applicants reaching the priority score who live inside the catchment sit in a higher category than those who only reach the qualifying score, and no number of extra marks moves a child between categories.
How do I check if an address is in a grammar school catchment?
By ward rather than by distance, because the catchments are built from named electoral wards and being physically close is not the same as being inside one. Ask the school which wards are in its catchment this year, since they are reviewed.
What do families relocating to Birmingham get wrong?
Choosing an area first and checking the schools afterwards, and forgetting the non-selective schools. An address picked purely to reach a grammar school can leave you low on the list for every ordinary secondary nearby, which matters a great deal if the grammar place does not come off.
Should I only look at Birmingham if I am relocating?
Not necessarily. The King Edward VI qualifying score applies to its Birmingham schools only, while the Walsall, Wolverhampton, Shropshire and Warwickshire schools in the same partnership set their own, several of them lower. Wolverhampton Girls' High School has no catchment area at all.