The girls' school in the pair
Queen Mary's High School is the girls' grammar school in Walsall, the counterpart to Queen Mary's Grammar School for boys. Families often speak about "Queen Mary's" as though it were one institution. It is two, with separate admissions.
That distinction matters more than it sounds, and it is where I have to be careful with what I tell you next.
What the school publishes, and what it does not
The boys' school is unusually open with its numbers. Queen Mary's Grammar School, the boys' school publishes a Minimum Qualifying Score, the lowest score offered a place, the lowest score on its waiting list, and its admission number.
Queen Mary's High School does not publish an equivalent set. I could not reach Queen Mary's High School admissions pages at the time of writing to check whether that has changed.
So here is the thing this article will not do: it will not quote the boys' school's figures and let you assume they apply to the girls' school. They are separate schools with separate governors, separate admission numbers and separate cohorts. A qualifying score for one is not evidence about the other.
| Figure | Boys' school (QMGS) | Girls' school (QMHS) |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Qualifying Score | 180, for September 2026 entry | Not published |
| Lowest score offered a place | Around 200, marked provisional | Not published |
| Lowest score on the waiting list | 225 | Not published |
| Places available | 180 boys | Ask the school |
If you are seriously considering it, contact the school directly and ask for its qualifying score, its admission number and last year's entry score. In my experience the Walsall schools answer that question far more readily than a large Foundation can.
Why it belongs on a Birmingham family's list
The reasoning is the same as for the boys' school, and it rests on one fact: the 205 qualifying score published by the King Edward VI Foundation applies to the King Edward VI Birmingham schools. It is not a West Midlands standard.
Walsall schools set their own thresholds, and the boys' school sets its considerably lower. If the girls' school is anywhere near that pattern, a daughter who missed Birmingham's threshold has not run out of grammar school options. That is worth a phone call before you decide the year is over.
Being considered is not being offered
One honest caution, and it is the same one I give about the boys' school.
A qualifying score gets you into a ranked list. Where you sit in that list is what decides the outcome, and out-of-area applicants are ranked on score against everyone else who qualified. A daughter who scraped over a threshold is near the bottom of that list.
So if she qualified for Birmingham comfortably and simply lost out to a crowded catchment, Walsall is a strong option. If she is a mark or two over a Walsall threshold, be realistic about what that means in a ranked queue, and make sure the rest of your form is doing proper work.
Travel is the deciding factor more often than the score
Birmingham to Walsall, daily, at eleven. This is the part families underestimate and the part that decides whether the place is a good one.
It can be done, and my students do it. What makes it work is never a clever route. It is other children. The families who manage it find the other girls travelling the same way and arrange it between them, so no eleven year old is making that journey alone twice a day.
Work that out before you accept a place, not in the first week of September. If you cannot find anyone, that is genuine information about whether this is the right choice.
How to decide
- Phone the school and ask for the qualifying score, the admission number and last year's lowest entry score. Do not infer them from the boys' school.
- Be honest about where her score sits in a ranked list, not just whether it clears a threshold.
- Solve the travel first. Find the other families before you commit.
- Use the rest of your preference form properly. Walsall should widen your options, not replace them.
See our guide to Queen Mary's Grammar School for the boys' school, where the published figures are much fuller, and our guide to ranking preferences for the form itself.
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.
Sort the travel before you sort the score
Queen Mary's High School in Walsall is the girls' school, and in terms of choosing it for your daughter it is very similar to the boys' school in Walsall. If you are living within Birmingham, the first thing you have to be honest with yourself about is the travelling. It is not easy.
We have had a number of students over the past couple of years who do that same journey from Birmingham to Walsall, and what they do is arrange it between them: a couple of students go together. That is what makes it workable, not the timetable.
The other thing to know is that Walsall schools set their own scores, so a daughter who missed the Birmingham qualifying score has not necessarily run out of options. But be realistic. If you only just cleared a threshold, you are near the bottom of a ranked list, and you will need a stronger score than the minimum to actually be offered a place.
Mushtaque Ahmed, Founder of GrammarPath and Bright Mentors
Frequently asked questions
What score do you need for Queen Mary's High School Walsall?
The school does not publish an equivalent set of figures to the boys' school, so there is no reliable public number to quote. Contact the school directly and ask for its qualifying score, admission number and last year's lowest entry score, rather than assuming the boys' school's figures apply.
Is Queen Mary's High School the same as Queen Mary's Grammar School?
No. Queen Mary's High School is the girls' grammar school in Walsall and Queen Mary's Grammar School is the boys' school. They are separate schools with separate governors, admission numbers and cohorts, so a figure published by one is not evidence about the other.
Can a girl from Birmingham apply to Queen Mary's High School?
Yes. The 205 qualifying score is a King Edward VI Foundation figure for its Birmingham schools, not a West Midlands standard, and Walsall schools set their own thresholds. Birmingham families do send daughters to the Walsall grammar schools.
My daughter missed the Birmingham qualifying score. Is Walsall worth trying?
It is worth a phone call before deciding the year is over. The boys' school in Walsall sets a considerably lower threshold than Birmingham, and if the girls' school follows a similar pattern a daughter who missed 205 may still be in consideration. Ask the school rather than assuming.
How difficult is the journey from Birmingham?
It is a real daily journey for an eleven year old and it decides more of these cases than the score does. Families who make it work generally find the other girls travelling the same route and arrange it together, so nobody travels alone. Sort that out before accepting a place.
Does a qualifying score mean my daughter will get a place?
No. A qualifying score puts her into a ranked list, and her position in that list decides the outcome. Out-of-area applicants are ranked on score against everyone else who qualified, so a score just over a threshold sits near the bottom of that queue.