About our School

King Edward VI Five Ways School has an established national reputation as one of the UK’s leading coeducational grammar schools, not only for our outstanding academic outcomes but also for our continued pursuit of excellence in sport and the arts.

The School was founded in 1883 as a boys’ school in the centre of Birmingham and moved to its current location bordering Bartley Reservoir on the edge of Birmingham in 1958, becoming fully co-educational in 1988. It now provides an outstanding education for approximately 1,250 students (400 in the sixth form), incorporating strong pastoral care, an exceptional extra-curricular programme, a vibrant and enthusiastic House system and community engagement, all of which equip our young people with the skills and behaviours needed to take on the challenges of the modern world. Our continued ambition is for our students to have an international outlook and for our School to be at the forefront of educational development in the country.

180 boys and girls are admitted each year on the basis of an examination organised by the King Edward VI Foundation. The School is highly oversubscribed and indeed was once again the most popular school in Birmingham for entry in 2016, and draws from across the city and surrounding counties. Pupils joining the School in Year 7 embark on a two-year curriculum to prepare them for their GCSE studies. In Year 9 they begin our ‘GCSE Plus’ programme of study, taking a maximum of 11 GCSEs at the end of Year 11. The GCSE Plus courses go beyond the specifications, giving students additional ‘in-depth’ learning, research and scholarship as preparation for A-level.

Students in Sixth Form follow a 3 A-level and EPQ programme with afternoons of sport and enrichment. Sixth Form students play an integral part in school life, with many opportunities to develop skills in leadership.

We take great pride in our young people who are undoubtedly our greatest asset. They are polite, engaged and caring. We consider ourselves to be the ‘Five Ways family’; a school in which pupils and staff care for each other. Visitors frequently comment on the warm, lively and positive ethos of the school and feedback from students and their parents tells us how much they enjoy coming to school, how much they appreciate the quality of teaching and extra-curricular provision, and the pride they have in attending.