King Edward VI Grammar School 11+ and 16+ Admissions: Exam, Dates and Fees

Entry to King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford (KEGS) at age eleven is decided by the CSSE 11+ test, a one hour English paper and a one hour mathematics paper that the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex sets and marks itself for its ten member schools. Boys must register with CSSE separately from the local authority application, and 80% of the 150 Year 7 places are reserved for boys living within the school's 12.5 mile priority area.

The school also takes external applicants of either gender into Year 12 on GCSE results, with no written entrance test at that stage.

Entry points and places

KEGS admits boys into Year 7 and takes both boys and girls as external applicants into Year 12. Year 7 is the school's main entry point, with 150 places offered each year following the 11+ test. Mid-year places in other year groups are considered only when a pupil leaves and a vacancy arises.

Year 12 sixth form is the only other standard entry point, open to external applicants of either gender who meet the published GCSE requirements; the school states that a minimum of 50 external students are admitted each year alongside its own Year 11 pupils who meet the same criteria.

How the 11+ assessment works

The 11+ assessment for Year 7 is the CSSE test, used by all ten member schools of the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex so that a boy applying to more than one of them sits only one set of papers. Candidates sit two papers in a single session: English, lasting 60 minutes with a further 10 minutes of reading time, and mathematics, also 60 minutes.

The English paper uses reading comprehension and continuous writing to test comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and written composition, with no multiple choice questions. The mathematics paper is based on the Key Stage 2 curriculum. There is no separate verbal or non-verbal reasoning paper, and the school's own admissions FAQ notes that the qualifying score varies each year and is not known in advance.

KEGS publishes free 11+ familiarisation materials on its own website for families to use ahead of the test.

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Registration and the admissions timeline

Registration for the CSSE test is separate from, and additional to, the local authority school application, and completing the CSSE form alone is not an application to KEGS. Parents register their son directly with the Consortium of Selective Schools in Essex during its published registration window, which opens in spring and closes some weeks later.

The CSSE test is sat on a single Saturday in September of Year 6, with results emailed to parents around three to four weeks afterwards. Essex residents must then name KEGS as a preference on the Essex Common Application Form by the autumn deadline; families outside Essex apply through their own local authority using the equivalent form. Offers for all Essex secondary schools are made on National Offer Day the following March.

For sixth form, prospective external applicants can register interest at any time, but a formal application is only made on GCSE results day in August, when an online form opens for candidates to submit their results and their choice of four A Level subjects.

Interviews and references

No interview is held as part of Year 7 admissions; selection is based on the CSSE test scores alone. KEGS's own FAQ recommends that parents speak to their son's class teacher at junior school about his suitability for grammar school; this advice is given to parents, and the school does not require a formal reference.

Sixth form entry is decided on GCSE results against the published point score and subject grade requirements, without a separate written test or interview described on the school's admissions pages.

Catchment and oversubscription criteria

KEGS defines a priority admissions area covering 12.5 miles from the school in a straight line, measured electronically by the local authority using Ordnance Survey data, which functions in place of a fixed catchment boundary. Of the 150 Year 7 places, the first 120 go to the highest scoring boys who have lived continuously at their permanent home address within the priority area from a fixed date in October of Year 6 onward; the remaining places go to the highest scoring boys regardless of where they live.

A boy who moves into the priority area after that October date in Year 6 is not treated as a priority area applicant, and families are asked to provide evidence of continuous residency throughout the qualifying period. The school asks that any suspected fraudulent address claims be reported to the school or to Essex County Council. Families can check their address against the priority area using the Chelmsford Grammar Schools Distance Checker tool.

Appeals against a refused place are administered by Essex County Council's Statutory Appeals Team under a published annual appeals timetable.

Sixth-form entry requirements

Sixth form entry does not use the priority admissions area; it is decided solely on GCSE results, open equally to applicants of any gender. External applicants need an average GCSE points score of at least 6.625 across their best eight subjects, with grades converted to points under the school's published scale, together with grade 6 or higher in GCSE mathematics and English.

For each A Level subject an applicant wishes to study, a suitably high grade is required, usually A or grade 7 or better; A Level mathematics requires grade 8 and Further Mathematics requires grade 9. Places in each subject also depend on availability within teaching groups. Current KEGS Year 11 pupils are not automatically offered a sixth form place and must meet the same admissions criteria as external applicants.

Where pupils join from

KEGS does not publish a list of feeder primary schools and gives no priority to pupils from particular primary schools; entry is decided by CSSE test score and, for most places, residence within the priority area.

Most boys live within the 12.5 mile priority area that determines 120 of the 150 Year 7 places, though the remaining places are open to the highest scoring boys from anywhere, regardless of home address.

How to prepare

Because the CSSE test covers only English and mathematics, with no verbal or non-verbal reasoning paper, preparation is most useful when it builds fluency in Key Stage 2 mathematics reasoning and in comprehension and continuous writing under timed conditions; reasoning puzzle formats used by other 11+ providers do not feature in this test.

Families can start with the free familiarisation materials KEGS publishes on its own website and the sample papers CSSE makes available, since these reflect the actual question styles, timing and the 10 minute reading allowance on the English paper. Because the qualifying score varies each year and is not published in advance, preparation is best aimed at steady, calm familiarity with the format; a fixed target mark cannot be set in advance.

For sixth form entry, preparation centres on GCSE results themselves against the published point score and subject grade thresholds, since there is no separate written entrance test at that stage.

Related guides

• County grammar schools guide
• Best grammar schools in the UK by GCSE results
• Grammar schools in England: the full directory
• Chelmsford County High School for Girls admissions guide
• Colchester County High School for Girls admissions guide
• Colchester Royal Grammar School admissions guide

Preparing for the King Edward VI Grammar School 11+ with Taylor Tuition

Preparation for the King Edward VI Grammar School 11+ tends to go best when it starts early and stays steady, and most families who work with us begin between twelve and eighteen months out. Our tutors, who have prepared pupils for entry to leading independent and grammar schools including Westminster, St Paul's, Wycombe Abbey and Eton, plan the work backwards from the school's own assessment format and registration deadline.

The tutors we match to 11+ preparation are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check.

Families in Birmingham and further afield work with us online, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject, with no registration fee and a free initial consultation to talk through your child's current level and the timeline to the 11+. Families receive progress reports after sessions and have a dedicated point of contact.

Read more about our 11+ entrance exam tutors, or send an enquiry and we will come back with tutor recommendations.