About King Edward VI School, Lichfield
King Edward VI School, Lichfield is a non-selective state secondary school (an academy) in Lichfield, Staffordshire, for around 1,610 pupils aged 11–18. Rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted (October 2022), it is a popular local school with a strong all-round reputation. As a state school, there are no fees.
Because the school is non-selective, there is no 11+ or entrance exam. Admission to Year 7 is managed by Staffordshire County Council through the normal secondary-transfer process, with a published admission number (PAN) of 250; places are allocated by the local authority’s oversubscription criteria (priority to looked-after children, then catchment and distance, with siblings considered).
The school traces its roots to 1495, when Bishop William Smythe founded it as a free grammar school alongside St John’s Hospital — the same foundation that still runs a chapel where daily prayers are said for the school. Its most famous former pupil is the writer and lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson, along with the actor David Garrick and essayist Joseph Addison; two of the school’s four houses (Addison and Garrick) are named after them. The present comprehensive was formed in 1971 when the original grammar school merged with the neighbouring Kings Hill secondary modern, and the school celebrated its 500th anniversary — its Quincentenary — in 1995.
Academically, King Edward VI posts an Attainment 8 score of around 52 and a positive Progress 8 score of roughly +0.18, placing GCSE outcomes above the national midpoint despite the school taking a fully comprehensive, non-selective intake. Its sixth form enrols around 380 students across 29 A-level and BTEC subjects, with a typical entry requirement of 33 GCSE points from a pupil’s best seven results for three A-levels. Popularity has grown in recent years — a recent admissions round saw over 600 applications for the school’s 245 available places, so while there is no exam to sit, catchment and distance genuinely matter for families outside the immediate area.
Admissions at King Edward VI School, Lichfield: a Non-Selective School
King Edward VI School is a non-selective comprehensive, so unlike a grammar school it does not use the 11+ or any entrance test. Every Year 7 place is allocated through Staffordshire County Council’s normal admissions process — there is no exam to sit and no qualifying mark.
It is not part of the selective King Edward VI Foundation grammar schools in Birmingham (Aston, Five Ways and others), which are a separate group that does use an entrance test.
You apply by listing the school on your Common Application Form (CAF) through your home local authority by the 31 October deadline. Where the school is oversubscribed beyond its admission number of 250, places are offered using the local authority’s criteria (priority to looked-after and previously looked-after children, then by catchment area and distance, with siblings taken into account). Offers are issued on National Offer Day in early March.
Year 7 Admissions Guide for King Edward VI School, Lichfield
King Edward VI School is a non-selective state secondary, so admission to Year 7 is handled entirely by Staffordshire County Council — there is no entrance exam. Apply by listing the school on your Common Application Form (CAF) through your home local authority by the 31 October deadline (the year before entry). The school’s admission number is 250; most places go to children living in the catchment area, and where the school is oversubscribed, places are allocated by the local authority’s criteria (priority to looked-after and previously looked-after children, then by catchment and distance, with siblings considered). Offers are issued on National Offer Day in early March.
Catchment Area for King Edward VI School, Lichfield
Most Year 7 places at King Edward VI School go to children living in the school’s catchment area. Where the school is oversubscribed, Staffordshire County Council allocates places using its standard criteria, with distance from the school as a key tiebreaker.
Catchment boundaries and cut-off distances change year to year, so check King Edward VI School’s published admissions policy and Staffordshire County Council before applying.
Is There an Entrance Exam at King Edward VI School, Lichfield?
No. King Edward VI School, Lichfield is a non-selective comprehensive — there is no 11+ and no entrance test, so no practice papers are required. Admission is decided by Staffordshire County Council using catchment and distance, not by a test result.
Do I Need 11+ Practice Papers for King Edward VI School, Lichfield?
No. Because King Edward VI School is non-selective, there is no entrance exam and practice papers are not needed for admission — a Year 7 place is allocated by Staffordshire County Council on the basis of catchment and distance.
If you are also applying to selective schools elsewhere (for example, grammar schools that use the GL Assessment or CEM 11+), ExamTutor’s practice papers can help with those — but they are not required for King Edward VI School, Lichfield.
Finding Out More About King Edward VI School, Lichfield
As a non-selective school there is no exam to prepare for. The best way to get to know the school is to attend its annual open evening (held in the summer term for Year 5 families) and to read the school’s prospectus alongside Staffordshire County Council’s admissions information. Focus on the application timeline: list the school on your Common Application Form by 31 October, and watch for offers on National Offer Day in early March.
Beyond academics, the school offers an extensive extracurricular programme — sport includes netball, hockey, rugby, football, basketball and badminton, alongside dance and cheerleading, and there are multiple music ensembles for pupils to join. The campus sits on Upper St John Street in the heart of Lichfield, within walking distance of Lichfield City railway station, and includes a purpose-built music block with an ecological design and a dedicated sixth-form block where older students have their own social and study space.