Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact King Edward VI Shakespeare's School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact King Edward VI Shakespeare's School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
If you are weighing up King Edward VI School for your son, the first thing to know is that it is a state grammar in the middle of Stratford-upon-Avon, taking boys from eleven and opening its sixth form to girls as well. It sits on Chapel Lane, a short walk from the river and the theatres, and the town itself is part of the school's character. Parents tend to describe a place that is busy and friendly without being showy, where a boy who is keen to get stuck in will find plenty waiting for him.
The history here is genuine rather than decoration. The school is known to have existed by 1295 and was re-founded by a charter of King Edward VI in 1553, and its most famous pupil is William Shakespeare, who is believed to have attended in the 1570s. The medieval schoolroom in the Guildhall above the old chapel still stands, and is now widely called Shakespeare's Classroom; the historian Michael Wood once called it a memory room of our culture. Few schools can point a prospective family at the actual room where the country's greatest playwright learned his letters.
For all that, the day-to-day feel is of a small, well-run school rather than a museum. The Good Schools Guide has called it a flourishing school with an impressive offering, and praised results that would turn many independent schools green with envy. Music, sport and drama run hard alongside the academic work, and there is a strong sense of boys being known by name. It suits a child who is academically able and ready to take up what is on offer, and who will enjoy belonging to a school with this much behind it. The headmaster is Bennet Carr.
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Does King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon have a catchment area?
Yes, it uses priority circles measured from the Fountain in Rother Street, Stratford-upon-Avon: an inner circle of 13 miles and an outer circle of 16.885 miles. Boys living within the inner circle who reach the qualifying score are given the highest priority.
King Edward VI Shakespeare's School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance exam.
No, King Edward VI Shakespeare's School does not include an interview stage in its 11+ admissions process.
King Edward VI Shakespeare's School is a single-sex school, taking boys for 11+ entry (Year 7).
The official website for King Edward VI Shakespeare's School is https://www.kes.net/.
Yes, the school uses priority circles measured from the Fountain in Rother Street: an inner circle of 13 miles and an outer circle of 16.885 miles. Boys within the inner circle who reach the qualifying score receive the highest priority.
Your son first needs to reach the required standard in the 11+ test, run by Warwickshire's grammar school consortium. Places are then offered in priority order: looked-after and previously looked-after boys first, then up to thirteen places for boys on Pupil Premium in the priority circles, then boys in the inner priority circle, then boys in the outer priority circle, then boys outside it, and finally boys who reach the lower waiting-list standard. Within each group, higher test scores come first. A boy with an EHCP naming the school is admitted first. There's no fixed pass mark; it depends on demand each year.
If your son has a disability or needs special resources for the test, request this in writing with medical or professional evidence by 30 June 2026. If he is ill on the test day, the school does arrange an alternative date: notify Warwickshire Admissions or the Grammar Schools in Birmingham (whoever you registered with) by the Monday straight after the test, and send a medical note by noon that Wednesday, so the test can be rearranged and your registration stays on time. Contact them as soon as you can.
