Thousands of practice questions and up to 6 mock papers, all in the exact Queen Mary's Grammar 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 Queen Mary's Grammar School 11+ format, on one simple plan. It starts with a free diagnostic.
If you want academic stretch for your son but worry it might come at the cost of warmth, Queen Mary's is the kind of grammar that puts that worry to rest. Parents told the Good Schools Guide they chose it because it felt more caring than other grammars and offered more beyond the classroom, and pupils describe a real sense of community where teachers go well beyond the call of duty. It is a selective boys' grammar in Walsall, taking boys at eleven and welcoming girls as well as boys into the sixth form.
The school is one of the oldest in the country, founded in 1554 in the reign of Mary Tudor, whose name it still carries, yet it does not lean on tradition for its own sake. School life is built around four ideas it calls the pillars: an academic focus, an international outlook, an enterprising spirit and a sense of community. Boys are regularly nudged out of their comfort zones, travelling widely and trying things they might not have found on their own. The house system, with the Queen Mary's Club keeping old boys in touch, gives the place a long memory and a settled character.
Pastoral care sits at the heart of how the school runs, rather than being bolted on around the academic work, and the head is Mr Richard Langton, in post since 2018. Queen Mary's suits a curious, hard-working boy who will make the most of every opportunity and enjoy a school that knows him as a person rather than a name on a list.
No
Does Queen Mary's Grammar School have a catchment area?
No. Places are offered purely on the entrance test, by rank order of standardised score after priority for looked-after and Pupil Premium pupils, so boys can apply from anywhere rather than from a defined catchment.
Queen Mary's Grammar School uses the GL exam board for its 11+ entrance test.
No, Queen Mary's Grammar School does not include an interview stage in its 11+ admissions process.
Queen Mary's Grammar School is a single-sex school for boys at 11+. Girls are welcomed into the sixth form.
No, Queen Mary's Grammar School does not have a defined catchment area. Places are offered based on rank order of standardised scores.
As a grammar school, Queen Mary's Grammar School does not charge annual fees for its pupils.
The official website for Queen Mary's Grammar School is https://qmgs.walsall.sch.uk/.
Your son first needs to reach the minimum qualifying score in the entrance test, set each year once results are in. Queen Mary's runs its own test as part of a West Midlands consortium: two papers covering verbal ability and reading comprehension, non-verbal ability and numerical ability. You must register with both the school and your local authority and name the school as a preference, or no place can be offered however well he scores. If oversubscribed, qualifying boys are offered places in priority order. A looked-after or previously looked-after boy comes first, then boys on Pupil Premium (up to 30% of places, with priority for those at a Walsall state primary), then all other qualifying boys, each ranked by score. There's no fixed pass mark; it depends on demand each year.
If your son can't sit the test on the day because of illness or another exceptional reason, the school will make alternative arrangements for him to take it. Telephone the school for advice at the earliest opportunity, ideally before the test. Note the school can't make allowances for a score affected by illness, so taking the test on an alternative date is the route rather than adjusting marks afterwards. For a disability or special educational need, apply for special arrangements by the published June deadline so a panel can decide what support to put in place.
