If King Edward VI Aston School is on your child's list, preparation should be shaped around how this school actually selects — not generic 11+ advice. Aston is one of the six schools of the King Edward VI Foundation in Birmingham, and it recruits through the Foundation's shared common entrance test rather than a paper of its own. That single fact does most of the work in planning your practice: you are preparing for a GL Assessment test with a published, learnable set of question types, sat on a single day in September of Year 6. Below we set out what the school is, exactly how selection works, what to practise, and a calm, realistic timeline you can follow with free resources.
About King Edward VI Aston School
Founded in 1883, Aston is a boys' grammar school (with a mixed sixth form) in the north of Birmingham. It is one of the six King Edward VI Foundation schools, a group that shares a single common entrance test and a co-ordinated admissions process. As a Foundation grammar, its intake is decided by performance on that test alongside the Foundation's oversubscription and catchment rules, so a strong test score is the entry point rather than the whole story.
- Location: Birmingham, West Midlands
- Intake: Boys (Mixed Sixth Form)
- Founded: 1883
- Type: Foundation Grammar (King Edward VI Foundation)
- Admissions test: King Edward VI common entrance test (GL Assessment)
For open-day dates, the current year's admissions policy and the exact registration deadlines, the school's own site is always the authority: keaston.bham.sch.uk. You can also see our full school profile and browse nearby selective schools in our grammar school directory.
How selection works at King Edward VI Aston School
Aston selects through the King Edward VI common entrance test, which is set by GL Assessment. Because the six King Edward VI Foundation grammar schools plus the two Sutton Coldfield grammars co-ordinate, your child sits one test that can put them in the running for several schools at once, listed in preference order on a single application. The test is held in September of Year 6, with results issued in the autumn ahead of the national secondary-transfer deadline.
The Birmingham Foundation format is a GL multiple-choice test covering the core 11+ skill areas — English (comprehension and vocabulary), Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning — delivered across separately timed sections on a single test day. Answers are marked on a separate sheet, there is no calculator, and the pace is brisk (roughly a minute a question). Scores are age-standardised, so a summer-born child is not penalised for being younger than an autumn-born classmate sitting the same paper. We do not publish a guaranteed cut-off score: the qualifying mark and the number of places offered vary year to year and by preference order, so always read the current admissions policy on the school's website rather than relying on last year's figures.
What to practise for this test
GL is the most predictable of the boards, which is good news: the question types are published and stable, so systematic, type-by-type practice pays off directly. Cover all four areas, then let a first timed paper show you where the real gaps are.
- Verbal Reasoning: drill the named GL types — codes, letter sequences, hidden words, analogies, odd-one-out, closest-meaning and opposites, compound words, move-a-letter and number series — until each is automatic. Vocabulary is the single best predictor of scores here, so pair drills with daily reading.
- Non-Verbal Reasoning: practise series, matrices, analogies, odd-one-out, reflections, rotations and cube nets so the visual patterns become quick to spot.
- Maths: secure KS2 number, fractions, percentages, ratio and word problems up to the Year 5 curriculum ceiling, with times tables to 12×12 fully fluent.
- English: timed comprehension plus a steady programme of vocabulary building.
Start with our free GL Assessment practice papers, use the worksheet library to shore up the weakest subject, and build exam stamina with full-length timed mock papers. In the run-up to the test, switch to Birmingham-format papers on our centre-specific mocks page so the timing and layout feel familiar.
A realistic preparation timeline
You do not need years of tutoring — you need consistent, well-spaced practice and a child who stays calm under time pressure. Here is a build-up that works for most families.
- Year 4: daily reading for pleasure across genres, and times tables to 12×12. No formal papers yet — the goal is fluency and a love of reading.
- Year 5 autumn: begin 15–20 minutes of daily topic practice with our free worksheets, introducing verbal and non-verbal question types one at a time.
- Year 5 spring: check the Foundation's registration window on the official school website and our key dates page — Birmingham registration typically opens in the spring/summer of Year 5, and missing the deadline cannot be undone.
- Year 5 summer to early Year 6: one full timed mock paper a week; review the errors far more carefully than the score.
- Final six weeks (September test): switch to centre-specific papers in the Birmingham GL format, and taper — short, confidence-building sessions rather than cramming.
On the day and after
By test day the work is done; your job is to protect your child's composure. A good night's sleep and a proper breakfast matter more than a final revision push. Remind them of the practical exam craft you have rehearsed: read each question carefully, mark answers in the right place on the separate sheet, and never sit stuck — flag a hard question, move on, and come back if time allows. A child who has sat ten timed mocks at the kitchen table treats the real hall as the eleventh. Afterwards, resist the urge to grill them; results come in the autumn and there is nothing more to be done in the meantime. If the outcome is not what you hoped, remember that a place also depends on catchment and preference order, and the school's admissions policy sets out the appeal and waiting-list routes.
Frequently asked questions
What exam board does King Edward VI Aston use?
GL Assessment. The King Edward VI Foundation common entrance test is a GL multiple-choice paper, so GL-style, type-by-type practice is exactly the right preparation.
Which subjects are tested?
The four core 11+ areas: English (comprehension and vocabulary), Maths, Verbal Reasoning and Non-Verbal Reasoning, taken in separately timed sections on one test day in September of Year 6.
What score does my child need to pass?
There is no fixed public pass mark. Scores are age-standardised and the qualifying threshold varies by year and by how the eight schools fill their places, so check the current admissions policy on the school's website rather than relying on old figures.