A limited number of external admissions is anticipated each year into Year 12. For entry into Year 12 in September 2025 this number is expected to be 25. External candidates wishing to apply for a place in the Sixth Form should contact the school. It is not necessary for parents of existing pupils to apply formally for places in Year 12. Places will be provided to internal students who meet the entry requirements.
To achieve entry into the Sixth Form in September 2025, prospective entrants (both internal and external candidates) must achieve our standard entry requirement of five GCSE or Level 2 passes at Grades 9-4 including GCSE English Language/Literature and GCSE Mathematics, plus the minimum requirement for each subject as given in our Minimum Entry Requirements:
| Pathway | Programme Content | Minimum Entry Requirements |
| A Level Pathway | Most students will study 3 A Levels and enrichment subjects, continuing with all 3 subjects to the end of Year 13 | Standard entry requirements plus minimum requirement for each subject chosen |
| If students have achieved exceptionally well at GCSE they may take 4 A Levels with an enrichment option, continuing with all 4 subjects to the end of Year 13. | 6 GCSEs at Grades 7-9 including GCSE English Language/Literature and GCSE Mathematics. | |
| Combined Pathway | Some students will study a mixture of vocational and A Level course (equivalent to 3 A Levels), with at least one enrichment option. E.g. 2 A levels and 1 AAQ. | Standard entry requirements plus minimum requirement for each subject chosen. |
| Under exceptional circumstances we will allow either a Grade 3 in either GCSE English Language or GCSE Mathematics. |
Offers of places in the Sixth Form will be conditional on achievement of these results in the subjects for which the candidate applied. Where the candidate has not met those requirements, the school is not obliged to offer a place on an alternative course, even where the candidate may have achieved the entry requirements in that alternative subject. Offers of places are conditional on the capacity of the chosen courses.
Satisfaction of the grade entry criteria will not guarantee an offer if the subject is over-subscribed. In order for an offer to be made, the applicant must be applying for courses in which there is capacity in each subject the applicant has applied for.
In the event of oversubscription for external places, priority will be given to:
In a very small number of cases it may not be possible to decide between the applications of those pupils who are the final qualifiers for a place, when applying the published admission criteria. For example, this may occur when children in the same year group live at the same address, or where there are twins, or if the distance between the home and school is exactly the same, for example, blocks of flats. If there is no other way of separating the application according to the admissions criteria and to admit both or all of the children would cause the legal limit to be exceeded, random selection will be used to determine the child to be offered the final place.
Any applicant who meets the general admissions requirement but who cannot be offered a place based on the criteria detailed above will be added to the school’s waiting list. The waiting list will be maintained by the school until 31 December 2025.
Conditional offers will become ‘firm’ offers when a copy of GCSE results is provided by 3 pm on GCSE results day. If a student is away on this day, it is strongly advised they make arrangements for GCSE results to be delivered, uploaded, or sent by e-mail. This is the responsibility of the applicant and results not received by the deadline may result in withdrawal of the conditional offer.
If a student is refused a place, they have the right to an appeal to an independent appeal panel. Any appeal application should be sent to the
Clerk to the Governors. The Clerk will arrange an appeal within 30 working days of receiving the appeal request. Please note that parents/carers of the student have a separate right of appeal to an independent appeal panel. Again, please send any application to the Clerk to the Governors.
Admissions 2026/27: We are consulting on our admission arrangements for the 2026/27 academic year. The proposed arrangements can be viewed here (King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls’ Academy Proposed Admissions Arrangements 2026-2027). Should you wish to comment on the proposals please visit OAA- Proposed Admission Arrangements for September 2026/2027 – Birmingham City Council – Citizen Space
