Each of the grammar schools in Birmingham offer some priority to pupil premium applicants within their admissions policies.
The pupil premium grant provides additional funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. Children attracting pupil premium are those who meet the Government’s criteria for pupil premium and whose primary school is in receipt of pupil premium funding for them at the time of the entrance test. If unsure of eligibility, parents/carers are advised to check with their child’s primary school.
For your child to be considered for places at any of the grammar schools under the pupil premium criterion, you must upload an additional form after it has been completed by your child’s primary school when registering for the entrance test. The form will be available for download from 5th May 2026 when test registration opens.
Children who subsequently become registered for pupil premium after the entrance test date of 12th September 2026 will not be considered for one of the pupil premium places.
Applicants must achieve the Qualifying Score to be considered for places at the grammar schools – extra marks are not awarded in the entrance test to applicants registered as pupil premium. Only state-funded schools receive pupil premium funding. Therefore, if your child is home educated or attends an independent school they will not be eligible to be considered under the pupil premium criterion.
Changes to Free School Meal (FSM) eligibility from September 2026
From the start of the 2026/2027 academic year, the DfE is delivering an expansion to FSM eligibility to include all pupils from households in receipt of Universal Credit (UC). There will then be two categories of free school meals:
- ‘Targeted FSM’, which continues to be based on the existing £7,400 income threshold; and
- ‘Expanded FSM’, which will apply to meals only, covering pupils who do not qualify for Targeted FSM, but who are in households in receipt of Universal Credit.
Pupil premium will only be available to those in the Targeted FSM cohort.
Pupils who will now be eligible for FSM under the Expanded FSM will not attract the pupil premium and will therefore not receive pupil premium priority within the schools’ admissions policies.
