King Edward VI High School for Girls

First-class results, a 50-acre campus, and a place among the very best schools in England: King Edward VI High School for Girls sets an exacting standard in the leafy suburb of Edgbaston. Known widely as KEHS, this academically selective independent day school takes around 660 girls aged 11 to 18 and shares its grounds with King Edward's School, the linked boys' school. Chief Master and Principal Kirsty von Malaisé, who since September 2024 has led both schools, oversees a community that finished top of Birmingham for both GCSE and A-level results. The guiding line the school sets itself is inspiring the joy of learning and scholarship, and the numbers suggest it delivers. Founded in 1883, KEHS pairs a demanding academic culture with an extra-curricular programme wide enough, and serious enough, to count as a defining feature in its own right.

For more than 140 years KEHS has educated girls in Birmingham, and since 1883 the through-line has been scholarship taken seriously but never joylessly. The school sits on a 50-acre site in Edgbaston that it shares with King Edward's School, a scale of space and facility that few day schools in England can match. That shared campus shapes daily life: orchestras, drama, sport and much of the sixth-form social calendar are run jointly with the boys' school, so a single-sex classroom experience arrives with a co-educational co-curriculum attached. Girls learn in lessons designed around them, then rehearse, compete and perform alongside a wider community. It is an unusual arrangement, and one of the school's defining features: the focus of a single-sex classroom, paired with the range of activity a much larger site can sustain.

The atmosphere is studious and self-directed rather than pressured for its own sake. Students are enthusiastic learners who take pride in their work and are keen to do well, and girls are extremely proud of their school, running house events and mentoring younger year groups as they move up. That sense of ownership is one of the more telling things about the place: leadership is expected of students, not just offered to them, and the older girls act as visible role models for those below.

The intake is genuinely diverse, and students from different backgrounds mix easily, developing an understanding of one another's cultures. Serious misbehaviour and bullying are very rare, and the culture is one of quiet purpose rather than competition between classmates. What comes through is a school confident enough in its academic standing that it does not need to manufacture pressure; the ambition is real, but it is channelled into curiosity.

KEHS is a school of Christian foundation, part of the historic King Edward VI charity, but its religious character is light-touch and its community strongly multi-faith. A Sikh Society, an Afro Caribbean Society and a Spectrum Society for LGBT+ students sit comfortably alongside the school's Christian roots, and the ethos in practice is inclusive rather than devotional. For most families the foundation is a matter of heritage and values rather than daily worship, which broadens rather than narrows who the school is for.

The headline figures are exceptional. At GCSE, 84% of grades were awarded at grade 9 or 8, the equivalent of the old A*, and 95% reached grade 7 or above. That places KEHS 11th of 3,895 schools in England for GCSE results, the top 0.3%, ranked against every school in England with published GCSE results, state and independent alike. This is a proprietary FindMySchool ranking built from official data. On the blended overall measure, which combines those results with the FindMySchool inspection score, the school ranks 18th of 3,887, and it sits 1st in Birmingham. In plain terms, this is among the highest-performing girls' schools in the country, and the leading school in its own city.

The sixth form matches it. A-level students posted 43% of entries at A* and 79% at A* or A, against an England average of roughly 24% at those top two grades. Fully 95% of entries reached A* to B, more than double the England average of about 47%. Those results rank the school 24th of 2,562 for A-level in England, the top 0.9%, with an overall position of 26th of 2,561 and, again, 1st place in Birmingham. Across both key stages the pattern is consistent: near the summit nationally, and unbeaten locally.

What the raw figures do not show is value added. Students achieve results in public examinations that exceed expectations from their given starting points, which matters at a selective school where high entry standards can flatter outcomes. Here the progress is real, not simply a reflection of who walks through the door at 11. For parents comparing selective options, that distinction is worth holding onto: strong intake and strong teaching are not the same thing, and KEHS demonstrates both.

Teaching is well planned and pitched to stretch. Lessons meet the needs of all students and produce good progress, delivered by departments confident in their subjects. The curriculum is broad and unapologetically academic: the sixth form alone offers 24 A-level subjects, including Classical Greek, Latin, Mandarin and Further Mathematics alongside the sciences and humanities, plus the Extended Project Qualification for independent research. Languages, classics and the sciences all run deep, which keeps competitive university routes open rather than forcing early narrowing.

Beyond the timetable, the Athena Programme is the school's own scheme for intellectual curiosity, pointing students towards free online material such as Harvard courses in subjects from coding to Norwegian. It is characteristic of a place that treats learning as something to pursue for pleasure, not only for the mark. The EPQ works in the same spirit, giving sixth formers a taste of self-directed research before university.

The one area marked for development is consistency: the monitoring of teaching and learning could be more even across departments, so that the encouragement of students' independent thinking is further embedded. It is a refinement at the margins rather than a structural weakness, and a fair reflection of a school already operating at a very high level. The honest reading is that KEHS is polishing an already strong model, not fixing a flaw.

Almost every leaver goes on to higher education. In the most recent cohort of 93 students, 82% progressed to university, with a further share heading into employment and other routes. A very high proportion secure places at Russell Group universities, and destinations span a wide array of degree courses rather than clustering in a handful of subjects, which reflects the breadth of the sixth-form curriculum feeding them.

Oxbridge remains a well-worn path. In the most recent cycle, 29 applications produced five offers, all of them accepted, split four to Oxford and one to Cambridge. Beyond the two ancient universities, the school's own guidance points students towards the full range of leading institutions, and the emphasis is as much on the right course as on the biggest name. Competitive professional routes are supported early: a Medical Society and a Dental Society help students preparing for medicine and dentistry with admissions tests and interviews, while sixth-form subject choice keeps law, engineering and the sciences realistic destinations. UCAS support, interview preparation and careers counselling are built into the sixth-form experience, and sixth formers have their own spaces to work and socialise in, from the study and collaboration area known as the Atrium, with its own computer room, to Cafe Six, the sixth-form social and dining space. Alumnae give some sense of where such an education can lead: they include the actress Lindsay Duncan, the comedian and author Natalie Haynes, the novelist Lindsey Davis and the geneticist Mary Lyon, along with the Paralympic athlete Susie Rodgers. For families weighing sixth forms, the combination of breadth of subjects and depth of destinations is one of the school's clearest strengths.

Entry is academically selective and the two main gateways are Year 7 at 11 and Year 12 at 16. Applicants for Year 7 sit assessments in English and Mathematics, and admission is direct to the school rather than coordinated through the local authority, so families apply to KEHS itself and manage the timeline with the school. A £50 registration fee plus VAT applies on application, and successful families secure the place with a £400 deposit. Sixth-form entry is offered to external applicants as well as the school's own students, with places conditional on GCSE performance and the subject-specific grades each A-level department requires. That two-stage structure means there is a genuine second entry point at 16 for girls who did not join at 11.

Demand is strong and places are limited: the school currently rolls around 660 girls against a capacity of 700, and it is approved to raise that maximum to 750 from September 2026, adding a new science laboratory and expanded dining capacity to accommodate the growth. Even with that increase, a small roll and a strong reputation across the West Midlands keep competition high, so early preparation for the entrance assessments matters. Faith is not an admissions criterion, so the Christian foundation places no requirement on applicants of any or no religion.

Because this is an independent school with its own assessments, there is no published catchment distance in the way a state school has one; girls travel in from across Birmingham, Solihull and the wider region. Families comparing options can use the FindMySchool map to gauge travel time from home, the local hub tool to view KEHS alongside other selective schools side by side, and the saved-schools shortlist to keep a longlist in one place.

Safeguarding is a clear strength. Inspectors judged arrangements highly effective, with staff at all levels alert to how concerns are recognised and reported, and attentive to risks students may face outside school as well as in it. Wellbeing is promoted through an academic culture of scholarship supported by sensitive pastoral care: high expectations held with genuine support rather than in place of it.

Structures back this up. The Learning Support team, led by qualified SENDCo Ms Davies and including deputies for transitions and for students learning English as an additional language, coordinates provision across the school. The Warnock Room offers a quiet sanctuary during study periods, breaks and lunch for students who need calmer space, which is a small but meaningful signal that the school plans for difference rather than assuming uniformity.

Older girls take visible responsibility, mentoring younger year groups and leading house events, which builds a strong sense of ownership and gives pastoral care a peer dimension as well as a staff one. Behaviour rarely gets in the way of learning, and the low incidence of bullying suggests the culture is as settled as the results are strong. For a high-achieving school, that balance of challenge and care is the point worth emphasising.

The co-curriculum is where KEHS moves from strong to distinctive. Inspectors named the extra-curricular programme a significant strength, noting that leaders plan carefully to provide opportunities across a wide range of activities and to keep students balanced between work and everything else. Much of it runs jointly with King Edward's School, which gives it unusual scale.

Music is a major pillar. The Joint Symphony Orchestra is 80 musicians strong, the Choral Society numbers around 100 singers, and the ladder of ensembles runs from a Chamber Choir and Concert Orchestra down through a Training String Orchestra, a Lower School Choir, senior and junior Swing Bands, a Concert Band, a Wind Band, two Guitar Ensembles for varying abilities and a Recorder Ensemble. That depth means a beginner and an accomplished performer both have somewhere to play, and the joint ensembles give players the experience of performing in full-scale orchestras and choirs rather than small groups. Much of this performs in the Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Performing Arts Centre, a £11m building opened in 2012 with a 400-seat concert hall and a 120-seat studio theatre.

Drama is similarly serious. Lunchtime Drama Clubs run for every year group in conjunction with the boys' school, sixth formers can train in technical theatre through Stage Crew, mount their own post-exam Syndicate Play written and produced by students, and work towards formal LAMDA qualifications. The result is a route from casual lunchtime participation through to accredited performance and backstage craft, not just an annual production.

On the sciences and public-affairs side, MedSoc and a Dental Society support medical and dental aspirants, Model United Nations sharpens debate and diplomacy, and the Quill creative-writing group gives young writers an outlet. The £3m Design Centre, opened in January 2023, houses a design technology studio, two computing labs, a ceramics studio and an art library, anchoring design, computing and art in purpose-built space. A Sustainability Society channels the growing environmental interest among students, and a spread of cultural and identity societies, including the Afro Caribbean Society and the Spectrum Society, gives the co-curriculum a social and civic dimension as well as an academic one.

Sport draws on the shared campus. Students have use of the KES Andrew Brode Sports Centre, a swimming pool, a sports hall with badminton, netball and basketball courts and cricket nets, a fitness suite, two astro hockey pitches, seven tennis courts, five netball courts and an international-standard athletics track. Few day schools can offer that spread. Outdoor education is ambitious too: the Duke of Edinburgh's Award runs through to Gold, an Adventure Club Leaders Programme develops student leadership in the outdoors, and sixth formers take on World Challenge expeditions overseas. Between music, drama, sport, STEM societies and the outdoors, the breadth is genuine rather than advertised, and its billing as a defining strength is easy to believe.

Day fees for 2026/27 are £6,260 per term, or £7,512 per term including VAT, which works out at roughly £22,500 a year once VAT is applied. There is no boarding; KEHS is a day school throughout. A registration fee of £50 plus VAT applies on application, with a £400 acceptance deposit to secure a place.

Crucially, fees come with a substantial financial-aid programme. Through the school's Assisted Places scheme, means-tested support can cover the full cost for families with a household income below about £28,000, with a sliding scale of help extending up to an £80,000 income threshold. Awards can also include practical extras such as free school meals, help with travel, uniform grants and the cost of compulsory trips, so that a place is genuinely usable and not just nominally funded. The distinction matters: a bursary here is designed to remove the everyday barriers as well as the tuition bill. Families for whom cost is the obstacle should look closely at this scheme before ruling the school out.

KEHS operates as a day school with no boarding, running the standard school week. The Edgbaston campus is unusually well connected. Frequent bus routes 61 and 63 run along the Bristol Road between the city centre and Frankley, route 76 links towards Solihull via Kings Heath and Yardley Wood, and Service 1 and 1S reach Moseley, Acocks Green and Solihull Station. The Cross-City rail line stops at University Station, a walk of under ten minutes through the campus. From September 2026 the school is adding Zeelo private coach services from the Hagley and Stourbridge direction and from Solihull, with live tracking and a carbon-neutral operation. With that many public-transport options converging on one site, few pupils are dependent on a car run, which widens the realistic catchment considerably. Specific term dates and daily hours are best confirmed directly with the school.

Entry is genuinely competitive. With a small roll, selective assessments at 11 and 16, and results that make it a first-choice school across the West Midlands, securing a place is the real hurdle. Strong preparation for the English and Maths assessments matters, and there is no guarantee even for able candidates. The planned rise to 750 places eases, but does not remove, the squeeze.

The academic pace is high. This is a school built for motivated, capable girls who thrive on challenge. The culture is warm, but the expectations are demanding, and a child who needs a gentler tempo may find it intense.

The Christian foundation is largely historical. Families expecting an explicitly devotional environment will not find one; equally, those of other faiths or none should feel entirely welcome, since religion plays no part in admission and the community is strongly multi-faith.

Fees are significant, but aid is real. At roughly £22,500 a year including VAT, cost is a serious commitment. The Assisted Places scheme genuinely offsets this for lower-income families, some paying nothing at all, so the headline price is not the whole story.

King Edward VI High School for Girls is one of the strongest academic girls' schools in England, top of Birmingham at both GCSE and A-level and inside the top 0.3% of the country for GCSE results. What lifts it above a pure results factory is the combination: value added that exceeds starting points, a co-curriculum rich enough to be flagged as a defining strength, and a pastoral culture that is demanding and kind at once. It suits academically able, self-motivated girls who will relish a fast, scholarly environment and the exceptional music, drama, sport and enrichment that a 50-acre shared campus makes possible. The main caveat is access: places are scarce and selective, and fees are high, though the Assisted Places scheme puts the school within reach of families who might assume it is beyond them.