King Edward VI Grammar School
Boys grammar school in Chelmsford, with a mixed sixth form.
| Places in Year 7 | 150 |
| How places are allocated | Catchment, then score |
| Own entrance test | No |
| Feesstate-funded, like every grammar school | None |
What score is needed?
These are the scores of the last place actually offered — not a pass mark. Everyone offered a place scored at least this much.
| Entry year | Category | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Inside priority area | 355 |
| Outside priority area | 372 |
The consortium makes no offer anywhere below 303. Anything above that in the table is the school being oversubscribed, not a higher pass mark.
These move every year and are published months after most families have to choose. Treat them as a guide to how competitive a school is, not a target.
How hard is it to get a place?
In 2026, 412 families put King Edward VI Grammar School first, and 143 of them were offered a place there (35%).
That includes children who did not reach the qualifying score, so it reflects the test and the allocation together, not the allocation alone.
| Year | Places offered | Put it first | Offered a placeof those |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 149 | 339 | 14041% |
| 2025 | 150 | 411 | 14134% |
| 2026 | 149 | 412 | 14335% |
Source: Department for Education, applications and offers. Figures are for National Offer Day in March; places filled later from waiting lists are not included.
How you get a place
Mostly allocated by distance, but with a tier of places reserved for the highest scorers. A very strong score can get you in from outside the usual catchment.
- The highest cutoffs in the consortium by some distance.
- Priority area is 12.5 miles from the school, and you must live there continuously from 31 October in Year 6 through to the start of Year 7. Moving mid-year can forfeit the place.
- Around 120 places go to the priority area, then a small number of open places.
- No sibling priority at Year 7 - siblings only count for Years 8 to 11 and sixth form.
Does it run its own test?
No. Entry is through the CSSE 11+ only.
Does it charge fees?
King Edward VI Grammar School is a state grammar school, so there are no fees. Selective does not mean private. Admission is decided by the CSSE 11+ and the school’s published criteria, never by what a family can pay.
Work out where a score lands
The CSSE 11+ calculator turns marks into a standardised score you can compare against the figures above.
Other schools to look at
Same region, so the same test gets you into all of them. Which of these is a realistic alternative depends far more on how each one allocates places than on its reputation.
Source
Built from published admissions documents for 2027/28: admissions arrangements. Check the school’s own site before applying — arrangements change annually and deadlines are unforgiving.