King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys

Admission to Camp Hill is based upon success in the 11+ exam along with consideration of proximity to the school. It is also guaranteed that at least 25% of students admitted will be "Pupil Premium Pupils", which are pupils whose families will have received free school meals at some point in the six years prior to application. The changes increased admissions of Pupil Premium students to 25%, and due to the implementation of new catchment areas, admissions were restricted almost exclusively to a small area of city wards surrounding the school. Previously, applications were open to any UK citizen. In public consultation, many concerns were raised about the catchment areas, including that they may be designed to increase applications to the private school of King Edward's School in Edgbaston, overseen by the same body, and that students from the wider West Midlands county, in areas such as Solihull, would find it near impossible to gain entry if not part of the Pupil Premium quota. These concerns were brushed aside by the Schools of King Edward VI, which explained them as affluent parents outside Birmingham being disappointed at their loss of entitlement to a grammar school place. The BBC and others published articles on the changes, but all largely ignored the concerns about the catchment area, focussing instead on the issue of increased admission of deprived pupils, and the perceived class struggle. Additionally, the 11+ entry score, which used to be different for each grammar school (with Camp Hill having the highest entry score) was lowered and made the same for every King Edward VI grammar school in Birmingham, which many say is a way of decreasing the school's quality. In a FOI request to The King Edward Schools, release of the consultation responses, and information regarding reasons for the catchment plans, was refused. A complaint regarding conflicts of interest and concerns raised in the consultation was also disregarded.