The eight Birmingham KEVI grammars share a single CEM-style entrance test in mid-September of Year 6, with a cohort-percentile cut-off rather than a fixed scaled score.
The year in shape
Cohort-percentile cuts mean the line moves year-on-year with the strength of the applying group. A 90th-percentile score in a strong year may not qualify; the same score in a weaker year would.
Catchment within Birmingham operates after the cohort cut. Each KEVI school has its own postcode-distance ranking, with some inner-city schools having very tight effective catchments.
Term-by-term plan
Autumn term. Through autumn of Year 5, start CEM-style mixed-paper practice. Birmingham KEVI is not GL-format and generic GL papers will not prepare the child adequately.
Spring term. In spring, focus on vocabulary depth — CEM rewards reading-heavy preparation. A vocabulary book plus daily reading is the highest-leverage Birmingham KEVI preparation.
Summer term & holiday. Through summer, full timed mixed papers fortnightly. The Birmingham KEVI test is mid-September of Year 6, so the summer holiday is the final preparation window.
Topics to prioritise
Highest-leverage topics: CEM vocabulary (cloze and synonyms), comprehension inference, and the harder mental arithmetic question types.
Common mistakes parents make this year
The most common parent mistake is treating Birmingham KEVI like a GL test. The format is genuinely different and CEM-specific practice is essential.
Signs to look for
Signs the year is going well: child scores consistently in the upper third of Birmingham-style mock papers, has growing vocabulary depth, and approaches the September test calmly. If these signs are present, the year is going well; if they are absent, the issue is rarely intelligence — it is usually pacing, format unfamiliarity or the wrong tutoring relationship. Identify which and adjust deliberately.
Where to go next
Read the Birmingham county guide for the calendar; read the CEM format guide; consider sitting one or two Birmingham-specific mocks in late August. Read across the related guides on this site — the guides index groups them by category for easy navigation.