Special arrangements and reasonable adjustments
Unable to sit the test on a Saturday
If your child is unable to sit tests on Saturdays for religious reasons, we can arrange an alternative test day.
You must upload a letter of support from their religious leader when completing your child’s registration form. An alternative date will not be offered without a supporting letter.
This letter must be submitted no later than 26 June 2026.
Reasonable adjustments
If your child has a disability and/or requires additional resources or special arrangements to sit the test, you must upload the additional form and supporting evidence when completing your child’s registration form.
It is your responsibility to ensure that the additional form has been uploaded by the deadline of Friday 12 June 2026. This is earlier than the test registration deadline.
If the additional form has not been uploaded by the deadline, no special arrangements can be considered for your child in this test.
You will be asked to detail your child’s disability or condition and how this may impact their ability to access the entrance test. You must supply any relevant evidence and supporting information, including from your child’s primary school, detailing what arrangements are currently in place at school for your child.
The grammar schools in Birmingham do not make suggestions for adjustments, and there are no set adjustments for any particular condition. Each case is different and is assessed on an individual basis. You must detail what adjustments should be made to allow your child to access the test. It is expected that the same or similar adjustments are currently being put in place at school.
Each request is assessed by a panel including:
- an educational psychologist
- a qualified teacher of the visually impaired
- a qualified teacher of children with a hearing impairment
- professionals in the fields of physical difficulties, communication, and autism
The panel is independent and has no affiliation with any of the grammar schools. You will be told the panel's decision before the entrance test.
Whilst ensuring that candidates can access the test by granting reasonable adjustments, the panel will not give a child an unfair advantage over other candidates by granting adjustments that are not required or relevant.
The panel make decisions with the format of this specific test in mind. For example, a child may have additional time on written tests at school due to difficulty with extended writing. This does not mean that the child will receive the same adjustment in this entrance test. As this is a multiple-choice test with no writing involved, the panel would likely refuse a request for additional time.
The panel's decision is final and will not be reviewed.
Illness
Details on the procedure to follow if your child is ill on the morning of the entrance test will be included in the letter posted to your home address in early September.
If your child sits the test despite being unwell, no allowance can be made for the test score achieved to consider the effect of any illness.
Page last updated: 16 June 2026
