Sixth Form Entrance Requirements for September 2027
To be eligible for entry into the Sixth Form in September 2027, all applicants, including current Handsworth Grammar School pupils and external candidates, must meet the following requirements:
General Entry Requirements
- Achieve a minimum of 46 points from your Best 7 GCSE qualifications.
- Your Best 7 must include:
- GCSE English Language or GCSE English Literature at Grade 6 or above
- GCSE Mathematics at Grade 6 or above
What is the Best 7 score?
Your Best 7 score is calculated using your seven highest GCSE grades, including English (Language and/or Literature) and Mathematics.
Vocational qualifications, such as BTECs, other Level 2 qualifications, and international qualifications, are not included in the Best 7 calculation.
Specific Subject Entry Requirements
In addition to the general entry requirements:
- All A Level subjects require a minimum Grade 7 in the most relevant GCSE subject(s). Except Further Maths that has a minimum grade 8.
Full subject-specific entry requirements are listed below:
Specific Subject Minimum Requirements are:
| A Level Subject | Minimum GCSE Requirement |
| Art | 7 in Art |
| Business | 7 in English Lang or Lit and 7 in Mathematics and 7 in Business Studies (If studied) |
| Computer Science | 7 in Computer Science and 7 in Mathematics |
| Economics | 7 in English Lang. or Lit. and 7 in Mathematics and 7 in Business Studies (If studied) |
| French | 7 in French |
| Further Maths | 8 in Mathematics |
| English Language | 7 in English Lang. |
| Geography | 7 in Geography |
| History | 7 in History |
| Mathematics | 7 in Mathematics |
| Psychology | 7 in English Lang. or Lit. and 7 in Mathematics |
| RS, Philosophy and Ethics | 7 in RS |
Sciences
| A Level Subject | Minimum GCSE Requirement |
| Biology | 7 in Biology |
| Chemistry | 7 in Chemistry |
| Physics | 7 in Physics |
If a student has studied GCSE Combined Science rather than separate sciences, they will require a minimum of two grade 7s and will only be permitted to choose a maximum of 2 Sciences for A-level.
Additional Information
- Conditional offers are not a guarantee of a place, nor a guarantee that the subjects that have been selected by a candidate will be the subjects undertaken at A-level. Subjects to be studied are determined by exam results and availability of spaces and finalised on enrolment into the Sixth Form.
- On GCSE results day, Thursday the 19th of August, students with conditional offers will be enrolled before any late applications are considered.
- Conditional offers are valid until 3:00pm on Thursday the 19th of August after which time.
- The school and its governors reserve the right to reduce curriculum time allocated to a specific course due to low uptake of students, and to completely withdraw a course due to an extremely low uptake of students.
- In the event of over-subscription students will be placed on the waiting list. Preference will be given to looked-after children or previously looked-after children; then GCSE points scores, then availability of subjects chosen and then those who live nearest to the school (according to the straight-line distance between home and school).