Ark St Alban's Academy, Birmingham

From the headteacher's welcome: "At Ark St Alban's Academy, we achieve success by working together as a team of pupils, parents and teachers who all have a shared belief that every child can - and will - succeed. From their very first day at Ark St Alban’s Academy, our pupils make rapid progress through our academic curriculum."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, basketball, badminton and drama.

In 2026, pupils at Ark St Alban's Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 50.4, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.5 in Birmingham and 47 across England.

56% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Birmingham and 47% in England.

That is up from 46.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.26: pupils made above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 48.9, against 56.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 16 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and French.

For September 2026 entry, 156 families put Ark St Alban's Academy as their first choice and 433 named it as one of their preferences, for 119 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 43 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Ark St Alban's Academy are Riverside Virtual College (0.7 miles); City Academy (0.8 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 37.5); Holy Trinity Catholic School (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.4); and Birmingham Ormiston Academy (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 53).

Ark St Alban's Academy's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

Ark St Alban's Academy is one of 48 schools run by ARK Schools, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 47.7 in 2024/25.

Of the 156 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 94% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 35% to a further education college.

Of the 86 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 79% went on to university or other higher education, 1% to apprenticeships and 8% into work. 20% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

76.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 67.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are other ethnic groups (35%), Asian (29%) and Black (27%).

In 2026, 120 pupils (15.1%) received SEN support and 13 (1.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is speech, language and communication needs.

The nearest tram or metro stop is Digbeth High Street (West Midlands Metro), about 1000 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Conybere Street (adjacent), 180 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Ark St Alban's Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 1365 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Birmingham (435), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Ark St Alban's Academy issued 118 suspensions, 14.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Ark St Alban's Academy are Chandos Primary School (0.1 miles), Lift Percy Shurmer (0.2 miles), Heath Mount Primary School (0.4 miles) and Harper Bell Seventh-day Adventist School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.