City Academy, Birmingham

Ofsted's report card from its 10 February 2026 inspection grades City Academy on 6 areas: 4 expected standard and 2 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Safeguarding, inclusion and pastoral staff are all involved in the school's strategy to improve attendance."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "There are clear systems in place to identify and track the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Pupils' best interests are at the heart of decisions made by leaders at all levels."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The pastoral care of pupils is a strength of the school."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Although pupils' achievement is improving at City Academy, over time, a number of pupils do not achieve as well as they should."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "The school has an appropriate, well-sequenced curriculum in place."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is implemented more consistently so that pupils build the knowledge and skills they need to achieve successful outcomes across the curriculum"; "Leaders should ensure that all teaching staff have the skills to check how much pupils understand at the point of learning and to make appropriate adaptations in response"; "Leaders should ensure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from greater consistency between lessons in how well learning is adapted to meet their needs".

From the headteacher's welcome: "City Academy is a team that is ambitious in its aspirations for all students. We work within our community to ensure we break down and remove all barriers to success. We consider all our students our ‘City Lights’, as they will illuminate all our futures."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include chess and coding.

Coming up: an open day on Thursday 19 November 2026 and an open day on Thursday 10 December 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at City Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 37.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.5 in Birmingham and 47 across England.

32% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Birmingham and 47% in England.

That is up from 36.4 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.47: pupils made below 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 33.1, against 44.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.7 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.

For September 2026 entry, 34 families put City Academy as their first choice and 276 named it as one of their preferences, for 61 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to City Academy are Riverside Virtual College (0.1 miles); Ark St Alban's Academy (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.4); Jewellery Quarter Academy (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.1); and Birmingham Ormiston Academy (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 53).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than City Academy.

City Academy is one of 4 schools run by Core Education Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39.5 in 2024/25.

Of the 162 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 67% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

57% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 49.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (38%), Mixed (23%) and other ethnic groups (16%).

In 2026, 96 pupils (17.3%) received SEN support and 3 (0.5%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Five Ways Rail Station, about 430 metres away (roughly a 5-minute walk).

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Granville Street (opposite), 60 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 1688 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, City Academy issued 442 suspensions, 71.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to City Academy are St Thomas Church of England Primary School (0.1 miles), St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles), Oasis Academy Woodview (0.4 miles) and Nelson Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.