Skip to main content

E-ACT Heartlands Academy, Birmingham

Outstanding
Secondary
Academy sponsor led
Mixed
Ages 11–18

E-ACT Heartlands Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in Birmingham, part of E-Act. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in February 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 25th-highest of the 91 schools in Birmingham with published results, and 1,181st of 3,298 across England. It was 88% full in 2025.

GCSE results
In line with England
Ofsted
Outstanding (2014)
Demand
Oversubscribed
Attendance
Better than England average
Progress (2024)
Average
New inspections, open days and news, by email.

Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days

Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Birmingham (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.

Data last updated 26 Oct 2026

E-ACT Heartlands Academy in detail

E-ACT Heartlands Academy in its own words

In its own words: "We have the highest aspirations and believe every member of our academy community can achieve. We are a strong team that supports one another to be the best that they can be. Our team is strengthened by our diversity. We celebrate together."

Vision and values (school website)

Source: The school's own website

Results

In 2026, pupils at E-ACT Heartlands Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48.7, 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 down from 50.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.07: pupils made about 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 47.9, against 51.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 3.4 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Statistics and History.

Getting a place at E-ACT Heartlands Academy

For September 2026 entry, 173 families put E-ACT Heartlands Academy as their first choice and 633 named it as one of their preferences, for 148 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 37 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Admissions history and your chances at E-ACT Heartlands Academy

Compared with nearby schools

The nearest other state secondary schools to E-ACT Heartlands Academy are BOA Digital Technologies Academy (0.3 miles); Aston University Engineering Academy (0.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.5); Star King Solomon Academy (0.5 miles, Attainment 8 32.4); and Birmingham Ormiston Academy (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 53).

E-ACT Heartlands Academy's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.

BOA Digital Technologies AcademyAston University Engineering AcademyStar King Solomon AcademyBirmingham Ormiston Academy

The trust

E-ACT Heartlands Academy is one of 37 schools run by E-Act, an academy trust.

All 37 schools in E-Act

What parents say

144 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about E-ACT Heartlands Academy (as of September 2025): 79% would recommend the school, 89% say their child is happy there and 77% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (90%); the weakest, that the school supports their child's wider development (74%).

Where pupils go next

Of the 176 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 85% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 49% to a further education college and 1% into work.

Who goes there

76.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 71.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Black (43%), Asian (40%) and other ethnic groups (8%).

In 2026, 114 pupils (13.1%) received SEN support and 8 (0.9%) 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 a moderate learning difficulty.

Getting there

The nearest railway station is Duddeston Rail Station, about 240 metres away (roughly a 3-minute walk).

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Duddeston Rail Sta (before), 130 metres away.

The area around the school

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood E-ACT Heartlands Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

Suspensions and exclusions

In 2024/25, E-ACT Heartlands Academy issued 70 suspensions, 8.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

Primary schools nearby

The primary schools closest to E-ACT Heartlands Academy are St Matthew's CofE Primary School (0.1 miles), St Vincent's Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles), Cromwell Junior and Infant School (0.5 miles) and St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.

St Matthew's CofE Primary SchoolSt Vincent's Catholic Primary SchoolCromwell Junior and Infant SchoolSt Joseph's Catholic Primary School

Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics

Location

Likely (~349m)Possible (~499m)Unlikely (~649m)

Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Sophia Haughton
Pupils:868
LA:Birmingham
Phone:01214643931
Address:Great Francis Street, Nechells, Birmingham, B7 4QR
Trust:E-ACT (37 schools)
Admissions:Non-selective
Status:open
Opened:1 September 2009

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 2 years ago

This judgement is from February 2014, 12 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.

-

Overall

Outstanding

Quality of Education

Outstanding

Behaviour & Attitudes

Outstanding

Personal Development

Outstanding

Leadership & Management

Inspected 25 March 2025View full report
URN:135907
UKPRN:10028140
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Birmingham Ladywood
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.

What This School Does Well

Heartlands Academy creates a safe, supportive environment where pupils feel cared for and want to succeed. Teachers use strong subject knowledge with clear explanations to help pupils learn well, and the school is highly responsive to individual pupil needs. Pupils develop excellent behaviour and high academic aspirations, with disadvantaged pupils achieving just as well as their peers.

Key Strengths

  • Ambitious curriculum with strong outcomes - high numbers of pupils achieve English and mathematics qualifications needed for future success
  • Effective support for struggling readers and pupils with SEND through a 'SEND first' approach that adapts teaching
  • Consistent, high-quality teaching with shared approaches used effectively by all staff
  • Excellent management of safeguarding, behaviour and attendance working closely with families and external agencies
  • Strong personal development programme helping pupils understand different cultures and gain careers support

Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are effective and the school has created an open, positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils' interests first.

Extracurricular Activities

rap club, drones club, academy ambassadors, librarians, sports leaders, safeguarding ambassadors

E-ACT Heartlands Academy is a secondary school in Birmingham that has been judged as Outstanding across all key areas. The school is committed to academic excellence and creating a safe, harmonious environment where pupils thrive.

At a Glance

76.5%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

Yes

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

144 responses
Would recommend79%
Child is happy89%
Child does well88%
High expectations88%
Feels safe90%
Well behaved85%
Bullying dealt with (of parents with a view)77%
Kept informed81%
Handles concerns (of parents who raised one)78%
Wider development74%

Source: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree

Secondary Performance (GCSE)

Academic year 2025/26

GCSE Results

2023
2024
2025
2026
Attainment 8 GCSE Eng+Maths

2025/26 academic year

Progress 8 has declined from 0.37 to 0.07 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 48.3 to 48.7 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has remained stable at around 56% (2023 to 2026).

Performance by Group

GroupProgress 8Attainment 8Eng+Maths 5+
All pupils-48.756.4%
Disadvantaged(115)-47.955.7%
Not known to be disadvantaged(34)-51.358.8%
Boys(63)-46.661.9%
Girls(86)-50.252.3%
Show more breakdowns (2)
Known or believed to be other than English(110)-49.562.7%
Non mobile(148)-48.856.8%

2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data

GCSE Subjects Offered

English Language298
Mathematics298
English Literature292
Combined Science256
Statistics252
History228
Health Studies104
Business Studies86
French74
Religious Studies58
Music52
Art and Design48
Geography48
Chemistry40
Hospitality and Catering40
Design and Technology38
Biology38
Physics36
Sports Studies32
Social Studies1

+ 1 more subjects

2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils

After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations

After GCSEs (Year 11) - 176 students

Continued education85%
Further education49%
Apprenticeships0%
Employment1%
Not in education/employment7%

2023/24 data

Exclusions & Suspensions

0

Permanent exclusions

0.00%

Exclusion rate

70

Suspensions

8.47%

Suspension rate

51 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 826 pupils

2024/25 academic year

How Does This School Compare?

Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools

See peer comparison with Pro - £9 a month, or £90 a year, inc. VAT

Keep up with E-ACT Heartlands Academy

Term dates

E-ACT Heartlands Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Birmingham's term dates for its community schools.

Getting There

Train Stations

Duddeston Rail Station
235m · 4 min walk

Bus Stops

Duddeston Rail Sta (before)
133m · 2 min walk
Hilden Road (opp)
178m · 3 min walk
St Matthew's Church (adj)
291m · 5 min walk
Cato Street (opposite)
336m · 5 min walk
Windsor St South (adj)
380m · 6 min walk

Free school transport

Check free transport to E-ACT Heartlands Academy from your postcode →

You apply to the council where you live. E-ACT Heartlands Academy is in Birmingham; for families living there:

Safety and surroundings

Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)

Collisions
63
Fatal
2
Serious
11
Children hurt
13

Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 63 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 2 fatal, 11 serious and 50 slight.

13 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 9 on foot and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise.

11 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.

The typical figure for schools in Birmingham is 41 (the median across 517 schools, same distance and years).

Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.

Can you get into this school?
Enter your postcode to find out

Commute and house prices

See commute times and house prices with Pro - £9 a month, or £90 a year, inc. VAT

Your chances of a place at E-ACT Heartlands Academy

Will you get a place at E-ACT Heartlands Academy? Get the admissions report

Your home postcode, set against E-ACT Heartlands Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.

What the report includes for E-ACT Heartlands Academy:

  • The straight-line distance from your home to E-ACT Heartlands Academy.
  • Birmingham publishes last distance offered figures, but none for E-ACT Heartlands Academy that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
  • Applications, first choices and offers at E-ACT Heartlands Academy for 2014 to 2026 entry.
  • How many families in Birmingham got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
  • The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
  • Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.

£9.99 once

One school, inc. VAT. Or £19.99 for up to three schools.

Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time

A report for any school, plus everything else in Pro.

Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

88%

Available places

833 pupils

942 places

109 spare places in 2025

2025, DfE school capacity data

Area Demand Pressure - Birmingham

Low pressure
New homes approved:18,575
Projected new pupils:3,344

Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Birmingham

Across Birmingham council

Low demand council-wide0.97 applications per place

Places available

14,956

Applications

14,483

Got 1st preference

75.7%

Got preferred school

97.4%

All secondary applications across Birmingham council (2026/27), not just this school.

This school: Oversubscribed

Inspection History(4)

25 March 2025
Quality of EducationOutstanding
Behaviour & AttitudesOutstanding
Personal DevelopmentOutstanding
Leadership & ManagementOutstanding
5 February 2014
OutstandingReport
Leadership & ManagementOutstanding
25 January 2012
OutstandingReport
Quality of EducationOutstanding
Behaviour & AttitudesOutstanding
Personal DevelopmentOutstanding
Leadership & ManagementOutstanding

SEND & SEN Provision

SEN Overview

114

SEN Support

8

EHC Plans

14.1%

of Total Pupils

2026 academic year

Provision & Specialist Facilities

No specialist provision recorded

Pupils by Need Type

Moderate Learning Difficulty55
Social, Emotional & Mental Health23
Speech, Language & Communication16
Autistic Spectrum Disorder11
Hearing Impairment6
Specific Learning Difficulty5
Severe Learning Difficulty2
Visual Impairment2
Physical Disability1
Other1
EHC Plan
SEN Support

Pupil Demographics

Ethnicity

White British
1.6%
Asian
39.9%
Black
43.0%
Mixed
5.3%
Chinese
0.6%
Other
7.7%
Unclassified
0.1%

2026 academic year

Key Indicators

Free School Meals76.5%
English as Additional Language71.2%

868

Total Pupils

441

Boys

427

Girls

2026 academic year

Workforce

49

Teachers

17.7:1

Pupil-teacher ratio

£54,595

Mean salary

2026 data

School Funding

£8,593

Per pupil

£7911k

Total funding

£623k

Pupil premium

Deprivation£1,750,412
EAL funding£45,257
Lump sum£141,970

2025-26 financial year allocations

Pupil Absence
2024/25

4.2%

Overall absence

9.8%

Persistent absence

867

Enrolments

Authorised2.7%
Unauthorised1.5%
Persistent (10%+)9.8%
Severe (50%+)1.2%

Absence trend

4.1%
18/19
7.5%
20/21
8.7%
21/22
7.9%
22/23
5.4%
23/24
4.2%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

Questions parents ask about E-ACT Heartlands Academy

What are GCSE results like at E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

In the 2026 results, pupils at E-ACT Heartlands Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 48.7. 56% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.

What is E-ACT Heartlands Academy's Ofsted rating?

E-ACT Heartlands Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in February 2014, it was rated Outstanding.

What is the catchment area for E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

No fixed boundary. When E-ACT Heartlands Academy is oversubscribed, Birmingham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.

Is it hard to get a place at E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

E-ACT Heartlands Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 88% of its 942 places.

How big are the classes at E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

Classes at E-ACT Heartlands Academy average 27 pupils (2025/26).

How many pupils go to E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

E-ACT Heartlands Academy has around 868 pupils on roll. 77% are eligible for free school meals.

What is attendance like at E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

4.2% of sessions were missed at E-ACT Heartlands Academy in 2024/25. 9.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).

How do I apply to E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

Apply through Birmingham's coordinated admissions process, naming E-ACT Heartlands Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.

How many road collisions happen near E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 63 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 2 fatal, 11 serious and 50 slight. 13 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 9 on foot and 4 in a vehicle or otherwise. 11 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Birmingham is 41 (the median across 517 schools, same distance and years).

Where is E-ACT Heartlands Academy?

E-ACT Heartlands Academy is at Great Francis Street, Nechells, Birmingham, West Midlands, B7 4QR.

Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)

Work here? Claim this profile free