Lift Greenwood, Birmingham

Ofsted's report card from its 13 January 2026 inspection grades Lift Greenwood 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.

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders hold an accurate view of the curriculum and teaching and act promptly to improve them."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "The school's ambition for inclusion is clear."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders have rejuvenated the school's expectations and aspirations for pupils."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed a well‑sequenced personal development programme."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Published data shows that, overall, key stage 4 outcomes are below national averages, with gaps widening for some pupils."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Overall, attendance remains below national figures for several groups of pupils, and persistent absence is still high."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently and effectively adapt learning to meet the specific needs of pupils so that gaps in knowledge are closed swiftly"; "Leaders should continue to develop a culture where the importance of high attendance is celebrated across the school community to ensure that high attendance is achieved for all pupils"; "Leaders should ensure that recent effective teaching strategies are embedded across the school so that pupils' achievements improve rapidly".

The school runs a breakfast club.

In 2026, pupils at Lift Greenwood averaged an Attainment 8 score of 34.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 47.5 in Birmingham and 47 across England.

36% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 49% in Birmingham and 47% in England.

That is up from 31.8 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.97: pupils made well 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 31.5, against 40.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 8.6 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 173 families put Lift Greenwood as their first choice and 449 named it as one of their preferences, for 203 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 Lift Greenwood are Park Hall Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 46.1); Hodge Hill Girls' School (1.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50); Hodge Hill College (2.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.1); and St Edmund Campion Catholic School (2.2 miles, Attainment 8 41.1).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than Lift Greenwood.

Lift Greenwood is one of 62 schools run by Lift Schools, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.7 in 2024/25.

56 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Lift Greenwood (as of April 2026): 59% would recommend the school, 57% say their child is happy there and 39% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (68%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (39%).

Of the 172 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 78% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 67% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 49 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 49% went on to university or other higher education, 10% to apprenticeships and 14% into work.

56% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 8.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (60%), Mixed (18%) and Black (10%).

Lift Greenwood has a resourced provision for autism: 36 places, 36 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Water Orton Rail Station, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Rawlins Croft (adjacent), 170 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Lift Greenwood 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 212 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, vehicle crime and shoplifting. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Birmingham (435).

In 2024/25, Lift Greenwood issued 64 suspensions, 6.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Lift Greenwood are Pegasus Primary School (0.1 miles), St Gerard's Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles), Topcliffe Primary School (0.5 miles) and Chivenor Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.