Ark St Alban's Academy

Ark St Alban's Academy has made significant strides since its last inspection, moving from a rating of Requires Improvement to Good. The school demonstrates a strong commitment to ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieve well academically and personally. The curriculum is both broad and ambitious, leading to strong outcomes particularly in the sixth form. Teachers benefit from robust support through the multi-academy trust, which bolsters their professional development and subject knowledge.

Strengths

• Pupils achieve well and demonstrate high motivation in learning.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious, and well-sequenced.
• Strong subject knowledge among staff enhances the quality of education.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND leads to positive outcomes.
• High quality guidance is provided for careers and future options.
• Many pupils engage in extracurricular activities and leadership roles.

Areas for Improvement

• Insufficient opportunities for sustained discussion in lessons.
• Inconsistent checks on pupils' understanding during the learning process.
• A small group of pupils use disrespectful language towards peers.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Ark St Alban's Academy attended 95.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 10.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 7.6% of pupils at Ark St Alban's Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Ark St Alban's Academy had 14.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.1% of pupils at Ark St Alban's Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Ark St Alban's Academy received £10,565 and spent £10,103 for each of its 828 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £930,000 (£1,123 per pupil).

Across all 48 schools of Ark Schools, income was £9,191 and spending £9,015 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Birmingham · Birmingham local authority: places and applications

Ark St Alban's Academy is part of Ark Schools, which runs 48 schools. The nearest others:

• Ark Tindal Primary Academy Birmingham
• Ark Boulton Academy Birmingham
• Ark Victoria Academy Birmingham
• Ark Kings Academy Birmingham
• Ark Northfield Primary School Pontefract
• Ark Carleton High School Pontefract
• Ark Larks Hill Primary School Pontefract
• Ark Carleton Park Primary School Pontefract
• Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School Pontefract
• Ark The King's School Pontefract

What is Ark St Alban's Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ark St Alban's Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Ark St Alban's Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ark St Alban's Academy was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Ark St Alban's Academy have?

Ark St Alban's Academy has 797 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ark St Alban's Academy cover?

Ark St Alban's Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Ark St Alban's Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.4, and 56% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Ark St Alban's Academy?

Ark St Alban's Academy is at Conybere Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B12 0YH.