Birmingham Ormiston Academy

Birmingham Ormiston Academy is performing well overall, with an overall effectiveness rating of 'Good'. The school has effectively implemented a broad and ambitious curriculum, especially in the arts, and fosters a happy and inclusive environment where pupils thrive. Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, reflecting the strong relationships and mutual respect among pupils. Although the school demonstrates significant strengths in leadership and management, teachers occasionally struggle to assess pupil understanding effectively, which can lead to gaps in learning for some students. The school has only recently undergone its first inspection since the pandemic, emphasizing the adaptability of its supportive approaches and curriculum.

Strengths

• The school offers a highly ambitious and well-designed curriculum.
• Strong pastoral care complements the core curriculum effectively.
• Outstanding behaviour and attitudes among pupils.
• Excellent provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• High levels of subject expertise among teachers.
• Effective support for sixth-form students with personalized guidance.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent assessment practices lead to some gaps in learning.
• Need for improved systematic quality assurance to better evaluate school effectiveness.

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 Birmingham Ormiston Academy attended 90.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.1% 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, 1.5% of pupils at Birmingham Ormiston Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Birmingham Ormiston Academy had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.0% 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, 11.7% of pupils at Birmingham Ormiston Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% 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 Birmingham Ormiston Academy received £7,094 and spent £7,040 for each of its 1,023 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,026,000 (£1,002 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Boa Trust, income was £7,550 and spending £7,416 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

Birmingham Ormiston Academy is part of Boa Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• BOA Digital Technologies Academy Birmingham
• BOA Stage and Screen Production Academy Birmingham

What is Birmingham Ormiston Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birmingham Ormiston Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Birmingham Ormiston Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Birmingham Ormiston Academy was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Birmingham Ormiston Academy have?

Birmingham Ormiston Academy has 1,016 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birmingham Ormiston Academy cover?

Birmingham Ormiston Academy for pupils aged 14 to 19.

Where is Birmingham Ormiston Academy?

Birmingham Ormiston Academy is at 1 Grosvenor Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7QD.