King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy

The school is performing well overall, with good judgements across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2014; it is part of the King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham and has a headteacher appointed in September 2024 after several senior leadership changes. Pupils flourish in an inclusive, nurturing community where adults have high expectations and strong outcomes are achieved, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Behaviour and attendance are strong, relationships are warm and respectful, and pupils benefit from a broad personal development offer, including clubs, trips, leadership roles and careers guidance. The curriculum has recently been strengthened and is logically sequenced, while sixth-form provision has improved so students are on the right courses and move on to suitable destinations. Leaders and the trust have a forensic understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement and act quickly; staff value the training and consideration of their wellbeing, and safeguarding is effective. Two areas need further work: support for early reading and fluency is not consistently well developed, and some staff are unclear about how to check what pupils know and can do, which limits adaptation to misconceptions and gaps in learning.

Strengths

• High expectations help pupils flourish and achieve strong outcomes.
• Inclusive community supports disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND very well.
• Pupils behave well, attend well and the school is calm and orderly.
• Warm, respectful relationships between adults and pupils are common.
• Strong personal development offer includes leadership roles, trips and clubs.
• Pupils learn about respect, healthy relationships, safety and online safety.
• Careers information prepares pupils well for future paths and destinations.
• Curriculum is ambitious, recently strengthened and logically sequenced.
• SEND support is highly effective, with early identification and targeted help.
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and help pupils when they are stuck.
• Sixth-form students are role models and achieve well on appropriate courses.
• Leaders and the trust understand the school well and act quickly on improvements.
• Staff speak highly of training and leaders’ consideration of wellbeing and workload.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Support for early reading and fluency is not well developed or consistent.
• Some pupils do not get the help needed to read with confidence quickly enough.
• Some staff are unclear about how to check what pupils know and can do.
• Teaching is not routinely adapted to identify misconceptions or address learning gaps.

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 King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.0% 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, 1.0% of pupils at King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' 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 King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% 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, 10.2% of pupils at King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.5% 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 King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy received £8,164 and spent £7,863 for each of its 1,065 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,850,000 (£1,737 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of King Edward Vi Academy Trust Birmingham, income was £8,047 and spending £7,927 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

King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy is part of King Edward Vi Academy Trust Birmingham, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys Birmingham
• King Edward VI Handsworth School Birmingham
• King Edward VI Aston School Birmingham
• King Edward VI Lordswood School for Girls Birmingham
• King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls Birmingham
• King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys Birmingham
• King Edward VI Five Ways School Birmingham
• King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys Birmingham
• King Edward VI Sheldon Heath Academy Birmingham
• King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls Birmingham

What is King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy have?

King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy has 1,052 pupils on roll.

What age range does King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy cover?

King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.4, and 45% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy?

King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy is at Church Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham, West Midlands, B20 2HL.