Waverley School

Waverley School is a large, highly diverse all-through school serving a deprived area of Birmingham, with a very high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and a specially resourced SEND provision. Overall, the school is performing at the expected standard across all evaluated areas and safeguarding standards are met. Most pupils progress securely from their individual starting points, with particularly strong outcomes in the primary phase and for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils are well cared for, behave well and benefit from strong pastoral support and a positive, inclusive ethos.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met with an open and positive culture
• Most pupils progress securely through the curriculum from their individual starting points
• Primary pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics, especially those in early stages of learning English
• Disadvantaged pupils perform above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics at key stage 2
• Attendance is improving and is now close to national figures, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Behaviour is consistently good, with high expectations applied effectively
• The curriculum is well sequenced in the early years and staff build positive relationships
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively, including through resourced provision
• The pupil premium strategy is well structured and helps disadvantaged pupils attend regularly and achieve highly
• Leaders have a clear understanding of the school's context and are taking appropriate improvement actions
• Trustees and the local governing board are knowledgeable and provide appropriate support and challenge
• Personal development is carefully sequenced and adapted to the school's context
• Pastoral support is high quality and helps pupils feel a sense of belonging
• Sixth form students are respectful, attend well and are prepared for ambitious next steps
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities and enrichment opportunities

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement varies between subjects and some pupils do not receive enough challenge to maximise learning
• Persistent absence remains higher than national averages, though improving
• In the early years, staff do not maximise high-quality interactions with children, limiting language development
• In secondary design technology, pupils do not receive the full range of learning and miss important knowledge and skills
• In Urdu, many pupils struggle to read and write the language and current practice is not overcoming this well enough
• Teaching varies too much in some secondary subjects, with gaps and unfinished work in workbooks
• Secondary curriculum enrichment opportunities are less developed than in the primary phase
• A-level outcomes in the sixth form are below national averages in some subjects, though improving
• English and maths GCSE grade 5 outcomes are below national averages
• Leaders' work to address curriculum and teaching shortcomings is at an early stage

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 Waverley School attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 35.5% 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, 7.8% of pupils at Waverley School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Waverley School had 13.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.8% 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, 13.9% of pupils at Waverley School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 65 pupils.

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 Waverley School received £8,991 and spent £8,420 for each of its 1,705 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £5,484,000 (£3,216 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of The Waverley Education Foundation Ltd, income was £8,986 and spending £8,426 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

Waverley School is part of The Waverley Education Foundation Ltd, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Waverley Studio College Birmingham

What is Waverley School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Waverley School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Waverley School last inspected by Ofsted?

Waverley School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Waverley School have?

Waverley School has 1,687 pupils on roll.

What age range does Waverley School cover?

Waverley School for pupils aged 2 to 19.

What are Waverley School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.1, and 36% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are Waverley School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Waverley School?

Waverley School is at Yardley Green Road, Bordesley Green, Birmingham, West Midlands, B9 5QA.