Fortis Academy

Fortis Academy has shown significant improvement and is now performing well across various domains, achieving a 'Good' rating in overall effectiveness. The school has cultivated a welcoming and supportive environment where students feel safe and valued. The leadership team has successfully implemented an ambitious curriculum that includes a strong focus on language education and comprehensive pastoral care, adapting to recent challenges such as staffing changes. Despite these strengths, the published GCSE outcomes do not fully represent the quality of education, indicating that there are still areas for development, particularly in ensuring all pupils, especially those with SEND, receive adequately tailored support.

Strengths

• Strong pastoral care and support for pupils
• Good behaviour management contributing to a positive learning environment
• Ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum
• Effective promotion of reading and literacy
• High expectations set for pupil behaviour and attitudes
• Good support for pupils with English as an additional language
• Strong engagement in extracurricular activities

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent adaptation of work for SEND pupils
• Teachers not always checking pupils' understanding before moving on

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 Fortis Academy attended 90.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.3% 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, 16.6% of pupils at Fortis Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 Fortis Academy had 14.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.3% 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, 22.6% of pupils at Fortis 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 Fortis Academy received £9,422 and spent £9,335 for each of its 1,301 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,616,000 (£1,242 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of The Shaw Education Trust, income was £11,108 and spending £10,954 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

Fortis Academy is part of The Shaw Education Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Saxon Hill Academy Lichfield
• Pine Green Academy Wolverhampton
• Streethay Primary School Lichfield
• Redhill Primary School Cannock
• Moorhill Primary School Cannock
• Walton Hall Academy Stafford
• Ivy House School Derby
• Portland School Stoke-On-Trent
• St Martins School Derby
• The Meadows Primary Academy Stoke-On-Trent

What is Fortis Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fortis Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was Fortis Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Fortis Academy was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Fortis Academy have?

Fortis Academy has 1,210 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fortis Academy cover?

Fortis Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Fortis Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.4, and 29% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Fortis Academy?

Fortis Academy is at Aldridge Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands, B44 8NU.