King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy has been judged to be performing well overall, receiving a 'Good' rating in all inspected areas. The school has shown significant improvement since its previous inadequate inspection, owing much of its progress to the dedicated leadership within the King Edward VI Academy Trust. The atmosphere is described as vibrant, with a culture that encourages high expectations among both pupils and staff. The school has successfully implemented a broad and well-sequenced curriculum, which is appreciated by students, leading to positive engagement in learning.

Strengths

• High expectations from staff foster a culture of success.
• Strong support and identification for pupils with SEND.
• Effective personal development curriculum enhances student growth.
• Involvement in extracurricular activities enriches student experience.
• Positive and respectful relationships among the school community.

Areas for Improvement

• Some assessment tasks do not adequately test essential knowledge.
• Feedback given to pupils can be too broad to be actionable.

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 Balaam Wood Academy attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.8% 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, 10.6% of pupils at King Edward VI Balaam Wood 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 King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy had 15.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.7% 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, 29.3% of pupils at King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.2% 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 Balaam Wood Academy received £10,225 and spent £9,743 for each of its 419 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £765,000 (£1,825 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 Balaam Wood Academy is part of King Edward Vi Academy Trust Birmingham, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls Birmingham
• King Edward VI Five Ways School Birmingham
• King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys 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 Handsworth Grammar School for Boys Birmingham
• King Edward VI Handsworth School Birmingham
• King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy Birmingham
• King Edward VI Aston School Birmingham

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

The latest Ofsted rating for King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2024.

When was King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy have?

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy has 423 pupils on roll.

What age range does King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy cover?

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

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

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.5, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy?

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy is at New Street, Frankley, Birmingham, West Midlands, B45 0EU.