City Academy

City Academy is making steady progress in several key areas, especially in safeguarding, attendance, and behavior, with all safeguarding standards met and a reduction in suspensions. Leaders are focused on inclusivity and have successfully improved attendance rates, particularly among disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs. However, the consistency of education across subjects remains a concern, impacting overall pupil achievement and preparation for future education or employment. The school is part of CORE Education Trust, which supports its leadership and governance, contributing to a positive learning environment.

Strengths

• Strong safeguarding standards are met.
• High expectations of pupil behavior are upheld.
• Attendance rates are improving and are near national averages.
• Effective support systems in place for pupils with SEND.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils contribute to a supportive environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent implementation of the curriculum across subjects.
• Some pupils do not achieve their potential due to varied learning experiences.
• Teachers sometimes fail to check pupil understanding effectively.
• Gaps in writing and numeracy skills are still being addressed.

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 City Academy attended 89.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.2% 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, 25.0% of pupils at City 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 City Academy had 15.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% 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, 17.3% of pupils at City 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 City Academy received £9,238 and spent £9,745 for each of its 619 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,707,000 (£2,758 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Core Education Trust, income was £8,815 and spending £8,892 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

City Academy is part of Core Education Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Jewellery Quarter Academy Birmingham
• Rockwood Academy Birmingham
• Arena Academy Birmingham

What is City Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for City Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was City Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

City Academy was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does City Academy have?

City Academy has 554 pupils on roll.

What age range does City Academy cover?

City Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are City Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.5, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is City Academy?

City Academy is at 23 Langley Walk, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 2EF.