Find the best secondary schools in Birmingham. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas, GCSE results and Progress 8.
Birmingham has 88 secondary schools, all in Birmingham council's area. Most state schools here offer places by distance from home once children in care and siblings of current pupils have been admitted, so how close you live decides your chances at any school with more applicants than places. Some councils draw a fixed catchment boundary instead, and the distance at which the last place went changes every year. Of the 88, 16 are faith schools that can put children of their faith first, and 8 select by ability through the 11-plus, so distance counts for less there.
Use the distance checker to measure your home's straight-line distance to any Birmingham secondary school, and each school's page for its Ofsted report, results and admissions details. Check your distance to a school or try the admissions calculator.
| School | Type | Our rating |
|---|---|---|
| Bishop Vesey's Grammar School | boys, selective, sixth form | 4.8 / 5 |
| Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Birmingham East | Muslim, boys, sixth form | 4.8 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys | boys, selective, sixth form | 4.8 / 5 |
| Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Birmingham | Muslim, girls | 4.7 / 5 |
| Eden Boys' School, Birmingham | Muslim, boys | 4.7 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.6 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Handsworth School | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.5 / 5 |
There are 88 secondary schools in Birmingham. Of those, 7 are all-through schools, teaching both primary and secondary years.
Apply by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. You apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
Yes, 8 secondary schools in Birmingham select pupils by ability: King Edward VI Five Ways School, King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls, King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, King Edward VI Handsworth School, King Edward VI Aston School and King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls. Entry is by the 11-plus, usually sat in September of Year 6. You register for the test separately, normally in the summer term of Year 5, and still name the school on your council application by 31 October.
Of the 88 secondary schools in Birmingham, 50 have a sixth form. Students at a school that stops at 16 apply separately for sixth form, either at another school or at a college.
| boys, selective, sixth form |
| 4.5 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Five Ways School | selective, sixth form | 4.4 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys | boys, selective, sixth form | 4.4 / 5 |
| Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls | girls, selective, sixth form | 4.4 / 5 |
| St Paul's School for Girls | Roman Catholic, girls, sixth form | 4.3 / 5 |
| Nishkam High School | Sikh, sixth form | 4.1 / 5 |
| Birmingham Ormiston Academy | sixth form | 4.1 / 5 |
| The Arthur Terry School | sixth form | 4.1 / 5 |
| Kings Norton Girls' School | girls, sixth form | 4.0 / 5 |
| Bishop Walsh Catholic School | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 4.0 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Lordswood School for Girls | girls, sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| Selly Park Girls' School | girls | 3.9 / 5 |
| Plantsbrook School | sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| Wheelers Lane Technology College | boys | 3.8 / 5 |
| Aston University Engineering Academy | sixth form | 3.8 / 5 |
| Queensbridge School | Mixed | 3.8 / 5 |
| Starbank School | all-through | 3.8 / 5 |
| E-ACT Heartlands Academy | sixth form | 3.7 / 5 |
| Fairfax | sixth form | 3.7 / 5 |
| Hillcrest School and Sixth Form Centre | girls, sixth form | 3.7 / 5 |
| Bordesley Green Girls' School & Sixth Form | girls, sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| Small Heath Leadership Academy | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Northfield School for Girls | girls | 3.6 / 5 |
| E-ACT North Birmingham Academy | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| Hamstead Hall Academy | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| Yardleys School | Mixed | 3.6 / 5 |
| Bishop Challoner Catholic College | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Ark St Alban's Academy | Church of England, sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Holy Trinity Catholic School | Roman Catholic | 3.5 / 5 |
| Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School | Roman Catholic | 3.5 / 5 |
| Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Kings Heath Secondary School | Mixed | 3.5 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Sheldon Heath Academy | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| St John Wall Catholic School | Roman Catholic | 3.4 / 5 |
| Turves Green Boys' School | boys | 3.4 / 5 |
| The University of Birmingham School | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys | boys | 3.4 / 5 |
| Prince Albert High School | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 |
| Harborne Academy | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 |
| Broadway Academy | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| Lift Four Dwellings Secondary | Mixed | 3.4 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Cockshut Hill School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Hodge Hill Girls' School | girls | 3.3 / 5 |
| The Royal Sutton School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Fortis Academy | sixth form | 3.3 / 5 |
| Hodge Hill College | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Erdington Academy | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Holte School | sixth form | 3.2 / 5 |
| Ark Boulton Academy | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| Ark Kings Academy | all-through, sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Ark Victoria Academy | all-through | 3.1 / 5 |
| King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy | girls, sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Ninestiles, an Academy | sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Arena Academy | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| BOA Digital Technologies Academy | sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Bartley Green School | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| Jewellery Quarter Academy | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| Tile Cross Academy | Mixed | 3.1 / 5 |
| Lordswood Boys' School | boys | 3.0 / 5 |
| St Edmund Campion Catholic School | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| Washwood Heath Academy | all-through, sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| Waverley School | all-through, sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| Aston Manor Academy | sixth form | 2.9 / 5 |
| E-ACT Shenley Academy | sixth form | 2.9 / 5 |
| Hall Green School | Mixed | 2.7 / 5 |
| Stockland Green School | Mixed | 2.7 / 5 |
| Colmers School and Sixth Form College | sixth form | 2.7 / 5 |
| Lift Greenwood | sixth form | 2.6 / 5 |
| Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 2.5 / 5 |
| Holyhead School | sixth form | 2.5 / 5 |
| Bournville School | all-through | 2.5 / 5 |
| Christ Church, Church of England Secondary Academy | Church of England | 2.3 / 5 |
| City Academy | Mixed | 2.3 / 5 |
| Saltley Academy | Mixed | 2.3 / 5 |
| Rockwood Academy | Mixed | 2.0 / 5 |
| George Dixon Academy | sixth form | 1.9 / 5 |
| Star King Solomon Academy | Christian, all-through | 1.9 / 5 |
| Waverley Studio College | sixth form | 1.0 / 5 |
| Swanshurst School | girls, sixth form | Not yet rated |
Our rating is out of 5 and combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and published results. Source: Department for Education (GIAS) and Ofsted.
Of the 88 secondary schools in Birmingham, 16 have a religious character: 9 Roman Catholic, 3 Muslim, 2 Church of England, 1 Christian and 1 Sikh. When a faith school has more applicants than places, it can give priority to children of its faith. Many ask for a supplementary form, sometimes signed by a religious leader, so read the school's admissions policy before you apply.
Yes, Birmingham has 14 girls' schools and 10 boys' schools. The other 64 are mixed. Some single-sex schools take both boys and girls into the sixth form.
On our star rating, the highest rated are Bishop Vesey's Grammar School (4.8), Eden Boys' Leadership Academy, Birmingham East (4.8), King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys (4.8), Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Birmingham (4.7) and Eden Boys' School, Birmingham (4.7). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and GCSE results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. Of the 88 schools here, 87 have enough published data for a rating.
Only when you qualify for more than one school. Each school ranks applicants against its own admission criteria without knowing where you placed it. If you qualify for several, the council offers the one you ranked highest, so putting a popular school first does not lower your chances at your second choice.
No. Distance only matters when a school has more applicants than places, and then it offers places in the order its admission criteria set out. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or catchment area. Faith schools and grammar schools use different criteria. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
The council offers a place at another school with room, which may be further from home. You can accept it and still join the waiting lists for the schools you preferred. Waiting lists are ranked by the admission criteria, not by how long a child has been on them. You can also appeal to an independent panel for any school that refused you.