St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth
Sandwell Road, Birmingham, B21 8NH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Smith
- Diocese
- Diocese of Birmingham
- Constituency
- Birmingham Perry Barr
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 409
- URN
- 103401
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01215235861
About this school
St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 409 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 10 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 60 | 61 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 67% | 71% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 5% | 5% |
| Expected standard in reading | 57% | 89% | 80% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 79% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 85% | 76% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Birmingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 55.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 71% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 418 |
| 2023/24 | 412 |
| 2024/25 | 418 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth compares
St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth ranked 92nd of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 71% | 7.7% | 48.3% | 409 | — |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School | — | — | — | 221 | 0.4 miles |
| Oasis Academy Wattville | — | 9.8% | 61% | 371 | 0.5 miles |
| Rookery School | 53% | 5.1% | 56.2% | 453 | 0.5 miles |
| William Murdoch Primary School | 68% | 5.5% | 49.5% | 591 | 0.5 miles |
| Oasis Academy Boulton | 67% | 6% | 64.5% | 222 | 0.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 48.33%
- English as an additional language
- 67%
- Overall absence
- 7.67%
- Persistent absence
- 23.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Oasis Academy Wattville0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Rookery School0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
William Murdoch Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Oasis Academy Boulton0.7 miles
Primary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth ranks 90th of the 273 ranked primary schools in Birmingham.
- Abbey Catholic Primary School Primary
- Acocks Green Primary School Primary
- Adderley Primary School Primary
- Al-Furqan Primary School Primary
- Albert Bradbeer Primary Academy Primary
- Allens Croft Primary School Primary
- Alston Primary School Primary
- Anderton Park Primary School Primary
- Anglesey Primary School Primary
- Arden Primary School Primary
- Ark Tindal Primary Academy Primary
- Aston Tower Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth teach?
- St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth?
- The headteacher of St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth is Mrs Sarah Smith, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth?
- St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth has 409 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth full?
- St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth has capacity for 420 pupils and 409 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth a faith school?
- Yes. St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Birmingham.
- Does St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth as having no nursery classes.
- How have St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 71% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth compare with other schools in Birmingham?
- St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth ranked 92nd of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 68% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth's absence rate?
- St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James Church of England Primary School, Handsworth's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.