St Paul's School for Girls
Vernon Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B16 9SL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Girls
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Dr Dawn Casserly
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Constituency
- Birmingham Edgbaston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,000
- Pupils on roll
- 1,033
- URN
- 103531
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01214540895
About this school
St Paul's School for Girls is a Roman Catholic girls' voluntary aided secondary school in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,033 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Paul's School for Girls, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 3 February 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 164 | 163 | 164 |
| Attainment 8 score | 64.2 | 65.1 | 61.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +1.38 +1.16 to +1.59 | +1.23 +1.01 to +1.45 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 74% | 82.2% | 69.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 91% | 92% | 87.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 21% | 46.6% | 39% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.3 | 5.8 | 5.3 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Paul's School for Girls 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 | 64.2 | 40.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 65.1 | 40.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 61 | 40.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,027 |
| 2023/24 | 1,018 |
| 2024/25 | 1,046 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's School for Girls compares
St Paul's School for Girls ranked 11th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 94% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61 | 4.8% | 29.5% | 1,033 | — |
| George Dixon Academy | 33.3 | 10.5% | 65.6% | 998 | 0.7 miles |
| Harborne Academy | 44.6 | 5.5% | 55.1% | 627 | 1.0 miles |
| Lordswood Boys' School | 43.3 | 8% | 51.8% | 659 | 1.1 miles |
| King Edward VI Lordswood School for Girls | 56.8 | 6.9% | 31.4% | 989 | 1.1 miles |
| Shireland Collegiate Academy | 44.5 | 6.2% | 44.5% | 1,585 | 1.2 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)
- 29.45%
- English as an additional language
- 39.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.82%
- Persistent absence
- 10.77%
Location
Nearby schools
-
George Dixon Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Harborne Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Lordswood Boys' School1.1 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
King Edward VI Lordswood School for Girls1.1 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Shireland Collegiate Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Smethwick
Other schools in Birmingham
St Paul's School for Girls ranks 9th of the 87 ranked secondary schools in Birmingham.
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School Secondary
- Arena Academy Secondary
- Ark Boulton Academy Secondary
- Ark St Alban's Academy Secondary
- Aston Manor Academy Secondary
- Aston University Engineering Academy Secondary
- Bartley Green School Secondary
- Birmingham Ormiston Academy Secondary
- Bishop Challoner Catholic College Secondary
- BOA Digital Technologies Academy Secondary
- Bordesley Green Girls' School & Sixth Form Secondary
- Broadway Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Paul's School for Girls teach?
- St Paul's School for Girls teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of St Paul's School for Girls?
- The headteacher of St Paul's School for Girls is Dr Dawn Casserly, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Paul's School for Girls been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's School for Girls, 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 Paul's School for Girls?
- St Paul's School for Girls has 1,033 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Paul's School for Girls full?
- St Paul's School for Girls has capacity for 1,000 pupils and 1,033 on roll (103%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Paul's School for Girls a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's School for Girls is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Is St Paul's School for Girls a selective school?
- No. St Paul's School for Girls is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St Paul's School for Girls's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 64.2 in 2022/23 and 61 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 Paul's School for Girls compare with other schools in Birmingham?
- St Paul's School for Girls ranked 11th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 94% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% 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 Paul's School for Girls's absence rate?
- St Paul's School for Girls's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's School for Girls's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's School for Girls'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.