St John Wall Catholic School
Oxhill Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 8HH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Executive Headteacher
- Ms Katherine Marston
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Constituency
- Birmingham Perry Barr
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 591
- URN
- 103534
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01215541825
About this school
St John Wall Catholic School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 591 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 121 | 126 | 127 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.4 | 48.5 | 44.7 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.92 +0.66 to +1.19 | +0.82 +0.57 to +1.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 42.1% | 38.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 62.7% | 60.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 15% | 16.7% | 17.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
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 John Wall Catholic School 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 | 49.4 | 40.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.5 | 40.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.7 | 40.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 636 |
| 2023/24 | 643 |
| 2024/25 | 620 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John Wall Catholic School compares
St John Wall Catholic School ranked 44th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.7 | 8% | 60.3% | 591 | — |
| Holyhead School | 43.2 | 6.7% | 62% | 1,257 | 0.8 miles |
| Sandwell Academy | 49.1 | 6.9% | 30.6% | 1,463 | 0.9 miles |
| King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy | 48 | 8.5% | 53.8% | 1,052 | 1.0 miles |
| Hamstead Hall Academy | 42.1 | 6.3% | 45.9% | 1,173 | 1.1 miles |
| King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys | 72 | 5.4% | 19.7% | 1,054 | 1.1 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)
- 60.32%
- English as an additional language
- 66.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.03%
- Persistent absence
- 25.64%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holyhead School0.8 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Sandwell Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · West Bromwich
-
King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Hamstead Hall Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys1.1 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
St John Wall Catholic School ranks 39th 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 year groups does St John Wall Catholic School teach?
- St John Wall Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the executive headteacher of St John Wall Catholic School?
- The executive headteacher of St John Wall Catholic School is Ms Katherine Marston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St John Wall Catholic School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John Wall Catholic School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St John Wall Catholic School?
- St John Wall Catholic School has 591 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St John Wall Catholic School full?
- St John Wall Catholic School has capacity for 600 pupils and 591 on roll (99%), 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 John Wall Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. St John Wall Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Is St John Wall Catholic School a selective school?
- No. St John Wall Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St John Wall Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.4 in 2022/23 and 44.7 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 John Wall Catholic School rank locally?
- St John Wall Catholic School ranked 44th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 16% 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 John Wall Catholic School's absence rate?
- St John Wall Catholic School's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John Wall Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John Wall Catholic School'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.