Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School
Old Oscott Hill, Kingstanding, Birmingham, B44 9SR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Robert Swanwick
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Constituency
- Birmingham Erdington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 645
- Pupils on roll
- 788
- URN
- 103539
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01213606383
About this school
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 788 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 142 | 140 | 149 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.0 | 46.9 | 47.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.18 -0.07 to +0.42 | +0.27 +0.02 to +0.51 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 46.4% | 49% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 65% | 69.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 48% | 35.7% | 38.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
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 Cardinal Wiseman 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 | 44 | 40.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.9 | 40.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47 | 40.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 759 |
| 2023/24 | 770 |
| 2024/25 | 778 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School compares
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School ranked 35th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47 | 8.2% | 51.3% | 788 | — |
| Fortis Academy | 37.9 | 9.8% | 59.2% | 1,210 | 0.6 miles |
| Arena Academy | 44.5 | 7.9% | 39.5% | 969 | 1.0 miles |
| E-ACT North Birmingham Academy | 43.9 | 3.5% | 61.5% | 1,167 | 1.1 miles |
| Barr Beacon School | 51 | 6.9% | 23.2% | 1,469 | 1.4 miles |
| The Streetly Academy | 42.1 | 8.5% | 24.3% | 1,544 | 1.5 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 51.29%
- English as an additional language
- 19.5%
- Overall absence
- 8.23%
- Persistent absence
- 27.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fortis Academy0.6 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Arena Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
E-ACT North Birmingham Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Barr Beacon School1.4 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
The Streetly Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Sutton Coldfield
Other schools in Birmingham
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School ranks 29th 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 Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School teach?
- Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School?
- The headteacher of Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School is Mr Robert Swanwick, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cardinal Wiseman 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 many pupils are at Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School?
- Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School has 788 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School full?
- Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School has capacity for 645 pupils and 788 on roll (122%), 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 Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Is Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School a selective school?
- No. Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44 in 2022/23 and 47 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School compare with other schools in Birmingham?
- Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School ranked 35th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School's absence rate?
- Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cardinal Wiseman 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.