Holyhead School
Milestone Lane, Handsworth, Birmingham, B21 0HN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CENTRAL REGION SCHOOLS TRUST
- Principal
- Mr David Knox
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Central Region Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Birmingham Perry Barr
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,250
- Pupils on roll
- 1,257
- URN
- 137034
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01215231960
About this school
Holyhead School is a secondary academy in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,257 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 208 | 206 | 208 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.8 | 41.4 | 43.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.25 -0.44 to -0.05 | -0.04 -0.23 to +0.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 38.8% | 33.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 61.2% | 57.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 63% | 41.7% | 36.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.8 |
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 Holyhead 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 | 40.8 | 40.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.4 | 40.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.2 | 40.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,295 |
| 2023/24 | 1,254 |
| 2024/25 | 1,271 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Holyhead School compares
Holyhead School ranked 54th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.2 | 6.7% | 62% | 1,257 | — |
| Windsor Olympus Academy | — | 6.8% | 69.4% | 533 | 0.5 miles |
| King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys | 72 | 5.4% | 19.7% | 1,054 | 0.6 miles |
| St John Wall Catholic School | 44.7 | 8% | 60.3% | 591 | 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 |
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
-
Ungraded inspection report21 May 2025
- 4 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 62%
- English as an additional language
- 74.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.65%
- Persistent absence
- 17.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Windsor Olympus Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys0.6 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
St John Wall Catholic School0.8 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Sandwell Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · West Bromwich
-
King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
Holyhead School ranks 52nd 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 Holyhead School teach?
- Holyhead School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the principal of Holyhead School?
- The principal of Holyhead School is Mr David Knox, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Holyhead School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holyhead 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 Holyhead School?
- Holyhead School has 1,257 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Holyhead School full?
- Holyhead School has capacity for 1,250 pupils and 1,257 on roll (101%), 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 Holyhead School a faith school?
- No. Holyhead School has no designated religious character.
- Is Holyhead School a selective school?
- No. Holyhead School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Holyhead School?
- Holyhead School is part of CENTRAL REGION SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Holyhead School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.8 in 2022/23 and 43.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Holyhead School rank locally?
- Holyhead School ranked 54th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 29% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Holyhead School's absence rate?
- Holyhead School's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holyhead School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holyhead 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 1 July 2026.