The Earls High School
Furnace Lane, Halesowen, B63 3SL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- STOUR VALE ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Nicola Hirsch
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Stour Vale Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Halesowen
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,200
- Pupils on roll
- 1,304
- URN
- 137812
- Local authority
- Dudley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01384816105
About this school
The Earls High School is a secondary academy in Halesowen. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,304 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Earls High 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
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
- 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 | 232 | 235 | 240 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.1 | 48.4 | 48.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.19 -0.37 to -0.01 | -0.02 -0.20 to +0.17 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 44% | 49.4% | 46.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 63% | 68.5% | 74.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 34% | 35.7% | 32.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
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 The Earls High 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 | Dudley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45.1 | 35.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.4 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.2 | 34.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,226 |
| 2023/24 | 1,262 |
| 2024/25 | 1,293 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Earls High School compares
The Earls High School ranked 3rd of 18 secondary schools in Dudley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.2 | 7.4% | 21.1% | 1,304 | — |
| Windsor High School and Sixth Form | 46.5 | 8.3% | 28.7% | 1,710 | 0.4 miles |
| Leasowes High School | 41.8 | 9.8% | 31.4% | 1,043 | 1.1 miles |
| Ormiston Forge Academy | 39.7 | 9.8% | 41.1% | 1,643 | 1.7 miles |
| Perryfields Academy | 43.8 | 8.8% | 38.7% | 682 | 1.9 miles |
| Lift Four Dwellings Secondary | 42.1 | 9.7% | 67.5% | 534 | 2.0 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 report26 March 2025
- 15 January 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.11%
- English as an additional language
- 4.6%
- Overall absence
- 7.35%
- Persistent absence
- 18.81%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Windsor High School and Sixth Form0.4 miles
Secondary · Halesowen
-
Leasowes High School1.1 miles
Secondary · Halesowen
-
Ormiston Forge Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Cradley Heath
-
Perryfields Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Oldbury
-
Lift Four Dwellings Secondary2.0 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
Other schools in Halesowen
- Leasowes High School Secondary
- Windsor High School and Sixth Form Secondary
- Caslon Primary Community School Primary
- Colley Lane Primary Academy Primary
- Cradley CofE Primary School Primary
- Halesowen CofE Primary School Primary
- Howley Grange Primary School Primary
- Huntingtree Primary School Primary
- Hurst Green Primary School Primary
- Lapal Primary School Primary
- Lutley Primary School Primary
- Manor Way Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Earls High School teach?
- The Earls High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Halesowen.
- Who is the headteacher of The Earls High School?
- The headteacher of The Earls High School is Mrs Nicola Hirsch, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Earls High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Earls High 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 The Earls High School?
- The Earls High School has 1,304 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Earls High School full?
- The Earls High School has capacity for 1,200 pupils and 1,304 on roll (109%), 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 The Earls High School a faith school?
- No. The Earls High School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Earls High School a selective school?
- No. The Earls High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Earls High School part of an academy trust?
- The Earls High School is part of STOUR VALE ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Earls High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.1 in 2022/23 and 48.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Earls High School compare with other schools in Dudley?
- The Earls High School ranked 3rd of 18 secondary schools in Dudley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 70% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Earls High School's absence rate?
- The Earls High School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Earls High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Earls High 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.