Dorrington Academy
Dorrington Road, Perry Barr, Birmingham, B42 1QR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- DORRINGTON ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr John Harrison
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Birmingham Perry Barr
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 708
- Pupils on roll
- 651
- URN
- 138218
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01214645330
About this school
Dorrington Academy is a primary academy in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 651 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dorrington Academy, 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 89 | 86 | 72 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 78% | 56% | 75% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 11% | 8% | 18% |
| Expected standard in reading | 80% | 60% | 83% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 76% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 76% | 92% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 102.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Dorrington Academy 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 | 78% | 55.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 75% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 648 |
| 2023/24 | 650 |
| 2024/25 | 633 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dorrington Academy compares
Dorrington Academy ranked 56th of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 78% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 75% | 6.8% | 36.5% | 651 | — |
| St Mark's Catholic Primary School | 60% | 4.9% | 43.3% | 207 | 0.4 miles |
| Cherry Orchard Primary School | 73% | 5.8% | 29.7% | 440 | 0.7 miles |
| Grestone Academy | 61% | 7% | 47.1% | 366 | 0.8 miles |
| Ferndale Primary School | 66% | 4.7% | 32.7% | 551 | 0.8 miles |
| Calshot Primary School | 66% | 6.1% | 35.2% | 436 | 0.9 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 report4 June 2025
- 6 November 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.52%
- English as an additional language
- 35.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.8%
- Persistent absence
- 19.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Mark's Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Cherry Orchard Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Grestone Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Ferndale Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Birmingham
-
Calshot Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
Dorrington Academy ranks 53rd of the 273 ranked primary schools in Birmingham.
- Abbey Catholic Primary School Primary
- Acocks Green Primary School Primary
- Adderley Primary School Primary
- Al-Furqan Primary School Primary
- Albert Bradbeer Primary Academy Primary
- Allens Croft Primary School Primary
- Alston Primary School Primary
- Anderton Park Primary School Primary
- Anglesey Primary School Primary
- Arden Primary School Primary
- Ark Tindal Primary Academy Primary
- Aston Tower Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Dorrington Academy teach?
- Dorrington Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Dorrington Academy?
- The headteacher of Dorrington Academy is Mr John Harrison, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dorrington Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dorrington Academy, 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 Dorrington Academy?
- Dorrington Academy has 651 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Dorrington Academy full?
- Dorrington Academy has capacity for 708 pupils and 651 on roll (92%), so it has space against 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 Dorrington Academy a faith school?
- No. Dorrington Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Dorrington Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Dorrington Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Dorrington Academy part of an academy trust?
- Dorrington Academy is part of DORRINGTON ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Dorrington Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 78% in 2022/23 and 75% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dorrington Academy compare with other schools in Birmingham?
- Dorrington Academy ranked 56th of 266 primary schools in Birmingham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 78% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dorrington Academy's absence rate?
- Dorrington Academy's overall absence rate is 6.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dorrington Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dorrington Academy'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.