Ark Boulton Academy
Golden Hillock Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, B11 2QG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Principal
- Mr Laurence Cole
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 877
- URN
- 140014
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01217738156
About this school
Ark Boulton Academy is a secondary academy in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 877 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 177 | 173 | 163 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.2 | 38.2 | 44.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.38 -0.60 to -0.16 | -0.49 -0.71 to -0.26 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 27.2% | 42.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 51.4% | 67.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 36% | 57.8% | 52.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.5 | 3.9 |
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 Ark Boulton 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 | 40.2 | 40.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.2 | 40.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.2 | 40.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 910 |
| 2023/24 | 891 |
| 2024/25 | 870 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Boulton Academy compares
Ark Boulton Academy ranked 49th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% 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 | 44.2 | 6.7% | 70.3% | 877 | — |
| Holy Trinity Catholic School | 44 | 9.3% | 61.9% | 714 | 0.7 miles |
| Yardleys School | 46.7 | 7.3% | 56.5% | 930 | 0.8 miles |
| Small Heath Leadership Academy | 45.7 | 6.8% | 57.4% | 1,131 | 1.0 miles |
| Moseley School and Sixth Form | 39.7 | 9.1% | 64.5% | 1,413 | 1.1 miles |
| Ark St Alban's Academy | 46.9 | 4.8% | 72.6% | 797 | 1.4 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
- 25 June 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report6 July 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 70.34%
- English as an additional language
- 55.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.65%
- Persistent absence
- 20.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holy Trinity Catholic School0.7 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Yardleys School0.8 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Small Heath Leadership Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Moseley School and Sixth Form1.1 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Ark St Alban's Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
Ark Boulton Academy ranks 45th of the 87 ranked secondary schools in Birmingham.
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School Secondary
- Arena 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
- Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Ark Boulton Academy teach?
- Ark Boulton Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the principal of Ark Boulton Academy?
- The principal of Ark Boulton Academy is Mr Laurence Cole, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ark Boulton Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Boulton 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 big is Ark Boulton Academy?
- Ark Boulton Academy has 877 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Ark Boulton Academy full?
- Ark Boulton Academy has capacity for 900 pupils and 877 on roll (97%), 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 Ark Boulton Academy a faith school?
- No. Ark Boulton Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ark Boulton Academy a selective school?
- No. Ark Boulton Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Ark Boulton Academy?
- Ark Boulton Academy is part of ARK SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ark Boulton Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.2 in 2022/23 and 44.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ark Boulton Academy rank locally?
- Ark Boulton Academy ranked 49th of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% 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 Ark Boulton Academy's absence rate?
- Ark Boulton Academy's overall absence rate is 6.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Boulton Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Boulton 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.