Ark Victoria Academy
Talbot Way, Small Heath, Birmingham, B10 0HJ
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 3 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Principal Ela McSorley
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- Constituency
- Birmingham Yardley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,920
- Pupils on roll
- 1,519
- URN
- 141752
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01213934459
About this school
Ark Victoria Academy is an all-through academy in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 3 to 18 and has 1,519 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 October 2024, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 115 | 114 | 113 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 84% | 81% | 85% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 9% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 88% | 83% | 88% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 87% | 88% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 75% | 79% | 79% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.70 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.30 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 135 | 139 | 159 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.0 | 40.0 | 48.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.52 +0.27 to +0.77 | -0.11 -0.35 to +0.13 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 28.8% | 44.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 54% | 67.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 59% | 27.3% | 72.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 3.3 | 4.4 |
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 Victoria 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 | 84% | 55.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 81% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 85% | 60.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Birmingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49 | 40.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40 | 40.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 48.4 | 40.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,584 |
| 2023/24 | 1,559 |
| 2024/25 | 1,544 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark Victoria Academy compares
Ark Victoria Academy ranked 31st of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham 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 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48.4 | 5.6% | 65.3% | 1,519 | — |
| Starbank School | 49 | 8.3% | 45% | 2,161 | 0.8 miles |
| Waverley School | 41.9 | 9.9% | 56.1% | 1,687 | 1.1 miles |
| Washwood Heath Academy | 42.9 | 8.8% | 58.4% | 1,668 | 2.2 miles |
| Star King Solomon Academy | 34.1 | 12.5% | 62.1% | 354 | 2.6 miles |
| Bournville School | 36.5 | 11.3% | 64.1% | 660 | 5.2 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 65.26%
- English as an additional language
- 81.1%
- Overall absence
- 5.6%
- Persistent absence
- 16.8%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Starbank School0.8 miles
All-through · Birmingham
-
Waverley School1.1 miles
All-through · Birmingham
-
Washwood Heath Academy2.2 miles
All-through · Birmingham
-
Star King Solomon Academy2.6 miles
All-through · Birmingham
-
Bournville School5.2 miles
All-through · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
Ark Victoria Academy ranks 10th of the 273 ranked primary schools in Birmingham, and Ark Victoria Academy ranks 25th of the 87 ranked secondary schools in Birmingham.
- Ark Kings Academy All-through
- Bournville School All-through
- Star King Solomon Academy All-through
- Starbank School All-through
- Washwood Heath Academy All-through
- Waverley School All-through
- Adderley Nursery School Nursery
- Allens Croft Nursery School Nursery
- Bloomsbury Nursery School Nursery
- Bordesley Green East Nursery School Nursery
- Brearley Nursery School Nursery
- Castle Vale Nursery School Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does Ark Victoria Academy teach?
- Ark Victoria Academy teaches children aged 3 to 18. It is an all-through school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Ark Victoria Academy?
- The headteacher of Ark Victoria Academy is Principal Ela McSorley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ark Victoria Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark Victoria 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 Victoria Academy?
- Ark Victoria Academy has 1,519 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 18.
- Is Ark Victoria Academy full?
- Ark Victoria Academy has capacity for 1,920 pupils and 1,519 on roll (79%), 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 Ark Victoria Academy a faith school?
- No. Ark Victoria Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Ark Victoria Academy a selective school?
- No. Ark Victoria Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Ark Victoria Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ark Victoria Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Ark Victoria Academy?
- Ark Victoria 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 Victoria Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 84% in 2022/23 and 85% 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 Victoria Academy rank locally?
- Ark Victoria Academy ranked 31st of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham 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 45% 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 Victoria Academy's absence rate?
- Ark Victoria Academy's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark Victoria Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark Victoria 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.