Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School
Victoria Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, B27 7XY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST TERESA OF CALCUTTA MULTI ACADEMY COMPANY
- Headteacher
- Mr Dan Hearnden
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Birmingham
- Sponsor
- St Teresa of Calcutta Multi-Academy Company
- Constituency
- Birmingham Yardley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,190
- Pupils on roll
- 1,152
- URN
- 146124
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01217064200
About this school
Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,152 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Urgent improvement
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Urgent improvement
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Urgent improvement
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Ofsted placed the school in a category of concern: special measures.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 207 | 207 | 206 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.8 | 44.7 | 41.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.09 -0.29 to +0.11 | -0.13 -0.33 to +0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 36.2% | 33.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 60.9% | 56.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 30% | 30.9% | 27.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
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 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic 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 | 41.8 | 40.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.7 | 40.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.7 | 40.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,158 |
| 2023/24 | 1,179 |
| 2024/25 | 1,158 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School compares
Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School ranked 61st of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.7 | 11.3% | 51.1% | 1,152 | — |
| Ninestiles, an Academy | 44.9 | 9% | 57.3% | 1,476 | 0.6 miles |
| Yardleys School | 46.7 | 7.3% | 56.5% | 930 | 1.0 miles |
| Langley School | 47.6 | 8% | 24.9% | 1,050 | 1.2 miles |
| Lyndon School | 49.7 | 7.1% | 32.4% | 1,169 | 1.3 miles |
| Hall Green School | 42.5 | 8.9% | 45.5% | 903 | 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 51.07%
- English as an additional language
- 26.9%
- Overall absence
- 11.33%
- Persistent absence
- 34.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ninestiles, an Academy0.6 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Yardleys School1.0 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Langley School1.2 miles
Secondary · Solihull
-
Lyndon School1.3 miles
Secondary · Solihull
-
Hall Green School1.4 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School ranks 59th of the 87 ranked secondary schools in Birmingham.
- 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
- Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School teach?
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School?
- The headteacher of Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is Mr Dan Hearnden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Archbishop Ilsley Catholic 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 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School?
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School has 1,152 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School full?
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School has capacity for 1,190 pupils and 1,152 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 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
- Is Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School a selective school?
- No. Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School part of an academy trust?
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is part of ST TERESA OF CALCUTTA MULTI ACADEMY COMPANY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.8 in 2022/23 and 41.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School compare with other schools in Birmingham?
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School ranked 61st of 85 secondary schools in Birmingham for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School's absence rate?
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School's overall absence rate is 11.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Archbishop Ilsley Catholic 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 13 August 2026.