Ark Boulton Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Birmingham
Golden Hillock Road, Birmingham, B11 2QG
55
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 25/06/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
93.3%
20.6% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
877
Capacity used
Nearly full97%
900 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
132 of 132 families who put it first got an offer
207
Places offered
717
Total applications
3.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 132 | 132 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 104 | 27 | ● 26% |
| 3rd preference | 108 | 9 | ● 8% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 373 | 12 | ● 3% |
| Total | 717 | 180 | 25% |
1st preference success by year
Birmingham lets families list 6 preferences. 1 applications came from outside the council area (1 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Laurence Cole
- Address
- Golden Hillock Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, B11 2QG
- Phone
- 01217738156
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Ward / constituency
- Sparkbrook & Balsall Heath East · Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 140014
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 66% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 55% | — | — |
| SEN support | 16% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 5 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ARK SCHOOLS
877 pupils · 900 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
25 June 2024
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good - 22
06 July 2022
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 927 pupils
Attendance
93.3%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
6.7%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
20.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
1.7%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.9%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 38.2 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.49 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 27% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 51% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.53 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 44.2 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 42.3% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 67.5% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 52.8% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.92 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 163 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 163 | 15% | 48% | 72% | |
| English Language | 163 | 15% | 47% | 69% | |
| English Literature | 161 | 17% | 56% | 73% | |
| Social Studies | 159 | 9% | 42% | 63% | |
| Combined Science | 138 | 4% | 30% | 47% | |
| History | 80 | 20% | 54% | 70% | |
| Geography | 72 | 6% | 21% | 35% | |
| French | 50 | 14% | 30% | 38% | |
| Computer Science | 37 | 14% | 41% | 62% | |
| Art and Design | 33 | 9% | 70% | 88% | |
| Religious Studies | 30 | 17% | 50% | 70% | |
| Biology | 24 | 50% | 83% | 96% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Birmingham council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.