Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,152 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.7
Academy sponsor led
Small Heath Leadership Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,131of 1,200 places
- Free school meals
- 59.8%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 224
- Ofsted
- Good, 11 May 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Small Heath School (URN 103548, until 6 March 2017).
What the data says
Of the 229 pupils who finished Year 11 at Small Heath Leadership Academy in 2023, 7% stayed on in Small Heath Leadership Academy’s own sixth form (Birmingham average 33%), 37% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 41% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
Religious Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 100% of the year group took it, against 31% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were in line with the national picture: Attainment 8 of 45.7 against 46.1 across England and 46.6 in Birmingham, with 48% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Birmingham and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Birmingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 229 | 14,526 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 86% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 84% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 7% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 41% | 13% | 13% |
| — further education college | 37% | 39% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | — | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 8% | 4% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Birmingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 45.7 | 46.6 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 45% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 85% | 48% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.05 | 4.15 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 53% | 48% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 42.6 | 40.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 49.1 | 52.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 65% | 39% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 225 | 100% | 89% | 16% | 20% | 65% |
| Mathematics | 225 | 100% | 88% | 24% | 22% | 71% |
| Religious Studies | 223 | 100% | 31% | 29% | 32% | 72% |
| English Literature | 221 | 99% | 86% | 20% | 21% | 78% |
| Combined Science | 198 | 88% | 65% | 12% | 9% | 53% |
| French | 115 | 51% | 18% | 3% | 29% | 23% |
| History | 112 | 50% | 41% | 12% | 26% | 46% |
| Geography | 104 | 46% | 41% | 15% | 25% | 49% |
| Spanish | 45 | 20% | 19% | 4% | 27% | 24% |
| Art and Design | 33 | 15% | 7% | 9% | 24% | 67% |
| Urdu | 31 | 14% | 1% | 39% | 42% | 77% |
| Design and Technology | 27 | 12% | 11% | 0% | 23% | 11% |
| Computer Science | 26 | 12% | 13% | 4% | 30% | 50% |
| Statistics | 24 | 11% | 5% | 38% | 20% | 96% |
| Chemistry | 23 | 10% | 23% | 39% | 47% | 91% |
| Biology | 21 | 9% | 23% | 52% | 45% | 100% |
| Physics | 21 | 9% | 23% | 43% | 46% | 100% |
| Arabic | 9 | 4% | 1% | 44% | 47% | 100% |
| Italian | 4 | 2% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Citizenship Studies | 1 | 0% | 3% | — | 19% | — |
| Persian | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 130 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 76 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 67 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 1 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Birmingham
Arena Academy
Academy sponsor led · 969 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.5
Ark Boulton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 877 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.2
Ark Kings Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 739 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 36.5
Ark St Alban's Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 797 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.9
Ark Victoria Academy
Free schools · 1,519 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.4
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.