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Last refresh: 14 June 2026

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Ark Boulton Academy

URN
140014
Phase
Secondary
Status
Open

School overview

School name
Ark Boulton Academy
URN
140014
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Age range
11-16
Status
Open

School Compass Score

Good

64 / 100

Good

Based on official data for academic year 2024/25.

Academic Outcomes

53

Inspection

83

Admissions Value

47

Destinations

51

Stability & Context

100

School Compass rankings

Below top 50% of secondary schools in England

Below top 50% nationally

#38 of 75 schools in Birmingham

Based on School Compass rankings calculated from performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

School Compass recommendation

Consider

This school has a mixed profile and may warrant further investigation.

Get the full School Compass Parent Report →

Based on School Compass analysis of official performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

Admissions strategy

  • Application category: Target school
  • Admissions pressure: Very high competition
  • Admissions risk: Very high risk

Include safety schools — admissions are highly competitive

Get the full Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Recommended application mix
  • Alternative schools
  • Admissions warnings

View Parent Report options →

Crime & Safety

  • Safety score: Below Average
  • National comparison: Higher crime than average
  • Crime trend: Stable trend
  • Confidence: High confidence

Higher share of violent and serious offences than typical

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Crime categories in the surrounding area
  • Local authority and nearby-school comparisons
  • Safety trends over the past year
  • Area context and confidence notes

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report →

Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.

  • Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.
  • This section reflects police-recorded crime in the surrounding area, not incidents on school premises.
  • Figures are anonymised by the police and aggregated within approximately one mile of the school site.

Question 1: Is it a good school?

School Compass Parent Report

Your decision briefing for Ark Boulton Academy

A plain-English verdict on school quality, plus application strategy, rankings, similar schools, and neighbourhood crime context — one PDF for £4.99. No subscription.

Preview sample report →

£4.99 — one-time purchase

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Question 2

Can we realistically get in?

  • Data confidence: Moderate confidence
  • Admissions pressure: Competitive
  • Personalised application strategy available
  • 8 alternative schools identified

What Admissions Advantage can and cannot tell you

Can tell you

  • Competitiveness on published admissions data
  • Demand trends over recent admission cycles
  • Application portfolio balance across your shortlist
  • Accessible alternative schools in your area

Cannot tell you

  • Last admitted distance
  • Catchment boundaries
  • Postcode-specific likelihood
  • Offer probability
  • Waiting list position
  • Priority rules
  • Grammar / selective cut-offs

Get Admissions Advantage — £9.99

Full confidence factors, trend analysis, portfolio coaching, school names, and rationales are in the paid report only.

View Admissions Advantage options →

Can we realistically get in?

School Compass Admissions Advantage

Admissions strategy for Ark Boulton Academy

A nine-page admissions briefing: competitiveness, pressure trends, portfolio balance, alternatives, and a plain-English action plan — advice-first, not a prediction of offer outcomes.

£9.99 — Admissions Advantage

One school, one admissions briefing. Buy Parent Report and Admissions Advantage separately if you want both decision reports.

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Is this the right school and area for our family?

Complete School Decision Report

Full family decision briefing for Ark Boulton Academy

One integrated PDF — school quality, admissions reality, neighbourhood safety, transport, housing, amenities, persona lens, trade-offs, and a plain-English action plan.

£14.99 — Complete School Decision Report

Everything in Parent Report and Admissions Advantage, plus family-life context and a unified verdict — one purchase, one PDF.

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Ofsted inspections

Previous inspection framework
Latest publication date
15 July 2024
Inspection date
25 June 2024
Inspection type
S5 Inspection
Category of concern
None recorded
SafeguardingNot available

Inspection outcomes

  • Overall effectiveness

    Good

    Graded 15 July 2024

  • Quality of education

    Good

    Graded 15 July 2024

  • Behaviour and attitudes

Admissions

Very High pressure

Official Department for Education applications and offers data for Secondary Transfer in academic year 2025/26.

Academic year

Academic year

2025/26

Published admission number (PAN)

Published admission number (PAN)

207

Places offered by the school

Applications received

Applications received

717

Times listed as any preference

Offers made

Offers made

180

Preferred offers from this school

Oversubscription ratio

Oversubscription ratio

3.46×

Applications per place

Offer rate

Where to apply

Use these official links to submit your application. Deadlines and portals are set by your local authority — always confirm the latest dates before you apply.

Local authority
Birmingham
Admissions portal
Birmingham admissions
Application deadline
31 October 2026 (on-time deadline for secondary entry, September 2027)
School website
http://arkboulton.org/

Performance & outcomes

Official Department for Education attainment and outcomes data. Suppressed or unpublished figures are shown as “Not published”.

Key stage 4 (secondary)

Key stage 4 (secondary) data for academic year 2024/25

Official Department for Education key stage 4 performance for academic year 2024/25. Progress 8 is not published for this academic year.

Attainment 8

Attainment 8

44.2

Progress 8

Progress 8

Not published

English and maths grade 5 or above

English & maths 5+

42.3%

English and maths grade 4 or above

English & maths 4+

67.5%

EBacc entry

EBacc entry

52.8%

EBacc achievement

Location

B11 2QG - Golden Hillock Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, West Midlands

Contact details

Address
Golden Hillock Road, Sparkhill, Birmingham, West Midlands
Postcode
B11 2QG
Phone
1217738156
Website
http://arkboulton.org/
Visit websiteOpen in Google Maps

Administrative details

Local authority name
Birmingham
Local authority code
330

School insights

Local authority context

This school is one of 979 schools in Birmingham.

Authority statistics

Total schools

979

Open schools

512

Closed schools

461

Primary schools

559

Data quality

Last updated
14 June 2026
Last imported
14 June 2026

Dates reflect the latest GIAS import and any recorded closure date for this school.

The School Compass Score combines academic outcomes, inspection findings, admissions value, destinations, and school stability to help parents compare schools consistently.

  • Not all crime is reported to the police. Small areas can vary significantly year to year.
  • Source: data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence; population from ONS.
  • Good

    Graded 15 July 2024

  • Personal development

    Good

    Graded 15 July 2024

  • Leadership and management

    Good

    Graded 15 July 2024

  • View official Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)

    Inspection history

    Showing the last 2 inspections on record, including monitoring visits.

    PublishedInspectedTypeSummaryReport
    15 July 202425 June 2024S5 InspectionGoodView report for inspection published 15 July 2024
    21 September 20226 July 2022-School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 NextView report for inspection published 21 September 2022
    • Good

      Published
      15 July 2024
      Inspected
      25 June 2024
      Type
      S5 Inspection
      Report
      View report
    • School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

      Published
      21 September 2022
      Inspected
      6 July 2022
      Type
      -
      Report
      View report

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Ofsted management information via GOV.UK.

    Offer rate

    25.1%

    Offers as a share of applications

    First preference offers: 132

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education school applications and offers statistics.

    EBacc achievement

    9.8%

    Key stage 4 destinations

    Key stage 4 destinations data for leaver academic year 2022/23

    Sustained destination measures for pupils who completed key stage 4 in 2022/23 (destinations in 2023/24).

    Education destination

    Education %

    90.0%

    Employment destination

    Employment %

    0.0%

    Apprenticeship destination

    Apprenticeships %

    0.0%

    Not in education, employment or training

    NEET %

    3.0%

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education performance and outcomes statistics (England).

    Secondary schools

    162

    Special schools

    0

    Phase distribution

    • Primary559 (58.8%)
    • Secondary162 (17.1%)
    • Special0 (0.0%)
    • Other229 (24.1%)

    Nearby schools

    School nameDistancePhaseStatus
    Golden Hillock School0 mSecondaryClosed
    Arden Primary School233 mPrimaryOpen
    Jamia Islamia Birmingham374 mNot applicableOpen
    Al-Noor Girls Secondary School381 mNot applicableClosed
    Birmingham Muslim School414 mNot applicableClosed
    Greet Primary School475 mPrimaryOpen
    Greet Primary School475 mPrimaryClosed
    Conway Primary School605 mPrimaryClosed
    Conway Primary School605 mPrimaryOpen
    English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School695 mPrimaryOpen
    • Golden Hillock School
      Distance
      0 m
      Phase
      Secondary
      Status
      Closed
    • Arden Primary School
      Distance
      233 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Open
    • Jamia Islamia Birmingham
      Distance
      374 m
      Phase
      Not applicable
      Status
      Open
    • Al-Noor Girls Secondary School
      Distance
      381 m
      Phase
      Not applicable
      Status
      Closed

    Similar schools

    Same phase (Secondary) and local authority (Birmingham)

    School namePhasePostcodeStatus
    Archbishop Ilsley Catholic SchoolSecondaryB27 7XYClosed
    Archbishop Ilsley Catholic SchoolSecondaryB27 7XYOpen
    Arena AcademySecondaryB42 2PYClosed
    Arena AcademySecondaryB42 2PYOpen
    Ark St Alban's AcademySecondaryB12 0YHOpen
    • Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      B27 7XY
      Status
      Closed
    • Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      B27 7XY
      Status
      Open
    • Arena Academy
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      B42 2PY
      Status
      Closed
    • Arena Academy
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      B42 2PY
      Status
      Open
    • Ark St Alban's Academy
    Birmingham Muslim School
    Distance
    414 m
    Phase
    Not applicable
    Status
    Closed
  • Greet Primary School
    Distance
    475 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Greet Primary School
    Distance
    475 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Conway Primary School
    Distance
    605 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Conway Primary School
    Distance
    605 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • English Martyrs' Catholic Primary School
    Distance
    695 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Phase
    Secondary
    Postcode
    B12 0YH
    Status
    Open