City Academy

About City Academy

City Academy is a secondary school in Birmingham, classified by the DfE as a free school. Around 615 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds a 'Requires improvement' judgement from Ofsted (February 2026). The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 36.4 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 1.7 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

23% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 41% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made City Academy their first choice was offered one of its 61 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 80% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 12.4%. There are about 15.4 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 65% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. If you are considering City Academy, it may be worth asking how leaders have responded to Ofsted's findings and what has changed since the inspection. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.