Lordswood Boys' School
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Lordswood Boys' School is a converter academy in Birmingham for boys aged 11 to 16. It has 659 pupils and room for 750. About 46 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 55 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 33% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in February 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Hagley Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 8BJ0121 464 2837lordswoodboys.co.ukMrs Lindsay Greatrix headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 3 February 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 15 February 2022 | S5 Inspection | Good |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
97 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Birmingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 97 | 105 | 69 | 67 | 61 | 58 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 43.3 | 42.7 | 42.8 | 41.1 | 39.9 | 42.7 | 47.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.19 | +0.38 | +0.04 | +0.41 | +0.35 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 45% | 41% | 43% | 46% | 31% | 31% | 46% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 60% | 62% | 58% | 66% | 56% | 62% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.84 | 3.56 | 3.68 | 3.60 | 3.26 | 3.50 | 4.22 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 34% | 18% | 25% | 24% | 25% | 22% | 48% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 41.8 | 40.5 | 37.3 | 37.3 | 35.0 | 39.6 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 45.5 | 44.5 | 51.8 | 43.6 | 42.6 | 44.9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 30.6 | 31.6 | 32.2 | 26.6 | 27.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 58.6 | – | – | 70.4 | 67.9 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 18 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Religious Studies (20% here, 60% across England), Design & Technology (12% here, 50% across England), Spanish (22% here, 54% across England), Physical Education (26% here, 56% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 97 | 10% | 38% | 55% | 54% | 2,663 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 96 | 12% | 48% | 66% | 58% | 2,179 of 3,202 |
| Mathematics | 96 | 28% | 57% | 69% | 53% | 1,106 of 3,211 |
| Combined Science | 70 | 4% | 39% | 47% | 36% | 1,188 of 3,084 |
| History | 40 | 13% | 68% | 75% | 52% | 584 of 3,126 |
| Art and Design | 33 | 0% | 39% | 58% | 58% | 2,243 of 2,818 |
| Biology | 26 | 31% | 89% | 96% | 82% | 1,216 of 2,570 |
| Chemistry | 25 | 44% | 88% | 96% | 81% | 1,197 of 2,537 |
| Geography | 25 | 16% | 48% | 68% | 51% | 1,543 of 3,116 |
| Physics | 25 | 40% | 88% | 92% | 82% | 1,215 of 2,546 |
| Physical Education | 23 | 4% | 26% | 44% | 56% | 1,390 of 1,559 |
| Spanish | 23 | 9% | 22% | 48% | 54% | 1,827 of 1,941 |
| Computer Science | 23 | 17% | 44% | 70% | 56% | 1,249 of 1,861 |
| Design & Technology | 17 | 0% | 12% | 24% | 50% | – |
| Music | 16 | 6% | 31% | 50% | 61% | – |
| German | 15 | 0% | 40% | 73% | 63% | – |
| Religious Studies | 15 | 7% | 20% | 40% | 60% | – |
| Other Modern Languages | 10 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 49% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
About 72 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 53% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
In 2026 every child who applied got a place, so how far away you live didn't matter. That could change if the school gets more popular.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. Every child who applied got a place (114 offers for 150 places). 68 families put it down as their first choice and 68 of them got in (100%).
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | First choices who got in | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 150 | 68 | 383 | 114 | 100% | – all offered | LA |
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 28 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for secondary schools with enough answers to publish.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (37), Autistic spectrum disorder (15), Moderate learning difficulty (13), Specific learning difficulty (9), language and communications needs (9), Other difficulty or disability (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 659 | 654 | 542 | 496 | 426 | 376 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 46% | 44% | 43% | 42% | 42% | 39% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 42% | 46% | 46% | 46% | 48% | 52% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 13% | 9% | 8% | 9% | 8% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 92.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.0% | 7.4% | 7.7% | 7.2% | 4.8% | 4.8% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 4.6% | 4.6% | 4.5% | 5.4% | 2.8% | 3.1% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.4% | 2.8% | 3.3% | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 27.0% | 22.7% | 24.3% | 22.6% | 11.5% | 14.4% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 21.3 | 13.3 | 18.8 | 24.4 | 10.6 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 69 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 77%, compared with 85% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 80% | 81% | 96% | 90% |
| Education | 78% | 81% | 96% | 90% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 10% | 12% | 1% | 5% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Edward VI Lordswood School for Girls | Academy | 310 m | 989 | Good 2024 | 86 | Compare |
| George Dixon Academy | Academy | 750 m | 998 | No overall grade 2024 | 12 | Compare |
| Shireland Collegiate Academy | Academy | 0.8 miles | 1,585 | No overall grade 2024 | 72 | Compare |
| St Paul's School for Girls | Roman Catholic | 1.1 miles | 1,033 | Outstanding 2023 | 97 | Compare |
| Harborne Academy | Academy | 1.3 miles | 627 | Good 2022 | 71 | Compare |
| Bristnall Hall Academy | Academy | 1.5 miles | 1,088 | Outstanding 2023 | 83 | Compare |
| Q3 Academy Langley | Academy | 1.8 miles | 1,490 | Not inspected | 85 | Compare |
| Hillcrest School and Sixth Form Centre | Academy | 2.0 miles | 627 | Good 2022 | 78 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Lordswood Boys' School with the 49 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher
Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Lordswood Boys' School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys | Academy | 3.9 miles | 815 | Good 2023 | 71 | Compare |
| Wheelers Lane Technology College | Council | 4.5 miles | 672 | No overall grade 2025 | 79 | Compare |
| Turves Green Boys' School | Academy | 5.1 miles | 592 | Good 2024 | 66 | Compare |
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 55 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 55% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 43 to 66. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | in line | -0.04 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 97 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | below | -0.08 | Ofsted report card, 0.6 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | above | +0.08 | DfE progress measure; 97 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | above | +0.04 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | 0.00 | 2024/25; 700 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well above | +0.10 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 97 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | well below | -0.05 | 69 pupils |
| What parents say | 5% | in line | 0.00 | Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 28 responses |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is Lordswood Boys' School a good school?
It is about average. Lordswood Boys' School scores 55 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 33% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 43 to 66, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Lordswood Boys' School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 3 February 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.
How good are Lordswood Boys' School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 45% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 43.3, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished a little ahead of children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Lordswood Boys' School have?
659 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 750 places, so it is 88% full. It is a boys' school.
Is Lordswood Boys' School oversubscribed?
Probably not. 72 places were empty in 2024/25 (10% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Lordswood Boys' School?
Pupils were in school 92.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about Lordswood Boys' School?
75% of the 28 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 79% say their child is happy there. Across England, 77% of parents would recommend their child's school.
How big are the classes at Lordswood Boys' School?
The average class had 27.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 15% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Lordswood Boys' School have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 80% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Hagley Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 8BJ
- Telephone
- 0121 464 2837
- Website
- www.lordswoodboys.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lindsay Greatrix
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Central Academies Trust Limited (1 schools)
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Ward
- Harborne
- Constituency
- Birmingham Edgbaston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2017 (fresh start)
- URN
- 145120 · LAESTAB 3304029 · UKPRN 10065191
- Formerly
- Lordswood Boys' School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Birmingham council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.