Small Heath Leadership Academy
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Small Heath Leadership Academy is a sponsored academy in Birmingham for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. It has 1,131 pupils and room for 1,200. About 60 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 70 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 90% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.
Muntz Street, Small Heath, Birmingham, B10 9RX0121 464 7997smallheathleadershipacademy.comMs Yasmin Manzoor headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 11 May 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
224 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 | 224 | 222 | 229 | 228 | 203 | 213 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 45.7 | 45.4 | 44.0 | 45.1 | 43.8 | 42.4 | 47.3 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.42 | +0.07 | +0.26 | +0.14 | -0.39 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 48% | 53% | 50% | 50% | 39% | 28% | 46% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 68% | 67% | 64% | 67% | 60% | 48% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 4.05 | 4.06 | 3.89 | 4.23 | 4.09 | 3.61 | 4.22 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 85% | 89% | 88% | 93% | 92% | 32% | 48% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 42.6 | 43.7 | 42.8 | 40.5 | 44.5 | 41.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 49.1 | 47.0 | 44.9 | 49.0 | 43.0 | 44.1 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 28.1 | 24.1 | 32.1 | 24.6 | 23.3 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 67.5 | 66.7 | 74.9 | 60.5 | 55.2 | – | – |
† These results are for Small Heath School, the school this one replaced in January 2018. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Subjects
Results came out for 17 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: Design & Technology (4% here, 50% across England), French (16% here, 60% across England), Spanish (18% here, 54% across England), Computer Science (27% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 225 | 24% | 53% | 71% | 53% | 1,428 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 225 | 16% | 48% | 65% | 54% | 1,949 of 3,210 |
| Religious Studies | 223 | 29% | 60% | 72% | 60% | 983 of 1,825 |
| English Literature | 221 | 20% | 63% | 78% | 58% | 1,052 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 198 | 12% | 36% | 53% | 36% | 1,369 of 3,084 |
| French | 115 | 4% | 16% | 24% | 60% | 1,936 of 1,974 |
| History | 112 | 12% | 32% | 46% | 52% | 2,690 of 3,126 |
| Geography | 104 | 15% | 37% | 49% | 51% | 2,307 of 3,116 |
| Other Modern Languages | 46 | 35% | 67% | 72% | 49% | 206 of 454 |
| Spanish | 45 | 4% | 18% | 24% | 54% | 1,869 of 1,941 |
| Art and Design | 33 | 9% | 52% | 67% | 58% | 1,767 of 2,818 |
| Design & Technology | 27 | 0% | 4% | 11% | 50% | 1,469 of 1,478 |
| Computer Science | 26 | 4% | 27% | 50% | 56% | 1,657 of 1,861 |
| Statistics | 24 | 38% | 79% | 96% | 51% | 151 of 375 |
| Chemistry | 23 | 39% | 91% | 91% | 81% | 1,029 of 2,537 |
| Biology | 21 | 52% | 95% | 100% | 82% | 756 of 2,570 |
| Physics | 21 | 43% | 91% | 100% | 82% | 1,076 of 2,546 |
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. 2 of the 3 gaps are 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
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
About 137 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 3% 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 (221 offers for 240 places). 138 families put it down as their first choice and 138 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 | 240 | 138 | 797 | 221 | 100% | – all offered | LA |
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 22 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.
Specialist SEND provision. Resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) with 1 pupils, for hearing impairment.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Birmingham with hearing impairment provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (73), emotional and mental health (43), Specific learning difficulty (41), Hearing impairment (9), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (9), Other difficulty or disability (5).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 1,131 | 1,188 | 1,187 | 1,153 | 1,158 | 1,156 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 60% | 53% | 46% | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 50% | 52% | 59% | 64% | 67% | 74% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 12% | 11% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.2% 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 | 6.8% | 6.5% | 6.2% | 5.7% | 3.6% | 5.8% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.5% | 3.8% | 2.4% | 4.0% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.0% | 2.6% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 1.2% | 1.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 19.4% | 20.4% | 17.1% | 13.2% | 7.4% | 16.8% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 4.6 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 1.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 229 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 83%, compared with 88% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 86% | 86% | 89% | 91% |
| Education | 84% | 86% | 87% | 89% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 0% | 1% | – |
| Work | – | 0% | 2% | 1% |
| Not in education, work or training | 7% | 5% | 5% | 6% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Trinity Catholic School | Academy | 640 m | 714 | Good 2023 | 35 | Compare |
| Bordesley Green Girls' School & Sixth Form | Council | 0.7 miles | 938 | Good 2022 | 81 | Compare |
| Ark Victoria Academy | Free school | 0.7 miles | 1,519 | Not inspected | 63 | Compare |
| Starbank School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 2,161 | Good 2023 | 74 | Compare |
| Ark Boulton Academy | Academy | 1.0 miles | 877 | Report card 2026 | 47 | Compare |
| Waverley Studio College | Studio schools | 1.0 miles | 223 | Good 2022 | 2 | Compare |
| Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Birmingham | Free school | 1.1 miles | 618 | Outstanding 2024 | 97 | Compare |
| Waverley School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 1,687 | Good 2021 | 31 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares Small Heath Leadership Academy with the 50 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 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 70 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 70% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 61 to 77. 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; 224 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 17% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 4.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | above | +0.12 | DfE progress measure; 224 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | in line | +0.03 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.06 | 2024/25; 1,256 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | well above | +0.14 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 224 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | well below | -0.06 | 229 pupils |
| What parents say | 5% | above | +0.03 | Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 22 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 Small Heath Leadership Academy a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. Small Heath Leadership Academy scores 70 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 90% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 61 to 77, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is Small Heath Leadership Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Small Heath Leadership Academy good at its last full inspection on 11 May 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How good are Small Heath Leadership Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 48% 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 45.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about half a grade ahead of children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Small Heath Leadership Academy have?
1,131 pupils aged 11 to 18 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,200 places, so it is 94% full.
Is Small Heath Leadership Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 137 places were empty in 2024/25 (10% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at Small Heath Leadership Academy?
Pupils were in school 93.2% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 19% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about Small Heath Leadership Academy?
91% of the 22 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 95% say their child is happy there. Across England, 77% of parents would recommend their child's school.
How big are the classes at Small Heath Leadership Academy?
The average class had 25.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 12% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does Small Heath Leadership Academy have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It has resourced provision (extra staff and funding within a mainstream school) for hearing impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Small Heath Leadership Academy have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Muntz Street, Small Heath, Birmingham, B10 9RX
- Telephone
- 0121 464 7997
- Website
- smallheathleadershipacademy.com
- Headteacher
- Ms Yasmin Manzoor
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-18, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Star Academies (36 schools)
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Ward
- Bordesley Green
- Constituency
- Birmingham Ladywood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 January 2018 (new provision)
- URN
- 144464 · LAESTAB 3304025 · UKPRN 10063712
- Formerly
- Small Heath 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.