Heritage Academy in Highgate among 12 schools with perfect GCSE results

A Birmingham school is one of only 12 in England where every pupil achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths and passed at least five GCSEs this year.

Heritage Academy, an independent school on Moseley Road in Highgate, reached the "perfect" score in the latest GCSE performance figures published by the Department for Education.

The school was rated outstanding by Ofsted at its most recent inspection, in December 2023, and has kept up high standards since.

Close behind

Several other Birmingham schools came close:

• King Edward VI Handsworth School: 100% passed at least five GCSEs, and 99.5% got grade 5 or above in English and maths
• Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls: 100% passed at least five GCSEs, and 99.4% got grade 5 or above in English and maths

Elsewhere in the Midlands, Rugby High School also achieved perfect results.

What the measure means

A grade 5 is described as a "strong pass" in the 9 to 1 grading system that replaced A* to G grades in England. A grade 4 is a "standard pass", and pupils who do not get at least a 4 in English and maths have to keep studying them after 16.

The proportion of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both subjects is one of the main measures used in the government's performance tables, alongside Attainment 8, which looks at results across eight subjects.

A note of caution

Schools that select their pupils, such as grammar schools and some independent schools, tend to dominate tables based on raw results, because their pupils are already high attainers when they arrive. Raw results say little about how much difference a school has made to its pupils, and many comprehensive schools in Birmingham do a great deal for children who arrive with lower starting points.

Parents choosing a school are encouraged to look at a range of information, including Ofsted reports, progress scores and visits to open evenings, rather than a single figure.

Deadline approaching

The figures were published two weeks before the deadline for applying for a secondary school place for September 2027, which is 31 October.

Applications for Birmingham schools are made through the city council's admissions service, and parents can list up to six preferences. Grammar schools in the city, including the King Edward VI grammar schools and Sutton Coldfield Grammar, require children to have sat the eleven plus test.

Offers will be made on national offer day, 1 March 2027. Parents who miss the deadline can still apply, but late applications are only considered after all on-time ones.