Bournville School Review 2026: All-through continuity with improving systems, and a demanding admissions picture

An all-through school can remove one of the biggest stress points in a child’s education, the jump from Year 6 to Year 7. Here, that continuity is a core feature. Primary pupils can move into the secondary phase with familiar routines, staff who already know them, and access to specialist spaces that most standalone primaries cannot offer. The trade-off is that improvement work is still in progress, and outcomes show there is ground to make up, particularly at GCSE.

The current principal, Miss Marie Rooney, was appointed on 26 January 2023 and has positioned the school around clear expectations and renewed engagement with families.

The most recent Ofsted inspection (12 and 13 March 2024) judged the school Requires improvement overall, with Good for personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

Expectations are explicit and front-loaded. The school’s motto, Ready, Respectful, Safe, is used as a practical standard rather than a decorative slogan, particularly around punctuality, conduct, and being prepared for lessons.

A key part of the current identity is “all-through” as a lived experience, not just an age range. The principal describes the primary phase as benefiting from secondary facilities such as IT, Music and Drama, and the school positions transition as a continuation rather than a restart. That matters for children who find change difficult, and for families who want a stable set of relationships across many years.

Recent external review evidence also points to a school consciously rebuilding family engagement. The school holds the Leading Parent Partnership Award, and the associated verification report describes a deliberate shift towards co-production and more open relationships with parents and carers.

Primary outcomes show a mixed picture, with some real strengths alongside lower headline attainment.

In 2024, 50.67% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics combined, below the England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 16% reached greater depth across reading, writing and mathematics, above the England average of 8%.

Scaled scores sit around the national midpoint, with reading at 100, mathematics at 100, and grammar, punctuation and spelling at 101. Science is an area to watch, with 74% meeting the expected standard compared with the England average of 82%.

Rankings provide additional context for parents benchmarking locally. Ranked 14,289th in England and 283rd in Birmingham for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), this places performance below England average, within the bottom 40% of schools in England.

At GCSE, the current picture is challenging. The school’s Attainment 8 score is 31.7 and Progress 8 is -0.78, indicating pupils, on average, make substantially less progress than similar pupils nationally from the end of primary.

The EBacc average point score is 2.64, below the England average of 4.08, which often reflects weaker outcomes across the academic core subjects.

Ranked 3,730th in England and 100th in Birmingham for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), results again sit below England average and within the bottom 40% of schools in England.

For parents comparing schools locally, the FindMySchool Birmingham Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you put these figures side by side with nearby options, rather than interpreting them in isolation.

Improvement work is clearly centred on curriculum and consistency. The 2024 inspection report describes a strengthened, more ambitious curriculum that is understood by teachers, with learning sequenced carefully across subjects. It also points to uneven delivery, where essential prior knowledge is not always secure, with mathematics highlighted as a subject where missing foundations can limit access to harder problem-solving.

Reading is treated as a priority from the start. Phonics begins in Reception and the reading curriculum is described as well planned, with targeted support for weaker readers continuing into the secondary phase. The practical implication for families is that children who need systematic reading support are likely to find a structured approach, although the broader challenge is ensuring that the same consistency shows up across every subject and year group.

SEND support is an important consideration in a mainstream all-through. The curriculum intent is inclusive, with pupils accessing the same curriculum and adaptations made for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans. The area still developing is consistency for pupils with SEND who do not have an EHC plan, where support can vary between classrooms.

The all-through structure shapes the Year 6 to Year 7 pathway. The admissions arrangements set out that the Year 7 published admission number includes places for pupils transferring from the school’s own Year 6 into Year 7. For many families, that internal pathway is a major reason to consider an all-through school, particularly if a child would benefit from stable peer groups and a familiar environment.

Post-16 is an external move, because there is no sixth form. Careers support is a stated strength relative to many schools in a similar position. The most recent inspection evidence describes effective careers education that includes apprenticeships information and encounters with employers, with additional focus on supporting pupils with SEND. For families, the practical step is to ask early, during Year 9 and Year 10, how the school supports applications to sixth form colleges, school sixth forms, and technical routes, and what guidance is offered for subject choices and entry requirements.

Demand is high at both main entry points. Reception entry shows 43 applications for 6 offers, a ratio of 7.17 applications per place, and Year 7 entry shows 843 applications for 72 offers, a ratio of 11.71 applications per place. These figures signal that admission, rather than day-to-day provision, can be the gating factor for many families.

Admissions criteria are straightforward and typical of many academies in Birmingham: priority for looked-after and previously looked-after children, then siblings, then distance. Distance is calculated as a straight-line measurement between home and the school’s front gates, using local authority systems.

It is also important to understand the all-through dynamic at Year 7. The published admission number for secondary includes spaces for current Year 6 pupils transferring through to Year 7, with the remaining places available for external applicants. Parents considering a Year 7 application from another primary should assume competition is tighter than the headline published number suggests.

For families considering admission, FindMySchool’s Map Search is the most practical way to understand how your home location might interact with distance-based allocation, especially in years with strong demand.

Key deadlines for 2026 entry (Birmingham coordinated admissions)

For Reception entry in September 2026, applications opened on 1 October 2025 and closed on 15 January 2026, with national offer day on 16 April 2026.

For Year 7 entry in September 2026, applications opened on 1 September 2025 and closed on 31 October 2025, with offers issued on 2 March 2026.

The school also runs open events as part of its Year 6 to Year 7 cycle, with an open evening listed for 17 September 2025. For future years, families should expect open events to fall in September, and check the school’s current calendar for the latest details.

The school presents wellbeing as a system rather than a bolt-on. The inspection evidence describes pupils feeling safe and known by staff, with generally calm conduct and improving attendance, alongside a clear priority to improve punctuality.

Behaviour is described as having improved rapidly over the last year, with clearer expectations and a calmer climate, while some pupils still show weaker attitudes to learning in lessons. For parents, this combination usually means that corridors and social time can feel settled, while classroom culture can still vary between subjects and teachers. A good admissions visit question is how the school supports consistent routines across departments, particularly for pupils who need strong structure.

Extracurricular provision is organised across before-school, lunchtime, and after-school slots, and the school publishes termly timetables. In Spring 2025, examples included Book Club at breaktime and lunch, SEND Lunch Club (Sports), table tennis, football, netball, and targeted Year 11 mathematics sessions.

For sport, netball is a visible strand, with school newsletters reporting significant participation numbers and multiple weekly training sessions across key stages. This matters because it signals provision beyond elite teams only. A club that can carry 30 to 45 active members tends to create a social centre of gravity for students who want regular fixtures and structured training.

There are also partnership-style enrichment examples. The BCFC Change Mentoring Programme is presented as part of the enrichment offer, with associated football training sessions described as open to all students during social times and after school. For some pupils, especially those who respond best to adult role models outside the usual classroom frame, this kind of programme can be a meaningful motivator.

Primary after-school clubs are also explicitly listed, including a Healthy Eating and Cooking Club, Creative Club, Phonics Club, and Multi-Sports Club, with places managed through the school’s usual parent systems.

Primary timings run from 08:30, with lessons through to 15:00, and a mid-day lunch period. The school offers primary wraparound care delivered by an external provider, with a before-school session from 07:30 to 08:30 and after-school sessions running to 17:30.

Secondary timings (September 2025 schedule) run from 08:30 to 15:00 for most year groups, with a sixth period to 16:00. Year 11 has compulsory period 6 sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday focused on GCSE preparation.

For travel, Bournville railway station is on the West Midlands Railway network. Local bus services in this corridor include National Express West Midlands routes 45 and 47, which run between Birmingham and Longbridge via areas including Stirchley and Cotteridge.

• GCSE outcomes remain a key concern. Progress 8 at -0.78 indicates many pupils are leaving with less progress than expected from their starting points. Families should ask how improvements in curriculum delivery are translating into examination readiness, particularly in mathematics.

• Punctuality is a stated improvement priority. The most recent inspection evidence highlights that too many pupils arrive late, which affects learning time and the start-of-day routine. This can matter most for pupils who need predictable structure.

• SEND support is still becoming more consistent. Adaptations for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans are described as clearer, while support for pupils with SEND without an EHC plan can vary. Parents should ask what classroom-level expectations look like and how the school checks consistency across subjects.

• Admission is highly competitive. Application-to-offer ratios are high at both Reception and Year 7, so families should treat this as a stretch option unless they have a strong priority category such as sibling.

This is a school with a compelling structural advantage, all-through continuity, and credible evidence of renewed systems and direction under its current principal. The challenge is that results, especially at GCSE, still lag and improvement work needs to bed in consistently across classrooms. It suits families who value continuity from Reception to Year 11, want structured expectations and published routines, and are prepared to engage closely with the school’s improvement journey. For many, the biggest barrier is securing a place.