Four Dwellings Academy Review 2026: A calm, structured 11–16 school with a strong character programme

Four Dwellings Academy is a mixed, 11–16 secondary serving families around Quinton in Birmingham, with capacity for 600 students and a current roll reported in the 500s. The school sits within Lift Schools, and leadership is clear and visible, with Claire Stoneman named as Principal, appointed in September 2022.

The latest Ofsted inspection, carried out on 21 and 22 November 2023 and published in January 2024, judged the school Good across all key areas. For parents, that matters because it signals a broadly consistent experience: expectations are set, routines are understood, and the day-to-day running is designed to feel orderly rather than reactive.

This is a school that puts “calm, safe and focused” at the centre of its stated aims, and it talks explicitly about creating an environment where aspiration is normal rather than exceptional. That framing is not just rhetorical. External review material points to predictable routines and a respectful feel as the norm, alongside deliberate work to reduce suspensions and to improve attendance.

Leadership opportunities are a major feature of the student experience here. The school describes a structured ladder, starting early and continuing through to Year 11, including a Student Council and a Prefect System with Senior Prefects and Head Students. In practice, that creates multiple routes for students to be “seen” beyond academic attainment. For some teenagers, especially those who respond well to responsibility, a visible leadership pathway can be as motivating as a grades target.

The language used for values is clear and memorable: the “3 R’s” of Respect, Resilience, and Responsibility. For families, the important question is whether those values translate into consistent behaviour management. Here, the wider narrative suggests leaders have moved beyond slogans, focusing on how routines, expectations, and follow-up support reduce repeated behaviour issues, especially for students who find boundaries harder to meet.

Four Dwellings Academy sits in line with the middle 35% of secondary schools in England for GCSE outcomes (25th to 60th percentile), based on FindMySchool rankings derived from official data. Specifically, it is ranked 1925th in England and 41st in Birmingham for GCSEs (FindMySchool ranking).

On headline outcomes, the Attainment 8 score is 47.6, indicating a broadly mid-range profile when set against the wide spread of results across England. Progress 8 is +0.22, a positive score which indicates students, on average, make above-expected progress from their starting points.

EBacc indicators show a mixed picture. The average EBacc APS is 4.11, and 13% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in the EBacc measure. The EBacc APS figure is close to the England benchmark value shown (4.08).

What this means for parents is fairly practical. Progress being positive matters because it suggests the school is helping students move forward academically, not simply reflecting intake. At the same time, the EBacc picture implies that families prioritising a strongly academic EBacc pathway should look carefully at subject entry patterns and how the school supports students towards higher grades in those subjects.

For parents comparing nearby options, the FindMySchool Local Hub page and Comparison Tool are useful for setting these results alongside other Birmingham secondaries, using the same definitions and time windows.

The most helpful way to understand teaching here is through the school’s emphasis on consistency. The curriculum is delivered through clearly defined routines, and the inspection evidence suggests a deliberate approach to ensuring lessons feel predictable in structure. For many students, especially those who struggle with organisation or confidence, predictability reduces cognitive load. It means more energy goes into learning content, less into guessing what happens next.

Subject depth was evaluated through a set of curriculum “deep dives” including English, mathematics, science, geography, and modern foreign languages. That mix matters because it indicates scrutiny across both core academic subjects and a broader humanities and languages offer. While the school website links to curriculum information by department, much of the detail is hosted in embedded content, so parents who want full visibility should use open events and subject discussions to understand sequencing, homework expectations, and revision practice.

Where the school appears particularly intentional is around student development beyond lessons. The Character Curriculum is positioned as a core element, with explicit programmes for leadership, responsibility, and participation in wider school life. This kind of approach tends to work best when it is tied into tutor time, assemblies, and real roles, rather than being treated as a once-a-term activity.

Because this is an 11–16 school, the key transition point is post-GCSE. The best schools in this category treat Year 11 destinations as a central part of the offer, not an afterthought, and Four Dwellings Academy clearly signals careers and guidance as a structured service rather than an informal add-on.

The school states that it contracts Stepping Forward to provide independent and impartial careers advice, with named advisers on set days, and that advisers hold a Level 6 careers guidance qualification plus Matrix accreditation for the service. For families, that gives confidence that guidance is not solely delivered by non-specialists. It also implies that Year 9 options and Key Stage 4 decisions should be supported by conversations about future routes, including vocational and technical pathways as well as A-level progression at local providers.

If you are shortlisting for a child who is undecided about post-16 direction, a sensible question to ask at open events is how careers interviews are scheduled, who gets priority, how employer encounters are organised, and how the school supports apprenticeship applications alongside college and sixth form applications.

Four Dwellings Academy is its own admissions authority through Lift Schools, but applications for Year 7 places are made via Birmingham’s coordinated admissions process, using the Common Application Form through the family’s home local authority. This is important because it means parents should not assume that direct contact with the school replaces the formal application route.

For September 2026 entry, Birmingham’s published timetable states that applications opened on 1 September 2025 and the statutory closing date was 31 October 2025. The timetable also lists 2 March 2026 as National Offer Day for secondary transfer.

Open events can be a key part of making an informed preference order. The school’s published key dates for autumn 2025 included an Open Evening in late September and an Open Morning the following day. If you are applying for a later entry year, it is reasonable to expect open events to run around a similar point in the autumn term, but families should still check the school’s current calendar as exact dates can change year to year.

One practical tip: if distance is part of your wider Birmingham admissions strategy, use FindMySchool Map Search to calculate your home-to-gate distance accurately, then compare that against recent offer patterns across multiple schools, rather than relying on rough postcode assumptions.

Pastoral strength in secondary schools often comes down to two things: the clarity of expectations, and how the school supports students who struggle to meet them. Here, the narrative is that expectations are well understood and routines are consistent, alongside targeted work for students who find behaviour standards harder to sustain. That approach is generally more effective than swinging between strictness and leniency, because it avoids mixed messages.

The leadership and character structure also plays into wellbeing. A well-run student council and a purposeful prefect programme can help younger students feel represented and can create visible role models in corridors and social times. In many schools, that has a direct effect on day-to-day culture, particularly around low-level disruption and peer conflicts.

The inspection evidence also describes an open and positive safeguarding culture focused on pupils’ interests first.

Extracurricular life here is framed as part of the Character Curriculum rather than a separate “nice to have”. That matters because it signals that participation is meant to be normal, not only for the most confident students.

The school explicitly references an extra-curricular timetable with clubs ranging from chess to steel pans, plus coding and Debate Mate. These are particularly useful examples because they cover both enrichment that supports academic confidence (coding, debating) and opportunities that widen cultural experience (steel pans). For a student who is still finding their place socially, a structured club that meets weekly can be a simpler route to friendship than unstructured breaktimes.

Sport sits alongside this, with the school describing lunchtime and after-school sporting opportunities and participation in local leagues. The inspection report also points to “various sports” and a student-led contribution to facilities, including basketball hoops, which suggests students can influence the lived experience on site.

The library is another concrete feature worth noting. It is open at break, lunchtime, and after school, staffed by a librarian, and the stock is described as over 8,000 books with 13 computers available for research and homework. For parents, this is a tangible indicator of how the school supports independent study, particularly for students who may not have quiet study space at home.

Trips appear to be used as an enrichment lever. The inspection report references a trip to France and a photography trip into Birmingham, both of which provide a useful mix of curriculum extension and confidence-building through experiences outside the classroom.

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should still budget for the normal secondary extras, such as uniform, equipment, and optional trips.

The published school day includes an 8:30am registration time. The finish time is 3:30pm, with an earlier finish of 2:20pm on Wednesdays and Fridays, and the weekly total is stated as 32 hours and 50 minutes. Reception opening hours for enquiries are shown as 7:30am to 4:30pm.

Transport planning will depend on your exact starting point in Quinton and nearby areas, so it is sensible to map the journey at school start and finish times, not at off-peak hours. If you are relying on public transport, check how reliable the route is in winter and during roadworks season.

• GCSE profile is mid-range overall. Rankings place the school in line with the middle 35% of schools in England for GCSE outcomes, so families wanting a highly academic, top-tier exam environment should compare carefully with local alternatives.

• Year 11 is a hard transition point. With no sixth form, students must reapply for post-16 routes, which suits independent teenagers but can feel unsettling for those who prefer continuity.

• Clubs are strongest when students commit. The school highlights a broad set of clubs, but the inspection evidence also flags that some students do not always take full advantage of enrichment. Families may need to encourage participation early, especially in Year 7 and Year 8.

• Admissions deadlines are unforgiving. Birmingham’s secondary application deadline falls at the end of October for September entry. Missing it can materially reduce options, so parents should plan well before Year 6 begins.

Four Dwellings Academy offers a structured 11–16 education with clear values, visible leadership roles for students, and a steady set of academic outcomes supported by positive progress measures. The wider offer is credible, with clubs spanning chess, coding, debating, and music, plus a library set up to support independent study. Best suited to families who want a calm, consistent school culture and who are prepared to engage actively with post-16 planning from Year 9 onwards.