Yardleys School Review 2026: A structured, values-led Birmingham secondary with strong personal development

A calm, purposeful 11–16 academy in Tyseley, Yardleys School is large enough to offer breadth, but small enough to feel coherent. The timetable, enrichment model, and personal development offer are clearly designed to build routines and confidence, not just examination readiness. The current headteacher, Mr Gurpreet Basra, took up post from September 2024 after more than two decades at the school, which matters for continuity in a community-facing setting.

Inspection outcomes reinforce that profile. The most recent Ofsted inspection (7 March 2023) judged the school Good overall, with Outstanding grades for Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, and Leadership and Management.

Yardleys places a lot of emphasis on predictable routines and consistent expectations. That comes through in the way the day is structured, with form time anchoring the start of every morning and (on some days) the end of the afternoon. The published timings set out a steady rhythm of lessons, breaks, and lunch, with different finish times across the week.

Leadership feels rooted in the school’s history and local context. Mr Basra’s headteacher welcome explicitly frames the role as a long-term commitment to the community, and internal communications in 2024 presented him as headteacher-designate ahead of the September 2024 start. This kind of continuity can be reassuring for families who want stability and a clear line on behaviour, attendance, and safeguarding.

There is also a deliberate “whole child” framing across the site’s published materials, including enrichment and reading culture. The library offer, for example, is positioned as a skills-building space for study habits, confidence, and literacy, not simply a room for quiet reading.

On published outcomes, Yardleys sits around the middle of the national distribution for England. Ranked 2,459th in England and 60th in Birmingham for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), performance is described best as broadly in line with the middle 35% of schools in England (25th to 60th percentile).

Attainment 8 is 47.5. Progress 8 is +0.17, which indicates students make above-average progress from their starting points. EBacc-related measures appear weaker, with 3.9% achieving grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure and an average EBacc APS of 3.82. (These outcome indicators are reported here as the dataset provides them; families should interpret them alongside subject entry patterns and the school’s curriculum intent.)

For parents comparing local options, the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool can be useful for viewing Yardleys alongside other Birmingham secondaries on a like-for-like basis.

The school day structure suggests an emphasis on routines, pastoral check-ins, and consistent lesson lengths. The published schedule includes form time each morning and a five-lesson day on most days, with a sixth lesson on Wednesday and Thursday enrichment embedded into the timetable.

Reading and literacy appear to be a deliberate priority. The library publishes an organised offer including a Reading for Pleasure club and a Literacy Ambassadors programme, and it names external initiatives and author visits as part of its reading culture. For families, the practical implication is that literacy support is not left to chance, it is structured into student opportunities and leadership roles.

As an 11–16 school with no sixth form, post-16 progression is an important part of planning. Yardleys does not routinely publish a quantified destination breakdown on its public pages in the way that some sixth forms do, so families should expect the usual Birmingham routes: sixth form colleges, school sixth forms, and apprenticeships for those pursuing work-based pathways.

Pragmatically, the best next step is to ask how careers guidance is delivered across Years 9 to 11, how students are supported with applications, and whether the school has established links with particular sixth form providers. The site’s wider “students” area indicates careers education and trips as part of the broader programme, but the most useful detail will typically emerge at open events and option evenings.

Yardleys is in Birmingham, so Year 7 entry follows the local authority coordinated process. For September 2026 entry, Birmingham’s published timetable states that applications opened on 1 September 2025, with the statutory closing date 31 October 2025. National Offer Day is 2 March 2026, with appeals deadlines and hearings published as part of the same timetable.

The school also publishes its determined admissions arrangements for 2026/27. In-year applications (outside the normal round) are made directly to the school, and the arrangements confirm that a supplementary information form is not used.

Demand can be a factor in Birmingham secondaries generally. Yardleys is marked as oversubscribed in the available admissions snapshot, showing 1,176 applications for 189 offers (about 6.22 applications per offer). That ratio is a strong signal that families should treat admission as competitive and plan with realistic alternatives. (No “last distance offered” figure is available in the provided data for this school, so distance-based expectations should be checked directly against Birmingham’s criteria in the relevant admissions year.)

Parents considering the school should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check their home-to-school distance precisely, then compare this against Birmingham’s published oversubscription priorities for the year they are applying.

The inspection profile, especially the Outstanding grades for behaviour and personal development, points to a school that puts a lot of energy into standards, routines, and wider development. The practical expression of that is visible in the way enrichment and structured activities are positioned as part of the overall offer, rather than add-ons.

Attendance expectations are also explicitly communicated. The attendance page sets a clear expectation that students should arrive in the building at 8.40am, and it publishes a high attendance target. Families for whom punctuality is difficult due to transport or caring responsibilities should discuss what support is available, and whether breakfast provision can help.

Extracurricular life is presented as structured and inclusive, with a “taster week” approach designed to help students try activities before committing. The school also references dedicated spaces and access times, including Cooper Hall and library opening hours beyond the end of lessons on several days.

Several activities are named directly in published materials:

• Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is offered, framed around life skills and challenge.

• Music enrichment includes instrumental and singing lessons during the school day, with rotation to reduce repeated lesson loss in the same subject.

• The options booklet refers to music groups such as Yardleys Instrumental Scholars, plus keyboard clubs and guitar and ukulele activities.

• The library runs a Reading for Pleasure club and a Literacy Ambassadors programme, and it names initiatives and author visits that go beyond standard borrowing.

For parents, the implication is straightforward: enrichment is not only sport-centric, and there are visible pathways for students who prefer music, reading, or responsibility roles.

Students should be on site by 8.40am. Finish times vary across the week: 3.10pm on Monday and Tuesday, 3.40pm on Wednesday, and 2.45pm on Thursday and Friday. The published timetable breaks the day down into form time, lessons, and lunch, which helps families understand when after-school commitments are realistically possible.

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

For travel planning, families should check routes carefully at pick-up and drop-off times, especially if combining school run arrangements with rail or bus connections.

• GCSE profile is mixed. Progress is above average (+0.17), but EBacc measures in the published data are low. This can reflect subject entry patterns as much as outcomes, so it is worth asking how languages and humanities entries are planned and supported.

• Competition for places. The published admissions snapshot shows far more applications than offers, so families should include realistic alternatives on their application.

• Post-16 planning matters. With no sixth form, students need a clear route into college, sixth form, or apprenticeships. Ask early how careers guidance and applications are structured across Years 10 and 11.

• Finish times vary by day. The early finish on Thursday and Friday (2.45pm) can be helpful for appointments or clubs, but it can be challenging for childcare. Clarify supervision options and what is available on site after school.

Yardleys School reads as a structured, community-facing Birmingham secondary where routines, behaviour, and personal development are central. Academic outcomes sit around the middle of England overall, with above-average progress, so the fit often comes down to whether families value clear expectations and a programme that deliberately builds confidence and wider skills alongside exams. Best suited to students who respond well to consistency, benefit from organised enrichment, and will make use of the school’s reading, music, and leadership opportunities. Entry is the hurdle, so families should plan applications carefully.