On Heath Lane in Summerfield, on the outskirts of Kidderminster, Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiya School runs on a boarding rhythm and a deliberately split timetable: Islamic studies take most of the morning, followed by a secular curriculum in the afternoon. With a published capacity of 275, it is built for a close, contained community rather than a sprawling day-school sprawl.
It is an independent secondary school with sixth form for boys aged 11 to 28 in Kidderminster, Worcestershire. The most recent Ofsted inspection rated the school Requires Improvement. For families, the immediate headline is the combination of intensive faith study, residential structure for many students, and a school community that positions manners, respect and routine as daily expectations.
Heath Lane sits a little removed from town-centre life, and that matters because this is not a school defined by a short commute and an after-school rush. The boarding element shapes the feel: relationships matter, routines matter, and the social world is largely contained within the school’s own orbit.
The tone, as described in formal reporting, is warm and welcoming, with students speaking about a family ethos and positive relationships with staff and each other. That kind of culture is not accidental in a boarding setting. It relies on clear adult presence, consistent expectations, and everyday structures that leave less room for the low-level friction that can dominate adolescent group dynamics.
Leadership sits within a proprietor model, overseen by the Madinatul Uloom Al Islamyia Board of Trustees, with Ahmed Patas named as chair. Day-to-day leadership is held by headteacher Abdullah Memi. For parents, this governance setup is most relevant when you are asking practical questions: how safeguarding is overseen across both education and boarding, how curriculum improvement is planned and monitored, and how student voice is heard in a setting where much of life happens on site.
The school and boarding provision sit within the grounds of a former teacher training college. That gives a strong clue about scale and layout without needing a glossy prospectus: a larger site, accommodation blocks, and shared spaces that have to do a lot of work in the lives of students who live there for most of the week.
Recent reporting also makes it clear that boarding accommodation has been an area of active work, with refurbishment programmes discussed and a push towards a more consistently homely standard. Families considering boarding should treat this as a practical line of enquiry, not a footnote: ask what has been completed, what remains, and how day-to-day supervision works when students span early teens through young adulthood.
There is a straightforward way to read Madinatul Uloom’s published results picture: it is a school where the wider experience, the timetable structure, and the boarding environment are central, but where secular academic outcomes have had to be strengthened and made more consistent over time. The data points and recent inspection narrative sit in that same frame.
Ranked 3,669th in England and 6th in Kidderminster for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), the school sits below England average on this measure. The Attainment 8 score is 33.9, which signals that outcomes across a student’s best set of GCSE subjects are modest compared with higher-performing secondaries.
The Ebacc average point score is 3.01, compared with an England benchmark of 4.08. The published measure for achieving grade 5 or above in the Ebacc is 0%. Taken together, these numbers point to a school where families should be clear-eyed: the secular side of the timetable has improved in design and delivery in some areas, but outcomes remain a key question, especially for students whose next steps depend on strong GCSE profiles.
If you are comparing local options, it is worth using FindMySchool’s local results tools to line up GCSE indicators side by side, then matching that against what your child needs academically and emotionally from a boarding-led setting.
The sixth form is small in scale, with 29 students on roll at the time of the latest published inspection report. Recent inspection documentation notes that, while inspectors looked at suitability of the curriculum for sixth form students, there was not enough evidence gathered from the secular curriculum to reach a quality judgement for sixth form provision. For families, the implication is simple: ask about breadth, progression routes and the day-to-day teaching capacity behind the post-16 offer, particularly if your son is aiming for a wider range of academic pathways.
The published destination data for the 2023/24 leavers cohort (11 students) shows 9% moving into apprenticeships and 27% into employment. Those figures suggest that, for at least some students, the end point is a work-facing route rather than the university conveyor belt. That may suit some families well, but it should be explored with care, especially for students who want a clear academic bridge from GCSEs into advanced study.
England ranks and key metrics (where available)
GCSE 9–7
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% of students achieving grades 9-7
On paper, the defining feature of teaching and learning here is the two-track day. Most of the morning is devoted to Islamic studies, with secular subjects taught in the afternoon. For families, this is not just a timetable detail. It changes how homework, consolidation and exam preparation fit into a week, and it changes what “balance” looks like for students who are juggling different kinds of intellectual work.
Recent reporting describes an ambition for students to gain the knowledge and skills needed for their next stage, with high expectations and a culture of hard work in lessons. It also describes inconsistency across parts of the secular curriculum: where planning is strong and delivery matches it, students do better; where sequencing and teacher confidence are weaker, progress slows and preparation for the next stage is not as strong as it could be.
A useful example sits in mathematics. Curriculum work has included explicitly identifying key knowledge students need to know and remember, alongside classroom checking for understanding and adjustments to teaching when gaps appear. That kind of clarity matters in a school that has to make every afternoon count.
Reading is described as a priority, with regular reading in and beyond lessons, a library stock students use, and an English curriculum that includes a range of texts such as poetry and plays. There is also a clear emphasis on vocabulary, with key terms identified and explained to support comprehension. For students, this is foundational: strong reading fluency and confident vocabulary make the entire secular curriculum easier to access, particularly when time is limited and the learning day is already structured in two distinct halves.
There is also an explicit sense that staff development has been a lever for improvement, with subject knowledge and curriculum delivery being areas of focus. For families, that should translate into concrete questions: how training is prioritised, what specialist subject staffing looks like in key GCSE areas, and how the school checks that classroom practice is consistent across subjects.
Madinatul Uloom’s age range runs up to 28, which is a clue to the institution’s wider shape: it is not only a straightforward Year 7 to Year 13 pipeline. It combines school-age education with post-16 study and space for older students, and it does so within a largely residential context for many.
For students leaving at the end of sixth form, the published 2023/24 destination data points towards employment and apprenticeships for a notable minority of leavers. That can be a strength when it is planned well. The difference between an apprenticeship route that is intentional and one that is simply the next available option is careers education, employer contact, and realistic guidance based on students’ strengths.
Recent reporting describes careers activity that includes on-site careers fairs, visiting speakers, employer encounters, and visits to colleges and universities. For families, the question is how well this guidance is tailored: how individual students are supported to choose between continued study, vocational routes and work, and how the school builds the study skills, qualifications and confidence needed for each.
For younger students, “where next” begins earlier. It is about whether the secular curriculum builds securely towards GCSE, whether students can show progress across a breadth of subjects, and whether the teaching approach helps them retain knowledge as they move through key stages. In a school with a timetable split, the strongest transition is the one where the afternoon curriculum is sequenced tightly enough that students do not lose momentum between units and years.
Heath Lane’s setting and the school’s boarding profile mean admissions are rarely a casual decision. Families are not only choosing a school; they are choosing a way of life for a child who may spend much of the week on site. That raises the bar for fit, especially around maturity, independence and readiness for routine.
Admissions are handled directly by the school rather than through Worcestershire’s local authority coordination. Parents should focus on practical clarity: whether you are considering a day place or boarding, what the expectations are for the daily timetable, and how the school supports new students as they settle into both the academic structure and the residential community.
Day fees are published at £2,100 per year. In any independent setting, the real-world cost picture also includes uniform, trips and any additional activities, and boarding adds another layer of cost and logistics. Families should discuss the full breakdown early, including what is included and how payment is structured, as well as any financial support the school offers.
If you are weighing logistics alongside fit, FindMySchool’s map tools can help you sense-check travel time to Kidderminster against the reality of your week, particularly if your child will switch between boarding and home at weekends or for exeats.
Because boarding can change the pattern of family life, admissions conversations should also cover the daily safeguards: supervision, communication with home, medical arrangements, and how the school manages transitions for students who arrive from different parts of the country or from overseas. In a close community, small processes matter, and families should expect clear answers about how the school keeps track of students’ whereabouts and wellbeing across the week.
On a site where many students live, pastoral care is not a separate department. It is the spine of the place. Recent reporting describes students feeling safe, with respectful relationships and a community where bullying is not presented as a defining feature. Behaviour and attitudes are graded as Good, and personal development is also graded as Good, which aligns with a picture of a school that places real weight on conduct and character.
Safeguarding arrangements are described as effective. In a boarding context, that statement carries extra weight because safeguarding is not limited to lesson time. It spans evenings, weekends, friendships, online behaviour, mental health, and the ordinary stress points of adolescence.
At the same time, earlier inspection documentation highlighted serious concerns, particularly around professional curiosity, information-sharing, and the systems needed to keep children safe in boarding. The more recent improvement narrative shows why families should still ask detailed questions. Not because the school is unusual, but because boarding demands sharper systems than day schooling: information has to move quickly between education and residential staff, concerns have to be followed up promptly, and adults have to notice what teenagers will not always say out loud.
Heath Lane’s setting and the school’s timetable design create a particular kind of enrichment offer. When a community is on site for longer, activities become part of the weekly rhythm rather than an optional add-on.
The published list of activities includes calligraphy, martial arts, and a computing club. These are not random extras. Calligraphy fits naturally alongside an ethos that values care, attention and disciplined practice. Martial arts offers structure and physical challenge in a controlled setting. A computing club gives a route into practical problem-solving and a modern skill set, which matters for students who will need to operate confidently in contemporary Britain.
Trips to places of local interest are also part of the picture, with museums and cathedrals cited as examples. The point here is not sightseeing. It is exposure: helping students place their own studies and values within a broader civic and cultural context, and giving them material for discussion in humanities and personal development work.
Sporting activity includes cricket, football and swimming. In a boarding-led environment, sport does more than keep students fit. It gives shape to evenings, offers a pressure release after a long day split across different kinds of study, and provides a social glue that can matter when students are away from home.
For parents, the practical question is consistency: what is available week in, week out, how participation is encouraged, and how the school balances structured activity with the quieter, restorative time students also need. The best boarding settings understand that wellbeing is partly about community, but also about giving students permission to step back.
*Bursaries may be available for eligible families.
Basis: per year
Heath Lane is outside central Kidderminster, and the school sits within a larger site that has to support both education and boarding. For day students, the nearest rail hub is Kidderminster station, with onward travel then determined by family transport arrangements.
This is not a school designed around quick, kerbside drop-offs. Families should plan on car travel or arranged transport as the default, and boarders should factor in the end-of-term and weekend travel pattern that comes with residential schooling.
The defining practical feature is the timetable split: Islamic studies take most of the morning, with secular subjects taught in the afternoon. For students, that structure can suit those who like clear compartments and routine. It can be harder for those who need more continuous time on a single academic track, especially around exam periods.
The boarding-first reality: With the vast majority of students described as boarders, the social and pastoral centre of gravity sits on site. That can be brilliant for boys who want routine, community and constant adult presence. It can feel intense for those who need more space and privacy, or who recharge best at home.
Two curricula, one day: The morning-and-afternoon split is a genuine educational choice. It offers depth in faith study alongside a secular curriculum, but it also compresses academic time. Families should look closely at how homework, revision and subject catch-up are organised when the afternoon has to do a lot of heavy lifting.
GCSE outcomes: The FindMySchool GCSE ranking sits below England average, and the published attainment indicators are modest. For academically driven families, the question is whether the school’s improvements in curriculum planning have translated into consistently stronger outcomes for students who need a broad set of grades.
A small sixth form: With 29 students on roll in the sixth form at the time of the latest inspection report and a destination cohort of 11 leavers in 2023/24, post-16 is necessarily a small community. That can mean close support. It can also mean fewer subject and enrichment choices, so families should check breadth and progression routes carefully.
Madinatul Uloom Al Islamiya School is a distinctive independent setting: boarding-led, tightly structured, and built around a dual curriculum that gives significant space to Islamic studies alongside secular learning. Relationships, manners and routine are central, and careers activity is described as a growing strength, with employer contact and visits beyond the site.
Best suited to families seeking a boys’ boarding environment where faith study is embedded into the daily timetable, and where a close community is a feature rather than a compromise. The key decision is whether the secular academic picture and the breadth of post-16 options match your son’s goals, especially if you are aiming for a wide set of GCSE outcomes and a clearly mapped sixth-form pathway.
It offers a structured, boarding-led education with a strong emphasis on conduct, community and routine, alongside both Islamic studies and a secular curriculum. The most recent Ofsted inspection rated it Requires Improvement, with strengths noted in behaviour and personal development.
The published day fee is £2,100 per year. Boarding will add additional costs, and families should also expect extras such as uniform and trips, so it is sensible to confirm the full cost breakdown early in the admissions process.
Yes. Boarding is a core part of the school’s identity, with the majority of students described as boarders. Families should ask how boarding houses are staffed, how evening routines work, and how the school manages weekend travel patterns.
On FindMySchool’s GCSE rankings, it is ranked 3,669th in England and 6th in Kidderminster. The Attainment 8 score is 33.9, which indicates that average outcomes across GCSE subjects are modest compared with higher-performing secondaries.
The school day is organised around a split timetable: Islamic studies occupy most of the morning, with secular subjects taught in the afternoon. For many students, that clear structure suits a routine-led approach, but it also means the secular curriculum needs tight sequencing to build securely towards GCSE and beyond.
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