Highclare School

Three sites, one continuous education from age two to the sixth form: Highclare gives Birmingham families the rare option of keeping a child in the same independent school from pre-prep through to A-levels. Founded in 1932 and co-educational since 1996, it now teaches around 498 pupils across its senior school and sixth form at 10 Sutton Road in Erdington and its prep and pre-prep provision in nearby Sutton Coldfield. Classes are kept small, with no more than 22 pupils in a room, and the school leans on more than 9 acres of playing fields and over 60 weekly clubs to widen what a child does beyond lessons. Its most recent inspection, in April 2026, met every regulatory standard. For parents weighing a long, settled run at one school over a series of moves, that continuity is the central pitch.

Highclare is a community-feel independent rather than a high-pressure exam machine, and its scale shows in the detail. With a roll of roughly 498 against a capacity closer to 840, year groups are small enough that staff know children individually, and the school frames its offer around what it calls the Highclare Difference: academic rigour paired with individual nurture, consistency, and traditional values alongside an innovative outlook. Two support dogs are kept on site for pupil wellbeing, and a strict no-phones policy during the school day signals a deliberate emphasis on face-to-face relationships over screens.

The split across three Sutton Coldfield-area campuses shapes daily life. The youngest children start in the pre-prep at the St Paul's site on Lichfield Road, move through the preparatory school, and then transfer to the senior school and sixth form on Sutton Road, with a further site at Woodfield on Birmingham Road in Wylde Green. That structure means a clear sense of progression: children physically move up as they grow, while staying inside one institution. A long heritage sits behind it. Highclare began life as a girls' school in 1932 and has educated north Birmingham families for more than 90 years, opening its doors to boys in 1996, and its Old Highclarians alumni network keeps that history alive.

The April 2026 ISI inspection captured the tone well. Inspectors found that leaders and staff create a purposeful environment supporting pupils' wellbeing, inclusion and academic development, with positive staff-pupil relationships that let pupils engage with confidence, develop independence and take responsibility within the school community. That is the through-line at Highclare: small, settled, and built around knowing each child.

Highclare publishes results across all three key stages, and the picture is solid and steady rather than headline-grabbing. At GCSE, just over a quarter of entries (25.1%) reach the top grades of 9 to 7, with 11.7% at grade 9 or 8 and a further 13.4% at grade 7. For a non-selective school that admits across the ability range, that spread reflects genuine value added rather than a hand-picked intake, and it sits alongside a senior curriculum that keeps the academic core broad rather than narrowing early.

In the proprietary FindMySchool rankings, built from official data, Highclare places second in the West Midlands for GCSE performance, and around 1,188th in England, which puts it in line with the middle 35% of schools in England. Being the runner-up locally while sitting mid-table across England tells you something useful: this is a strong performer for its area, competing in a region with several established independents.

At A-level, just over a third of grades (34%) fall in the A* to B range, with 12.8% at grade A and 2.1% at A*. England-wide, the average for A* to B sits at roughly 47%, so Highclare's small sixth form runs a little below that benchmark on the top grades while holding solid performance in line with the middle 35% of schools in England. The proprietary FindMySchool ranking is more striking here: Highclare tops the West Midlands for A-level results among the schools ranked, placing first locally and around 1,235th in England. One caveat is worth knowing: senior-school teaching is asked to stretch the highest prior attainers more consistently, which is precisely the group most likely to chase the very top grades.

The primary phase is not separately ranked in the published data, so the prep school is best judged on its progression into the senior school and the breadth of its specialist teaching, covered below. Two patterns are worth holding together. Highclare leads or nearly leads its region while sitting mid-table across England, which is the signature of a non-selective school punching at the top of its local market without the academically selected intake that drives the very highest England positions. For a family choosing within the West Midlands rather than against the whole of England, the local standing is the more relevant of the two figures.

Teaching at Highclare is built around small classes and close tracking. From the moment children enter the prep school they are monitored using the CEM assessment system, with regular formal and informal checks through the year and the data passed up to the senior school, so a child's profile travels with them rather than being rebuilt at each transition. In the prep phase, specialist teachers handle sport, languages, science and music from an early age, and younger pupils use senior-school facilities including the swimming pool, which is unusual breadth for a prep school of this size.

The early years and prep school are a clear strength, with a broad and carefully sequenced curriculum that lets pupils build knowledge progressively and children responding well to challenge and developing independence. Support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities is effective, and those learning English as an additional language make good progress thanks to early identification and targeted help. In the senior school, progress is secure overall, with the highest prior attainers the group still to be pushed hardest.

That mix is the honest version of Highclare's teaching: dependable, individually attentive, and strong at moving a broad intake forward, with the top end the area to watch. With 22 or fewer pupils in a class, teachers genuinely know where each child stands, which is the mechanism that makes the close tracking meaningful rather than administrative.

The most useful exit point to understand is the sixth form. In the 2023/24 leavers cohort of 17 students, 59% progressed to university, with 6% taking up apprenticeships and 12% moving into employment, a realistic spread for a small post-16 group with mixed ambitions. The school also reports a recent Cambridge place secured by a leaver, a notable result for a sixth form of this size, and the spread of destinations reflects a post-16 phase that supports university-bound students and those heading into apprenticeships or work alike. Highclare does not publish a Russell Group percentage or a named list of university destinations, so families wanting subject-by-subject destination data should ask the school directly.

Internal progression is the other story. Pupils move from the prep school into Year 7 within the same institution, and the school's own framework is designed to make that transfer seamless, with CEM assessment data following each child. Into the sixth form, Year 12 entry is by GCSE results rather than guaranteed: students need five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and maths, plus subject-specific grades (typically a grade 6 for most A-levels, with a 7 preferred for sciences and maths). The sixth form also recruits from outside, so a child's own Year 11 results, not just their long history at the school, determine the move up.

Highclare is non-selective and centralises admissions across all three sites, so a single point of contact handles entry whether a family is applying for the pre-prep, Reception, Year 7 or the sixth form. The main entry points are at age two into the pre-prep, at Reception, at Year 7 into the senior school, and at Year 12. The school invites prospective families to visit in person rather than running a single fixed open day, so the practical step is to arrange a visit and start an application directly with the school.

Because this is a fee-paying independent rather than a state school, there is no local-authority catchment, no published last-distance-offered figure, and no oversubscription scramble of the kind that defines state admissions in Birmingham. Place availability is driven by fees and by capacity within each year group, and with a roll of around 498 against a capacity near 840, there is genuine headroom at most entry points. For sixth-form entry, the GCSE thresholds above are the real gate; for younger years, the school assesses readiness rather than selecting on academic ability, so a child does not have to pass a competitive entrance exam to join the prep school.

Scholarships and bursaries are available at 11+ and at sixth-form entry, including academic, attitude-to-learning and specialist awards in art, music and sport, which can change the affordability calculation for the right child. Families comparing Highclare against other West Midlands independents may find the FindMySchool local hub comparison tool useful for viewing results side by side before booking visits, and the saved-schools shortlist can hold the contenders in one place while you arrange tours.

Pastoral care is where Highclare's small scale pays off most clearly. Inspectors found that staff implement effective pastoral systems supporting pupils' physical and mental health, that clear behaviour expectations are maintained consistently across lessons and the wider school, that bullying is addressed promptly, and that safeguarding is effective. Pupils are confident to report concerns and receive appropriate help when they do.

Safeguarding arrangements are implemented in line with current statutory guidance: staff record concerns systematically, designated safeguarding staff meet regularly to review them, and training is applied consistently across the school. Where appropriate, leaders engage with external agencies, and the whole system is built so that a worry raised by a child is acted on rather than lost.

The two support dogs and the no-phones-in-the-day policy are small but telling parts of a wider wellbeing culture. So is the school's social and economic education, which develops pupils' sense of responsibility and their understanding of diversity, alongside a well-planned careers programme that helps students explore future pathways. For parents whose priority is that a child is known, settled and safe, this is the strongest part of the Highclare offer.

With more than 60 clubs running each week, Highclare's co-curricular programme is one of its defining strengths, and several pillars stand out.

Sport is built on a 9-acre playing-field site and an on-site swimming pool, with teams in netball, hockey, swimming, athletics, cross country, gymnastics, cricket, rugby and football for both girls and boys. Hockey and netball are the flagship sports across prep and senior alike, and teams compete through the Independent Schools Association in regional and national fixtures, so competitive sport is open to able players rather than reserved for a handful. The on-site pool means swimming is part of the timetable from the prep years, not an occasional add-on.

Music runs deep through the school. Senior musicians can join the Senior Choir, the Concert Orchestra, the Rhapsody Choir, a rock band and a ukulele group, feeding a calendar of senior-school concerts and an annual carol service. Younger pupils have their own ensembles, choirs and orchestras, so a child can build a musical life from the prep years upward, and concerts staged both in and out of school give performers a regular audience.

Drama and performance are formalised through LAMDA examinations, where students regularly earn distinctions and gold medals, alongside dramatic productions staged jointly with the music department. Beyond the arts, the breadth of clubs is real and named: a Debating Society that competes across house and form groups, public speaking, chess, a computing club, photography, a film club, a gardening club, an eco-council and a book club among them. A school council gives pupils a formal voice in how the school runs.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award has run at the senior school since 2013, offering Bronze, Silver and Gold levels, with expedition training based at the CMC Adventure Centre in Llanbedr, Wales, and Gold awards presented at St James's Palace. Year 5 and 6 residential trips in the prep school build the same teamwork and resilience earlier on. The implication for families is straightforward: a child here has room to find a thing they are good at, well beyond the classroom, and the named programmes give that ambition real substance rather than a vague promise of breadth.

The sixth form has its own distinctive layer. Students can take the Extended Project Qualification, an independent research project that builds the study skills universities look for, and they work from a dedicated sixth-form suite with a study centre, a common room and specialist study rooms, with an iPad provided to each student. Sixth-formers also lead enrichment classes and peer mentoring for younger pupils, so leadership is built into the post-16 experience rather than tacked on.

For the 2026/27 year, senior school and sixth-form fees (Years 7 to 13) are £5,950 per term plus £1,190 VAT, giving roughly £21,420 a year. In the prep school, fees run from £4,060 per term plus VAT in Years 1 and 2 up to £4,855 per term plus VAT in Years 5 and 6, with Reception at £3,775 per term plus VAT, or £2,460 where the funded entitlement applies. A 10% reduction on basic fees applies for a second child, with further sibling reductions at the Head's discretion. A registration fee of £95 plus VAT and a £1,000 deposit apply on entry, of which £640 is returned on leaving and £360 is credited toward the first term. Lunches are compulsory and charged separately, at roughly £360 to £400 per term depending on age.

Crucially, fees do not have to be paid in full by every family. Scholarships and bursaries are available at 11+ and at sixth-form entry, with academic, attitude-to-learning and specialist awards in art, music and sport. Bursaries are means-tested support based on family income; scholarships are merit awards. Families should treat the headline fee as a starting point and ask the admissions team about both routes, since either can materially change what a family actually pays. For nursery and pre-prep fee details, see the school website, and note that government-funded hours are available for eligible families from age three; see our guide to nursery funding.

The journey starts in the pre-prep at the St Paul's site, which takes children from age two, any time after the September following their second birthday. Provision is built around small groups and specialist input from the start, with children moving into Reception and then the wider prep school inside the same institution, so the early years are the first step of a planned all-through route rather than a separate stage to be left behind. Practitioners track each child's development from entry, feeding the same CEM data system that follows pupils all the way to the senior school, and a minimum of five sessions a week is required to settle young children into a consistent routine. Wraparound care is provided through the TOPS scheme for families needing cover before and after the school day.

The senior school and sixth form sit on Sutton Road in Erdington, with the prep and pre-prep based at the St Paul's site in Sutton Coldfield and a further site at Wylde Green, all within the same north Birmingham corridor. Specific daily start and finish times are not published online, so confirm hours with the school, but wraparound care through the TOPS scheme extends the day for prep families who need it. A strict no-phones policy operates through the school day. Because the school draws from across north Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield rather than a tight catchment, families should factor in their own travel to whichever site their child attends; the FindMySchool map search can help you gauge the distance from home to each campus before you visit.

Stretch for the highest attainers. Senior-school teaching is the area Highclare has been asked to develop, so that pupils with higher prior attainment are routinely extended. The school is non-selective and excels at bringing on a broad intake, but a confidently top-set child may need to advocate for extension, so probe how the school will stretch your child specifically.

Top-grade results sit mid-range nationally. A* to B at A-level (34%) runs below the England average of around 47%, and the school is mid-table across England at both GCSE and A-level even while leading or near-leading in the West Midlands. The local standing is strong; the England-wide grade ceiling is more modest.

Small sixth form. With only 17 leavers in the 2023/24 cohort, the post-16 phase is intimate, which suits students who want close support but means a narrower peer group and smaller subject sets than a large sixth form offers. Check that the specific A-level combination your child wants will run.

Three sites and travel. The all-through model is spread across separate campuses, so the location that suits a five-year-old is not the same as the one a sixth-former attends, and there is no catchment to anchor travel. Plan the journey to each relevant site.

Highclare is a settled, community-minded independent that does its best work in the spaces between exam grades: pastoral care, individual attention, a genuinely broad co-curriculum, and a continuous route from age two to the sixth form on three sites. Its 2026 inspection confirmed every standard met, with strong safeguarding and warm staff-pupil relationships, and its proprietary FindMySchool rankings put it first in the West Midlands for A-level and second for GCSE. The honest counterweight is that top-grade results sit in the middle of the England range, and the highest attainers may need more stretch. It is best suited to families who value a small, nurturing school where a child is known by name across a long run, and who prize breadth, wellbeing and continuity over chasing the very top of the grade tables. The main caveat is to confirm, at a visit, exactly how the school will challenge your particular child.