Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,152 pupils
81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.7
Academy sponsor led
Starbank School
- Pupils on roll
- 2,161of 2,160 places
- Free school meals
- 47.6%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 178
- Ofsted
- Good, 6 June 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Starbank School (URN 103258, until 29 February 2020).
What the data says
Starbank School has no sixth form. Of the 167 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 28% moved to a sixth form college, 37% to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 22% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 49.0 against 46.1 across England and 46.6 in Birmingham, with 62% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Nearly everyone studies a modern language to GCSE (French, Spanish entries add up to 93% of the cohort), which is rare outside selective and independent schools.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Birmingham and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Starbank School | Birmingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 167 | 14,526 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 88% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 23% | 33% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 28% | 13% | 13% |
| — further education college | 37% | 39% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 4% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Starbank School | Birmingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 49.0 | 46.6 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 62% | 45% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 64% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 90% | 48% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.61 | 4.15 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 65% | 48% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 49.6 | 40.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 47.9 | 52.5 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 71% | 39% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 178 | 100% | 89% | 28% | 20% | 76% |
| English Literature | 177 | 99% | 86% | 42% | 21% | 82% |
| Mathematics | 176 | 99% | 88% | 24% | 22% | 76% |
| Combined Science | 176 | 99% | 65% | 15% | 9% | 61% |
| Religious Studies | 175 | 98% | 31% | 29% | 32% | 70% |
| French | 162 | 91% | 18% | 10% | 29% | 61% |
| History | 95 | 53% | 41% | 22% | 26% | 59% |
| Geography | 80 | 45% | 41% | 16% | 25% | 59% |
| Business Studies | 57 | 32% | 18% | 5% | 20% | 56% |
| Sociology | 40 | 22% | 4% | 23% | 21% | 70% |
| Statistics | 32 | 18% | 5% | 44% | 20% | 100% |
| Fine Art | 23 | 13% | 9% | 0% | 28% | 22% |
| Arabic | 6 | 3% | 1% | 100% | 47% | 100% |
| Spanish | 4 | 2% | 19% | — | 27% | — |
| Italian | 3 | 2% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Music | 2 | 1% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Urdu | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tourism | 42 | — | — |
| Personal Health | 24 | — | — |
| Interactive Video | 22 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 21 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 14 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Birmingham
Arena Academy
Academy sponsor led · 969 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.5
Ark Boulton Academy
Academy sponsor led · 877 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.2
Ark Kings Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 739 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 36.5
Ark St Alban's Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 797 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.9
Ark Victoria Academy
Free schools · 1,519 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.4
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.