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Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School

Secondary · Birmingham · B44 9SR

Data updated

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Expected standard

Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)

The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.

Safeguarding: MetCurriculum & teaching: Strong standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Strong standardPersonal development: Strong standardInclusion: Strong standardLeadership & governance: Strong standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Not applicable

Inspected 14 April 2026 · report published 20 May 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

788 pupils · 122% of 645 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
46.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
19.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
15.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.cardinalwiseman.net/
URN
103539

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 158 families named it first for 160 Year 7 places, 0.99 first choices per place. We hold 6 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2021 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 14 April 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Expected standard. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 7.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.99 first-choice applications per place

160 places offered · 158 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

149 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
47
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
69.1%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
49%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.1
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school47
Median of its 12 closest peers40.7
Birmingham average47.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
The Quest AcademySouth Croydon · 114 miles awayNeeds attention37.5
The Basildon Upper AcademyBasildon · 122 miles awayGood28.7
Park Vale AcademyNottingham · 44 miles awayGood42.8
King Edward VI Northfield School for GirlsBirmingham · 11 miles awayNo current grade46
Co-op Academy SwintonManchester · 69 miles awayGood44.6
Ark Blake AcademyCroydon · 111 miles awayGood45.6
E-ACT Royton and Crompton AcademyOldham · 71 miles awayGood38.7
St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary AcademyDewsbury · 80 miles awayRequires improvement34.8
St Cuthbert Mayne SchoolTorquay · 159 miles awayGood39.7
Laureate AcademyHemel Hempstead · 81 miles awayGood41.7
The Archbishop Lanfranc AcademyCroydon · 110 miles awayGood39.1
Harris Academy Beulah HillLondon · 109 miles awayNot yet graded44.4

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 46% (Birmingham 22%, England 59%) · Black African 18% (Birmingham 10%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 8% (Birmingham 4%, England 3%) · Any other White background 8% (Birmingham 4%, England 7%) · Black Caribbean 5% (Birmingham 3%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 4% (Birmingham 3%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 3% (Birmingham 1%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 2% (Birmingham 7%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 2% (Birmingham 6%, England 4%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Birmingham 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Birmingham 2%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Birmingham 25%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Birmingham 1%, England 1%) · White Irish 1% (Birmingham 0%, England 0%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
7.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
24.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

14.14 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Birmingham: 15.08 suspensions and 0.24 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
15.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

86% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 7% moved to another state school · 8% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

67.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £54,215; 17% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£9,477
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 72% (77%) · premises 8% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (7%) · supplies and services 12% (10%) · educational supplies 8% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (2%) · catering 5% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £166,157; in-year balance -£62,011

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
85%
Continuing in education
77%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
1%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher23.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications24%18.1%
In managerial or professional work24%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways19.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health44.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier73%62.3%
Social housing2.4%17.1%
Privately rented24.4%20.5%
Detached houses3.5%22.9%
Flats7.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms5.8%21.1%
Households with no car or van25.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01009226 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£202,500536 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£182,000–£225,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (9)£250,000
Semi-detached (274)£209,000
Terraced (232)£199,500
Flat (21)£115,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
4an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
18an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
3an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools