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Holly Lodge High School College of Science

Secondary · Smethwick · B67 7JG

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: Expected standardAchievement: Expected standardAttendance & behaviour: Strong standardPersonal development: Strong standardInclusion: Expected standardLeadership & governance: Expected standardEarly years: Not applicablePost-16: Strong standard

Inspected 19 May 2026 · report published 16 September 2026

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,636 pupils · 99% of 1,650 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Foundation school
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
46.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
50.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
10.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.holly-lodge.org
URN
104018

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 143 families named it first for 241 Year 7 places, 0.59 first choices per place. We hold 3 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2024 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its report-card inspection on 19 May 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 7.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.59 first-choice applications per place

241 places offered · 143 first-choice applications · usually has places

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)

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

Attainment 8 score
42.1
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
54.2%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
34.7%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.6
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.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C+
32.8
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school42.1
Median of its 12 closest peers44.8
Sandwell average42.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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
Shireland Collegiate AcademySmethwick · 1 miles awayGood44.5
Nottingham AcademyNottingham · 49 miles awayExpected standard42.1
St Bonaventure's RC SchoolLondon · 108 miles awayOutstanding47.3
The Chalk Hills AcademyLuton · 76 miles awayGood45.7
The Stockwood Park AcademyLuton · 79 miles awayGood35.9
George Salter AcademyWest Bromwich · 2 miles awayGood39.6
London AcademyEdgware · 94 miles awayGood51.7
Mayfield SchoolDagenham · 110 miles awayGood45
Brentside High SchoolLondon · 97 miles awayGood44.1
Queen Katharine AcademyPeterborough · 73 miles awaySerious weaknesses32.5
Sandwell AcademyWest Bromwich · 1 miles awayGood49.1
Central Foundation Girls' SchoolLondon · 107 miles awayStrong standard54.3

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Asian Pakistani 22% (Sandwell 10%, England 5%) · Asian Indian 19% (Sandwell 15%, England 4%) · Asian Bangladeshi 13% (Sandwell 4%, England 2%) · Black African 11% (Sandwell 7%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 9% (Sandwell 4%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 6% (Sandwell 3%, England 3%) · Any other White background 4% (Sandwell 5%, England 7%) · White British 3% (Sandwell 34%, England 59%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Sandwell 4%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Sandwell 4%, England 1%) · Not recorded 2% (Sandwell 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Sandwell 2%, England 2%) · Any other Black background 1% (Sandwell 2%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Sandwell 4%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Sandwell 1%, England 1%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Sandwell 0%, England 0%)

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)
7.7%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
25.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

8.89 suspensions per 100 pupils and 9 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Sandwell: 13.58 suspensions and 0.20 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
16.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

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

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0.98% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

82.9% of teachers took sickness absence, 15.4 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 £50,068; 8.7% 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£8,297
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 74% (77%) · premises 12% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (7%) · supplies and services 10% (10%) · educational supplies 8% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 3% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £994,045; in-year balance +£202,779

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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
92%
Continuing in education
89%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
79%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
4%
Any sustained destination
84%

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)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher22.4%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications34.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work13.2%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways29.6%18.1%
Residents in very good health48.7%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier55.1%62.3%
Social housing12.4%17.1%
Privately rented29.8%20.5%
Detached houses14.2%22.9%
Flats15.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms28.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van26.7%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01010047 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£185,000180 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£150,000–£235,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (8)£367,500
Semi-detached (46)£235,000
Terraced (117)£175,000
Flat (9)£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
9an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
34an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
10an 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