The government has unveiled its preliminary performance data for the 2024/25 academic year, revealing Birmingham's standout state secondary schools based on a new key metric.
A New Measure for School Performance
This year's school league tables look different. Due to pandemic-related disruptions that affected this student cohort during their primary education, the standard Progress 8 score could not be calculated. Instead, the Department for Education has pivoted to using Attainment 8 as the default measure for comparing schools.
This score is a purely performance-based figure, derived from a pupil's results across up to eight qualifications. The scores go up to a maximum of 90 and are designed to align with the 9-1 grading system used for GCSEs. This year, the national average Attainment 8 score is 45.9, which sits between a standard and strong pass.
Birmingham's Academic Elite
To help families interpret this new data, a league table has been compiled highlighting the highest-performing schools in council areas with strong results. Both Birmingham and the wider West Midlands region comfortably surpassed the national average.
Here are the schools leading the way across the city:
- Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls tops the list with a provisional Attainment 8 score of 79.3.
- Bishop Vesey's Grammar School follows closely, achieving a provisional score of 77.1.
- King Edward VI Five Ways School in Birmingham secured a provisional Attainment 8 score of 75.7.
- King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys in Kings Heath posted a strong provisional score of 75.6.
What This Means for Families
The publication of these preliminary figures provides crucial insight for parents and guardians considering secondary school options. The shift to Attainment 8 offers a clear, snapshot view of academic achievement for the most recent school year.
The data, published on 11th November 2025, confirms that numerous institutions in the Birmingham area are helping their pupils excel, delivering exceptional GCSE-level results that far exceed national benchmarks.