Fairfax
Fairfax Academy is a state-funded secondary school in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, serving approximately 1,600 students aged 11-18 across Years 7-13, delivering GCSEs, A-Levels, and BTEC qualifications as part of the Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust (FMAT).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1959
- HeadquartersBirmingham, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Fairfax does
Fairfax Academy is a state-funded secondary school located in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, operating as part of the Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust (FMAT), a charitable educational trust established in 2014. Founded in 1959, the academy serves approximately 1,600 students aged 11-18 across Years 7-13, delivering the full secondary curriculum including Key Stage 3, GCSEs (English Baccalaureate and optional subjects), A-Levels, and BTEC vocational qualifications in Sport, Health and Social Care, and Applied Science. The school is rated 'Good' by Ofsted (May 2024), with Leadership rated 'Outstanding', and reports strong outcomes including 98% of students staying in education or employment after Key Stage 4 and a NEET rate consistently below 2% for Year 11.
The school's educational technology is built on an integrated stack of third-party platforms rather than proprietary systems: Sparx and MyMaths for mathematics, Linguascope and ActiveLearn for languages, Unifrog and Compass for careers tracking, Satchel One for homework, MCAS for parent communication, ParentPay for payments, SHARP for anonymous safeguarding reporting, and Microsoft Office 365 for productivity. Pastoral and safeguarding infrastructure includes a multi-tier Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) team, 12+ Mental Health First Aiders, 50+ Peer Mentors/Wellbeing Ambassadors, the ARKS values framework, and an Operation Encompass partnership with West Midlands Police.
The business model is government-funded with no tuition fees. Revenue derives from per-pupil funding from the Department for Education via the FMAT Funding Agreement, supplemented by Pupil Premium Grant for disadvantaged pupils. There is no commercial pricing, no disclosed revenue figure, and no equity funding. The institution operates as a non-profit charitable trust governed by volunteer trustees and academy governors, with day-to-day leadership under Principal Sean Castle. Customer segments are confined to students and families within the Sutton Coldfield catchment, with employer and university partnerships (BCU, EY, Jaguar Land Rover, Civil Service, UCAS) functioning as careers enrichment rather than revenue sources.
Fairfax firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fairfax
- Legal name
- Fairfax Academy
- Website
- https://fairfax.bham.sch.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1959
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Fairfax Academy is a state-funded secondary school in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, serving approximately 1,600 students aged 11-18 across Years 7-13, delivering GCSEs, A-Levels, and BTEC qualifications as part of the Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust (FMAT).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fairfax industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Secondary Education
- NAICS
- Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Charter College-Prep & Advanced Academics Schools (EDAJACAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Public Middle Schools (EDAJAAAC)
Keywords
Where Fairfax is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Birmingham
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Fairfax business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Government School Funding: State-funded academy receiving core funding from the Department for Education through the Funding Agreement. Additional Pupil Premium Grant allocated for disadvantaged students.
- Pupil Premium Grant: Additional government funding to support disadvantaged pupils eligible for free school meals, used for academic catch-up and support programmes
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Fairfax product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fairfax Academy is a state-funded secondary school delivering full-time education to approximately 1,600 students aged 11-18 across Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9), Key Stage 4 GCSE (Years 10-11), and Sixth Form A-Level/BTEC (Years 12-13). The school offers a comprehensive curriculum including English Baccalaureate subjects, optional GCSEs, A-Level courses, and BTEC vocational qualifications in Sport, Health and Social Care, and Applied Science, complemented by safeguarding, mental health, careers education, and extracurricular programmes including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
Product overview
Fairfax Academy is a secondary school providing a comprehensive educational programme from Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) through to Sixth Form (Years 12-13). The school operates a three-tier product architecture: the core curriculum products include GCSE qualifications (English Baccalaureate and optional subjects), A-Level courses, and BTEC vocational qualifications in Sport, Health and Social Care, and Applied Science. Supporting products include safeguarding and pastoral services, mental health programmes with trained staff and peer mentors, a structured careers education programme with dedicated advisors and Unifrog platform access, and extra-curricular offerings such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and Crest Science Award. The school integrates various educational technology platforms including Sparx and MyMaths for mathematics, Linguascope and ActiveLearn for languages, and Satchel One for homework management.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Key Stage 3 Curriculum (Years 7-9)
Companies that use Fairfax
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Fairfax technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
Feature4 records
Fairfax partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Birmingham City University (BCU)corePartnership through BCU Accelerate Programme providing engaged learners access to higher education workshops, subject specific activities and tailored mentoring for information, advice and guidance (IAG) across a five-year plan aimed at increasing learner attainment.
- Careers and Enterprise CompanycorePartnership to use Compass system for tracking and evaluating provision against Gatsby Benchmarks. Support from Birmingham Careers Hub with specialist Enterprise Coordinator and Enterprise Advisor providing careers guidance.
- West Midlands PolicecoreTwo-way information sharing agreement in place for safeguarding purposes, compliant with Crime and Disorder Act 1998, Data Protection Act 2018 and UK-GDPR. Joint approach to preventing young people from becoming involved in crime or anti-social behaviour.
- Birmingham Children's TrustcoreCollaboration following Birmingham Children's Trust safeguarding procedures. Operation Encompass partnership involving Birmingham Children’s Trust, Birmingham City Council, and West Midlands Police for supporting children present at domestic abuse incidents.
- Civil ServiceminorEmployer attendee at annual Careers Fair providing students insights into civil service career pathways.
- Ernst & Young (EY)minorEmployer attendee at annual Careers Fair offering students exposure to professional services careers.
- Jaguar Land RoverminorEmployer attendee at annual Careers Fair providing insights into automotive industry careers.
- SpecsaversminorEmployer attendee at annual Careers Fair offering students exposure to retail/optical careers.
- UnifrogcoreInnovative digital careers platform signed up to help students explore and prepare for future careers, developing personal profiles that support transition through education and employment.
- UCAScoreExternal provider helping with enrichment days offering career-related workshops and university application support.
- EEF ManufacturersminorExternal provider for enrichment days offering manufacturing and engineering career-related workshops.
- Military Preparation CollegeminorExternal provider for enrichment days offering career-related workshops in military preparation.
- YMCAminorExternal partner providing additional on-site mental health and wellbeing support with parental consent.
- Head SpaceminorExternal partner for mental health and wellbeing support services.
- Our PlaceminorExternal partner providing additional wellbeing support services.
- AquariusminorExternal partner providing youth substance misuse support services.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves2 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Fairfax competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Ark Schools: A UK multi-academy trust operating a network of academies including secondary schools. Comparable as a broader UK academy group sharing the same academy funding regime and Ofsted framework as Fairfax.
- United Learning: A national multi-academy trust running a portfolio of state-funded secondary and primary schools across England. Comparable as a broader UK academy group operating in the same regulatory and funding environment as Fairfax's parent FMAT.
- Harris Federation: One of the largest UK multi-academy trusts operating numerous secondary academies. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating state secondary academies at scale, but with a much larger portfolio than Fairfax.
Direct peers
- Aldridge School: A secondary school also part of the Fairfax Multi-Academy Trust (FMAT). Most directly comparable as a fellow FMAT academy sharing governance, funding flows and central trust support.
- Shire Oak Academy: A secondary academy in Walsall that has operated under the same FMAT trust. Comparable as a sibling academy sharing governance, curriculum framework and trust-level reporting.
- Queen Mary's High School: A girls' secondary school within FMAT, also based in the West Midlands. Comparable as a fellow FMAT sixth-form/post-16 provider sharing trust-level oversight and operational model.
- Bishop Vesey's Grammar School: A selective grammar school in Sutton Coldfield. While selective, it competes for the same academically able Sutton Coldfield cohort that Fairfax targets via its aptitude-based admission route.
- King Edward VI Grammar School: A long-established selective grammar school in the local area, comparable in heritage and community standing to Fairfax. Represents an alternative destination for high-attaining pupils in the same catchment.
- Bishop Walsh Catholic School: A Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Sutton Coldfield with a similar 11-18 age range. Direct local competitor for pupils in the same Sutton Coldfield catchment.
- Plantsbrook School: A state secondary school also located in Sutton Coldfield serving a similar 11-18 cohort. Directly comparable as a local non-selective secondary competitor for Year 7 and Sixth Form applications.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Fairfax social profiles
Digital presenceFairfax compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Fairfax financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fairfax leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles13 records
Fairfax funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fairfax M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fairfax
What does Fairfax do?
Fairfax Academy is a state-funded secondary school delivering full-time education to approximately 1,600 students aged 11-18 across Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9), Key Stage 4 GCSE (Years 10-11), and Sixth Form A-Level/BTEC (Years 12-13). The school offers a comprehensive curriculum including English Baccalaureate subjects, optional GCSEs, A-Level courses, and BTEC vocational qualifications in Sport, Health and Social Care, and Applied Science, complemented by safeguarding, mental health, careers education, and extracurricular programmes including the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
Is Fairfax a public or private company?
Fairfax is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Fairfax founded?
Fairfax was founded in 1959. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Fairfax based?
Fairfax is headquartered in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Fairfax make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Government School Funding is the primary driver. The others are pupil Premium Grant.
Who are Fairfax's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Ark Schools, United Learning and Harris Federation. Direct peers are Aldridge School, Shire Oak Academy, Queen Mary's High School, Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, King Edward VI Grammar School, Bishop Walsh Catholic School and Plantsbrook School.
Does Fairfax have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fairfax.
What industry is Fairfax in?
Fairfax's product category is Secondary Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJACAJ, Charter College-Prep & Advanced Academics Schools, with a secondary code of EDAJAAAC, Public Middle Schools. Its NAICS code is 6111 and its SIC code is 8200.