Q3 Academy Great Barr

Q3 Academy Great Barr continues to function as a good school, demonstrating strong community ties and effective leadership. The relationships between pupils and teachers are rooted in mutual respect, fostering a safe and respectful environment conducive to learning. The school has successfully implemented a broad curriculum that prepares students well for future academic and vocational paths. High numbers of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported effectively, ensuring inclusion in all areas of study. Overall, the school shows a commitment to high standards and pupil achievement.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between pupils and teachers.
• High levels of pupil achievement and successful transitions to higher education or employment.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Broad curriculum with clear expectations.
• Strong emphasis on reading and literacy development.
• Calm and orderly school environment with rare disruption.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, essential knowledge for pupils is not clearly defined, causing delays in learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Q3 Academy Great Barr attended 92.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 21.6% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 9.5% of pupils at Q3 Academy Great Barr were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Q3 Academy Great Barr had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.1% of pupils at Q3 Academy Great Barr were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Q3 Academy Great Barr received £7,935 and spent £7,882 for each of its 1,168 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £133,000 (-£114 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of The Mercian Trust, income was £8,095 and spending £8,003 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Birmingham · Sandwell local authority: places and applications

Q3 Academy Great Barr is part of The Mercian Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Queen Mary's Grammar School Walsall
• Walsall Studio School Walsall
• Queen Mary's High School Walsall
• Aldridge School - A Science College Walsall
• Rushall Primary School Walsall
• Q3 Academy Tipton Tipton
• Q3 Academy Langley Oldbury
• Oakwood School Walsall
• Shire Oak Academy Walsall

What is Q3 Academy Great Barr's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Q3 Academy Great Barr is Good, from an inspection in October 2022.

When was Q3 Academy Great Barr last inspected by Ofsted?

Q3 Academy Great Barr was last inspected in October 2022.

How many pupils does Q3 Academy Great Barr have?

Q3 Academy Great Barr has 1,153 pupils on roll.

What age range does Q3 Academy Great Barr cover?

Q3 Academy Great Barr for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Q3 Academy Great Barr's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.1, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Q3 Academy Great Barr?

Q3 Academy Great Barr is at Wilderness Lane, Great Barr, Birmingham, West Midlands, B43 7SD.