Barr Beacon School

Walsall · WS9 0RF

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1469 pupils, 23.1% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 12.3% on SEN support Behaviour 6.9% absence rate Staff 20.1% turnover Financials £8,074 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Barr Beacon School

General Information

Address: Old Hall Lane, Aldridge, Walsall, WS9 0RF – View on map
Phone: 01213666600
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Kate Hibbs
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 333 families put it first for 264 places – 13 for every 10 places. 68% of them were offered a place. 72 of the 264 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 14 · 2024 12 · 2025 13 · 2026 13
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1469 pupils out of 1487 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 298
% eligible for free school meals: 23.1%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Walsall average)
English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 20.1% a year (Walsall 17.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 67% moved to another school, 33% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Walsall: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 71 (3.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 15 (0.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 19 (0.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Walsall, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 6.9%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.5%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 12.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.9%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 51 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 46 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 25 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 15 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 12 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2022 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 51.0
Compared with the area: 6.9 points above the Walsall average (44.1)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Above (+3.3 points against an expected 47.7)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 77% (Walsall 59%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolWalsall averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 6.9 points above the Walsall average (44.1).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

4th of 18 secondary schools in Walsall for Attainment 8

#2Queen Mary's High School73.5
#3St Francis of Assisi Catholic College53.2
#4Barr Beacon School51.0
#5Aldridge School - A Science College45.2
#6Walsall Academy43.9

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Queen Mary's Grammar School74.2
#2Queen Mary's High School73.5
#3St Francis of Assisi Catholic College53.2
#4Barr Beacon School51.0
#5Aldridge School - A Science College45.2
#6Walsall Academy43.9
#7Joseph Leckie Academy42.4
#8The Streetly Academy42.1
#9Grace Academy Darlaston41.2
#10West Walsall E-ACT Academy39.9
#11Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy38.4
#12Pool Hayes Academy37.7
#13Blue Coat Church of England Academy37.4
#14Brownhills Ormiston Academy37.1
#15Shire Oak Academy35.0
#16Willenhall E-ACT Academy34.7
#17Bloxwich Academy32.9
#18Walsall Studio School26.9

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 90.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
Geography
French Language
History
German
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
Psychology (General)
Sports Studies
Computer Science
Sociology
Art & Design
Religious Studies
Chinese
Punjabi
Polish
Italian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

3rd of 8 secondary schools in Walsall for Ofsted rating

#1Queen Mary's Grammar SchoolOutstanding
#2Aldridge School - A Science CollegeGood
#3Barr Beacon SchoolGood
#4Blue Coat Church of England AcademyGood
#5Ormiston Shelfield Community AcademyGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Queen Mary's Grammar SchoolOutstanding
#2Aldridge School - A Science CollegeGood
#3Barr Beacon SchoolGood
#4Blue Coat Church of England AcademyGood
#5Ormiston Shelfield Community AcademyGood
#6Pool Hayes AcademyGood
#7The Streetly AcademyGood
#8West Walsall E-ACT AcademyGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,074 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

8th of 18 secondary schools in Walsall for spending per pupil

#6Grace Academy Darlaston£8,477
#7Blue Coat Church of England Academy£8,298
#8Barr Beacon School£8,074
#9Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy£7,883
#10The Streetly Academy£7,863

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Walsall Studio School£11,524
#2Bloxwich Academy£9,162
#3Shire Oak Academy£8,719
#4Brownhills Ormiston Academy£8,662
#5Joseph Leckie Academy£8,549
#6Grace Academy Darlaston£8,477
#7Blue Coat Church of England Academy£8,298
#8Barr Beacon School£8,074
#9Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy£7,883
#10The Streetly Academy£7,863
#11St Francis of Assisi Catholic College£7,803
#12Walsall Academy£7,752
#13Aldridge School - A Science College£7,411
#14Willenhall E-ACT Academy£7,166
#15West Walsall E-ACT Academy£7,086
#16Pool Hayes Academy£7,057
#17Queen Mary's High School£6,987
#18Queen Mary's Grammar School£6,955

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Walsall: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered