Q3 Academy Great Barr

Sandwell · B43 7SD

General information Secondary School · 11-19 years Who goes here 1153 pupils, 26.2% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 10.1% on SEN support Behaviour 7.6% absence rate Staff 16.1% turnover Financials £7,318 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Q3 Academy Great Barr

General Information

Address: Wilderness Lane, Great Barr, Birmingham, B43 7SD – View on map
Phone: 01213586186
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Chris Bury
Age range: 11-19 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 185 families put it first for 199 places – 9 for every 10 places. 88% of them were offered a place. 23 of the 199 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 11 · 2025 10 · 2026 9
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Christian
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1153 pupils out of 1150 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 276
% eligible for free school meals: 26.2%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (similar to the Sandwell average)
English as an additional language: 18% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 16.1% a year (Sandwell 16.3%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 70% moved to another school, 30% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 2 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 Sandwell: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 54 (2.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 18 (0.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 24 (0.9 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 Sandwell, 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: 7.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.6%
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

Resourced provision for AutismSpeech, language and communicationSocial, emotional and mental healthModerate learning difficultiesSevere learning difficultiesProfound and multiple learning difficultiesSpecific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia)Hearing impairmentVisual impairmentMulti-sensory impairmentPhysical disabilityOther needs 1100 places · 1083 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 10.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 32 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 19 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 15 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 8 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 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: 44.2
Compared with the area: 1.8 points above the Sandwell average (42.4)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−3.2 points against an expected 47.4)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 69% (Sandwell 57%, England 65%) Broadly steady
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 schoolSandwell 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 1.8 points above the Sandwell average (42.4).

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.

8th of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for Attainment 8

#6Wood Green Academy44.7
#7Shireland Collegiate Academy44.5
#8Q3 Academy Great Barr44.2
#9Perryfields Academy43.8
#10Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy42.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Q3 Academy Langley51.8
#2Sandwell Academy49.1
#3St Michael's Church of England High School48.9
#4Bristnall Hall Academy48.1
#5West Bromwich Collegiate Academy45.3
#6Wood Green Academy44.7
#7Shireland Collegiate Academy44.5
#8Q3 Academy Great Barr44.2
#9Perryfields Academy43.8
#10Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy42.3
#11Holly Lodge High School College of Science42.1
#12Stuart Bathurst Catholic High School41.4
#13The Phoenix Collegiate39.8
#14Ormiston Forge Academy39.7
#15George Salter Academy39.6
#16Wodensborough Ormiston Academy38.6
#17Oldbury Academy37.4
#18Q3 Academy Tipton36.4
#19Gospel Oak School32.8

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 91.0%
Went into further education: 88.0%
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
History
Geography
Art & Design
Business Studies
Religious Studies
Psychology (General)
French Language
Sociology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Computer Science
Biology
Food Technology
Sports Studies
Photography
Speech & Drama
Statistics
Music Studies (General)
Arabic
Polish
Punjabi
Urdu
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

8th of 16 secondary schools in Sandwell for Ofsted rating

#6Ormiston Sandwell Community AcademyGood
#7Perryfields AcademyGood
#8Q3 Academy Great BarrGood
#9Q3 Academy LangleyGood
#10Sandwell 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

#1Bristnall Hall AcademyOutstanding
#2George Salter AcademyGood
#3Holly Lodge High School College of ScienceGood
#4Oldbury AcademyGood
#5Ormiston Forge AcademyGood
#6Ormiston Sandwell Community AcademyGood
#7Perryfields AcademyGood
#8Q3 Academy Great BarrGood
#9Q3 Academy LangleyGood
#10Sandwell AcademyGood
#11St Michael's Church of England High SchoolGood
#12Stuart Bathurst Catholic High SchoolGood
#13The Phoenix CollegiateGood
#14West Bromwich Collegiate AcademyGood
#15Wood Green AcademyGood
#16Shireland Biomedical UtcRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,318 (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.

18th of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for spending per pupil

#16George Salter Academy£7,343
#17Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy£7,342
#18Q3 Academy Great Barr£7,318
#19Sandwell Academy£7,294

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

#1Wodensborough Ormiston Academy£9,429
#2Shireland CBSO Academy£9,052
#3Windsor Olympus Academy£8,883
#4Perryfields Academy£8,687
#5West Bromwich Collegiate Academy£8,175
#6Gospel Oak School£8,094
#7Bristnall Hall Academy£8,067
#8Shireland Collegiate Academy£7,957
#9Oldbury Academy£7,944
#10Wood Green Academy£7,881
#11Shireland Biomedical Utc£7,800
#12Stuart Bathurst Catholic High School£7,765
#13Ormiston Forge Academy£7,641
#14Q3 Academy Tipton£7,506
#15Q3 Academy Langley£7,493
#16George Salter Academy£7,343
#17Ormiston Sandwell Community Academy£7,342
#18Q3 Academy Great Barr£7,318
#19Sandwell Academy£7,294

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 Sandwell: 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