Q3 Academy Great Barr
Wilderness Lane, Great Barr, Birmingham, B43 7SD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Christian
- Trust
- THE MERCIAN TRUST
- Head of School
- Mr Chris Bury
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- West Bromwich
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,153
- URN
- 135449
- Local authority
- Sandwell
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01213586186
About this school
Q3 Academy Great Barr is a Christian secondary academy in Birmingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,153 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 22 September 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 206 | 211 | 216 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.5 | 44.5 | 44.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.34 to +0.05 | -0.29 -0.49 to -0.10 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 45.5% | 44.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 71.1% | 69% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 33.6% | 29.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Q3 Academy Great Barr has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sandwell average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45.5 | 37.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.5 | 35.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.2 | 34.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,177 |
| 2023/24 | 1,168 |
| 2024/25 | 1,163 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Q3 Academy Great Barr compares
Q3 Academy Great Barr ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.2 | 7.6% | 26.7% | 1,153 | — |
| Barr Beacon School | 51 | 6.9% | 23.2% | 1,469 | 1.4 miles |
| Hamstead Hall Academy | 42.1 | 6.3% | 45.9% | 1,173 | 1.6 miles |
| Joseph Leckie Academy | 42.4 | 10.2% | 52.2% | 1,524 | 1.7 miles |
| Arena Academy | 44.5 | 7.9% | 39.5% | 969 | 1.8 miles |
| Fortis Academy | 37.9 | 9.8% | 59.2% | 1,210 | 1.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 26.73%
- English as an additional language
- 18.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.55%
- Persistent absence
- 21.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Barr Beacon School1.4 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
Hamstead Hall Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Joseph Leckie Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Walsall
-
Arena Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
-
Fortis Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Birmingham
Other schools in Birmingham
Q3 Academy Great Barr ranks 44th of the 87 ranked secondary schools in Birmingham.
- Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School Secondary
- Arena Academy Secondary
- Ark Boulton Academy Secondary
- Ark St Alban's Academy Secondary
- Aston Manor Academy Secondary
- Aston University Engineering Academy Secondary
- Bartley Green School Secondary
- Birmingham Ormiston Academy Secondary
- Bishop Challoner Catholic College Secondary
- BOA Digital Technologies Academy Secondary
- Bordesley Green Girls' School & Sixth Form Secondary
- Broadway Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Q3 Academy Great Barr teach?
- Q3 Academy Great Barr teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Birmingham.
- Who is the head of school of Q3 Academy Great Barr?
- The head of school of Q3 Academy Great Barr is Mr Chris Bury, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Q3 Academy Great Barr last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Q3 Academy Great Barr, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Q3 Academy Great Barr?
- Q3 Academy Great Barr has 1,153 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Q3 Academy Great Barr full?
- Q3 Academy Great Barr has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,153 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Q3 Academy Great Barr a faith school?
- Yes. Q3 Academy Great Barr is designated Christian.
- Is Q3 Academy Great Barr a selective school?
- No. Q3 Academy Great Barr is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Q3 Academy Great Barr?
- Q3 Academy Great Barr is part of THE MERCIAN TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Q3 Academy Great Barr have?
- The schools register lists Q3 Academy Great Barr's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Q3 Academy Great Barr's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.5 in 2022/23 and 44.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Q3 Academy Great Barr rank locally?
- Q3 Academy Great Barr ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Sandwell for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Q3 Academy Great Barr's absence rate?
- Q3 Academy Great Barr's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Q3 Academy Great Barr's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Q3 Academy Great Barr's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.