Schools by area › Birmingham › Arena Academy
Arena Academy
Secondary · Mixed · Ages 11–16 · Sponsored academy
Beeches Road, Great Barr, Birmingham B42 2PY · corearena.academy · 0121 729 7310
Overview
- Ofsted
- No overall grade
- 2019 framework · inspected Nov 2024
- GCSEs, 2024/25
- 44.5
- average Attainment 8 score. Birmingham 46.6, England 46
- Last distance offered
- No limit
- Year 7, September 2026 entry · Birmingham Council
- Demand for places
- 0.8
- first choices for each place · Year 7, September 2026
- Pupils
- 969
- 69 over 900 places · 108%
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Sixth form
- No
- Free school meals
- 41.5%
- First language not English
- 17.9%
- School census 2025/26
- Trust
- Core Education Trust
The official school record (Department for Education)
Admissions
For Year 7 in September 2026, everyone who applied was offered a place. Source: Birmingham Council’s document.
For Year 7 in September 2026, 123 families put the school first and 164 places were offered; 100% of those families were offered a place there. Admission depends on the school’s own rules.
Demand for places
First choices against places
| Year 7 | Places | First choices | Per place | % offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026Sept 2026 | 164 | 123 | 0.8 | 100% |
| September 2025Sept 2025 | 170 | 119 | 0.7 | 100% |
| September 2024Sept 2024 | 178 | 143 | 0.8 | 89% |
| September 2023Sept 2023 | 180 | 131 | 0.7 | 100% |
| September 2022Sept 2022 | 210 | 162 | 0.8 | 95% |
Last distance offered
| Year 7 | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | All | |
| September 2025 | All | |
| September 2024 | 0.94 mi1.51 km | |
| September 2023 | 3.03 mi4.87 km | |
| September 2022 | 1.53 mi2.46 km | |
Every applicant was offered a place.
Results
In 2024/25 the average Attainment 8 score at GCSE was 44.5, and 39.9% of pupils got grade 5 or above in English and maths. Across Birmingham it was 46.6, and across England 46.
GCSE results
Attainment 8
| 2024/25 | Trend | School | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| ●44.5 | 46.0 | ||
| ▼39.9% | 45.4% | ||
| ▼62.7% | 64.8% | ||
| ▼6.9% | 40.5% | ||
| ▼3.71 | 4.09 |
Some years are for the predecessor school (URN 138141)
Where Year 11 leavers went
| Left in 2023/24 | Since 2021/22 | |
|---|---|---|
| School sixth form | 15.5 | −1.3 |
| Sixth form college | 2.1 | +0.4 |
| Further education | 70.4 | +6.8 |
| Apprenticeship | 1.7 | −1.8 |
| Employment | 0.9 | −0.8 |
| Not in a lasting destination | 5.6 | −3.1 |
| Activity not captured | 3.9 | +0.4 |
Ofsted
Ofsted inspected Arena Academy on 12 November 2024 under its 2019 framework. Inspections from September 2024 give no overall grade.
- Overall
- No overall grade
- Inspected
- 12 Nov 2024
- Graded inspection
Safeguarding effectiveInspection reports
Graded areas
| Quality of education | Good |
|---|---|
| Behaviour and attitudes | Good |
| Personal development | Good |
| Leadership and management | Good |
Previously: Requires improvement, graded inspection, Jun 2022
Earlier inspections
Including inspections of the predecessor school (URN 138141), which Ofsted links to this one.
September 2019 to November 2025
Jun 2022Requires improvement
Quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Safeguarding Effective
Before September 2019
Sept 2016Inadequate
Leadership and management Inadequate Safeguarding Effective Inspection of the predecessor school (URN 138141)
What parents said
64% of the parents who answered Ofsted’s Parent View survey would recommend the school (59 replies, to 1 September 2025).
- Recommend
- 64%
- Replies
- 59
- 6% · 1 Sept 2025
based on the 85% who raised concerns
based on the 46% who had a child bullied
based on 18 parents (31%) with SEND