Arena Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Birmingham
Beeches Road, Birmingham, B42 2PY
60
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Not judged
Graded 12/11/2024
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
92.2%
23.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
969
Capacity used
Over capacity108%
900 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
119 of 119 families who put it first got an offer
170
Places offered
467
Total applications
2.7
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 119 | 119 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 78 | 23 | ● 29% |
| 3rd preference | 69 | 10 | ● 14% |
| Later preferences (4th–6th) | 201 | 9 | ● 4% |
| Total | 467 | 161 | 34% |
1st preference success by year
Birmingham lets families list 6 preferences. 21 applications came from outside the council area (4 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Headteacher
- Raj Mann
- Address
- Beeches Road, Great Barr, Birmingham, B42 2PY
- Phone
- 01217297310
- Local authority
- Birmingham
- Ward / constituency
- Oscott · Birmingham Erdington
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 145580
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 42% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 17% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: CORE EDUCATION TRUST
969 pupils · 900 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 24
12 November 2024
Full graded inspection
Not judged overall effectivenessPersonal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,092 pupils
Attendance
92.2%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
7.8%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
23.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
3.6%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.7%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 41.7 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | -0.36 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 36% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 57% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.61 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 44.5 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 39.9% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 62.7% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 6.9% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.71 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 233 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 231 | 12% | 47% | 67% | |
| English Language | 231 | 13% | 51% | 73% | |
| English Literature | 230 | 11% | 56% | 77% | |
| Combined Science | 197 | 6% | 34% | 56% | |
| History | 118 | 21% | 54% | 70% | |
| Geography | 108 | 5% | 30% | 38% | |
| Social Studies | 82 | 5% | 34% | 59% | |
| Business | 72 | 17% | 51% | 68% | |
| Religious Studies | 57 | 26% | 72% | 84% | |
| Art and Design | 40 | 23% | 53% | 85% | |
| Biology | 34 | 47% | 88% | 91% | |
| Physics | 33 | 55% | 85% | 91% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Birmingham council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.