Q3 Academy Great Barr
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2011) |
| Q3 Academy | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
Wilderness Lane Great Barr , Birmingham West Midlands , B43 7SD England | |
| Coordinates | 52°33′13″N 1°56′42″W / 52.5535°N 1.9449°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Academy |
| Motto | No child left behind |
| Established | 1964 |
| Local authority | Sandwell |
| Specialist | Design and Enterprise Specialism |
| Department for Education URN | 135449 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Head teacher | Dr Caroline Badyal |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Age | 11 to 19[1] |
| Enrollment | 1046 |
| Houses | Social Design, Communications, Arts, Lifestyle and Discovery |
| Colour(s) | lightblue,red,green,yellow and navy blue |
| Website | http://www.q3academy.org.uk/ |
Q3 Academy, previously known as Dartmouth High School, is an Academy type secondary school located on Wilderness Lane in Great Barr, England, near the border with Birmingham in the Great Barr area of the City. It comes within the borders of Sandwell MBC.
History
Dartmouth High School opened in September 1964 as a secondary modern school, becoming comprehensive in September 1969.
It became Q3 Academy in September 2008, although it initially existed in the old Dartmouth buildings. In August 2008, the project to rebuild the school began. It took 21 months to build, and was ready for students in April 2010, straight after the Easter Holiday. The old building was demolished and the final landscaping phase took place over the summer of 2010, ready for students to start in September of that year.
Information
The current head of school is Mr Mark Arnull. The previous principal, Dr Caroline Badyal, is now the Chief Executive of the Q3 Academies Trust. She arrived on a secondment from the Dormston School in Sedgley (where she had been a deputy head teacher for four years and a member of staff for 12 years) in September 2002, and received the job on a permanent basis in April 2003.
It is sponsored by the Grace Charitable Trust, which sponsors many other academy schools across Britain. The main sponsor is locally-born businessman Eric Payne. As an Academy, it is independent, with limited power remaining with the local authority.
In September 2008, the became Q3 Academy, moving into a new school building within the original school's ground at the beginning of the summer term in April 2010. The first GCSE students to leave the academy in July 2009 achieved impressive grades, with 44% gaining five or more GCSEs at U or above. This placed it as third of Sandwell's 17 secondary schools.
On 11 November 2010, HRH the Earl of Wessex officially opened the Academy.[citation needed]
In September 2016, Q3 Academy Langley[2] opened with a new site built on the former Langley High School. Mr Peter Lee is the head of school. Built through a phased construction, the Academy will be complete in 2020.
In early 2018 it was announced that the Q3 trust would be taking over ACE Academy in Tipton as the trust's third school.
School Fires
In the five years before the creation of the academy, the original school was damaged by fire on two occasions. The school's science block was destroyed by fire on 17 November 2003 and had to be completely rebuilt. It needed about 100 firefighters. Around 200 pupils lost their coursework in the blaze. There was also a blaze in June 2006 in the first year block. The cause of the fire was ruled as arson.
Alumni
- John Bainbridge, author and countryside campaigner
- John Constandinou, athlete
- Cat Deeley, television personality
- Matthew Marsden, actor
- Dean Smith, footballer
- Gillian Wearing, artist
- Steve Webb, Liberal Democrat MP
- Rob Young, author
- Matt Goodwin, Managing Director of architecture initiative
References
- ^ q3academy.org.uk
- ^ http://www.q3langley.org.uk
External links
- School performance in 2007
- EduBase
- Ofsted report for Q3 Academy
- Great Barr £30 million Q3 Academy opens its doors to students