Year 7 Transition
If your child has been awarded a place at Q3 Academy Great Barr, welcome to the family. We are excited to share your learning journey with you and look forward to welcoming you to our community.
It is completely normal for children to feel a little worried about the move to secondary education. We encourage you to listen to Episode 3 of our Ethos Team podcast, which is all about the big move and how best to prepare.
Transition Timescale
We hope the following timescale is useful so you know where we are in the transition process. Please be aware that some dates may change if information is delayed in reaching us. We will endeavour to let you know about any changes where possible. The appeals process runs alongside this timescale, so the process may differ for students who are allocated a place later.
March
We receive the list of students who have initially been awarded a place at the Academy from Sandwell Local Authority. Once we receive this information, we begin receiving files from primary schools. Because appeals and other changes run alongside this process, most files are not sent to us until late July.
Please do not worry if it takes a while to hear from us. The admissions checking process often takes time.
June
We look forward to seeing you at Q3 Academy Great Barr for our New Intake Evening on Thursday 18 June 2026 at 4.30 pm. This is a chance to formally welcome you to our community and share our ambition for your child's learning journey with us. We will talk through everything you need to know about transition, and there will be an opportunity to meet the staff who will support your child through this process. You will also be able to discuss any individual needs your child may have with the relevant staff.
July
We look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 students to the Academy on Wednesday 1 July and Thursday 2 July 2026, from 9.30 am to 2.30 pm. Sandwell primary schools are aware of this arrangement. If your child is joining us from a primary school outside Sandwell, please let their current school know about these days.
Your child may wear a comfortable plain T-shirt, shorts or joggers, and trainers on these days. We encourage them to bring water to stay hydrated, and lunch is on us.
September
Transition does not stop in September. Your child will have a Personal Tutor who will keep a close eye on how they are settling in. Your child's Personal Tutor is your first point of contact for any enquiries at the Academy, and they will be in touch if there are any concerns.
Uniform
You can find full uniform details on our Uniform page.
Sports Kit
Please do not buy any sports kit items yet, as we are working with a new supplier with a view to making our Sports Kit more eco-friendly, sustainable, and cheaper for families to purchase. We will share further details at our New Intake Evening in June.
SEND
Our SEND team, led by Miss Tromans (SENCo) and Miss Reardon-Allen (Assistant SENCo), can be contacted by email at [email hidden] and [email hidden].
Contact us
If you have not yet confirmed your child's place at Q3 Academy Great Barr and you have a question about admissions, you need to contact Sandwell Admissions. We are unable to advise or support with the admissions process because this is handled exclusively by the Local Authority. Contact details can be found on the Sandwell Admissions website.
If you wish to appeal the place you have been offered, full details of the appeals process and contact details for the relevant teams can be found on the admissions appeal page.
If you have confirmed your child's place and need to get in touch, you would usually email your child's Personal Tutor. However, until your child joins us and you have been introduced, you can contact our Transition Team: [email hidden].