The school was opened in 1929 to serve the expanding Warley area of Oldbury, and was initially a secondary modern school for pupils who did not pass their 11+ exam - those who did attended Oldbury Grammar School (on becoming a comprehensive in 1974, later known as Langley High) or Oldbury Technical School.[1] The attainment gap between Bristnall and the other local schools closed during the late 1970s when all the local secondary schools became comprehensive schools.
The school opened its Sixth Form Centre within the School at the start of the 2010 academic year to Post-16 Students. The school became an academy in December 2012 and was renamed Bristnall Hall Academy supported by the Academy Transformation Trust. In October 2019, the school announced plans to build an extension to the academy. In 2021, the number of students allowed to join the academy increased from 190 to 210.