Marling School

Marling School is a selective boys' grammar school with a mixed sixth form, part of the Cotswold Beacon Trust. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and followed a period of significant leadership and governance change. Inspectors found the school performing well overall: pupils are positive, curious and polite, behaviour is calm, attendance is high, and sixth-form students achieve high outcomes. The curriculum is ambitious, broad and personalised, supported by a strong reading culture, recent prioritisation of SEND support, rich enrichment and a highly developed careers programme. Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have high expectations and have refined the curriculum, particularly in key stage 3, but some newly designed or re-sequenced content is still bedding in. The school's plans for EBacc uptake are not yet matched by the proportion of pupils choosing those subjects. Communication with parents, staff and pupils had diminished during rapid change, causing frustration; new systems are in place but are at an early stage. Governance has been strengthened through an interim board and a newly trained governing body, and new leaders are embedding a refined vision.

Strengths

• High expectations and a positive, purposeful learning culture
• Pupils are polite, courteous and curious, and behave well
• Strong sixth-form outcomes with engaging seminar-style learning
• Ambitious, broad and personalised curriculum, including beyond the national curriculum
• Effective reading strategy with ambitious texts and support for pupils with English as an additional language
• Recent prioritisation of SEND support, with staff well equipped to adapt learning
• High attendance and robust monitoring procedures
• Rich enrichment, trips, clubs and pupil leadership opportunities
• Highly developed careers programme
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strengthened governance and strategic scrutiny after a period of change

Areas for Improvement

• EBacc subject uptake is lower than the school plans
• Some newly designed or re-sequenced key stage 3 curriculum content is not yet well embedded
• Communication with parents, staff and pupils has been weak and stakeholders report frustration
• New communication systems are in the early stages and need to become responsive and timely
• Changes to the house system have raised pupil concerns about reduced competitive sports and arts opportunities

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Marling School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 10.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.4% of pupils at Marling School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Marling School had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 5.4% of pupils at Marling School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 0.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Marling School received £7,170 and spent £7,400 for each of its 1,119 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £781,000 (-£698 per pupil).

Across all 59 schools of Lift Schools, income was £8,746 and spending £8,644 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stroud · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

Marling School is part of Lift Schools, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• Lift Callowell Stroud
• Lift Cam Woodfield Junior Dursley
• Lift Brockworth Gloucester
• Lift Hillview Gloucester
• Lift Berkeley Berkeley
• Lift Crescent View Cheltenham
• Lift Offa's Mead Chepstow
• Lift Hazelwood Swindon
• Lift East Wichel Swindon
• Lift Broadlands Bristol

What is Marling School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Marling School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Marling School last inspected by Ofsted?

Marling School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Marling School have?

Marling School has 1,082 pupils on roll.

What age range does Marling School cover?

Marling School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Marling School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 73.2, and 98% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Marling School?

Marling School is at Cainscross Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4HE.