Malmesbury School

Malmesbury School has demonstrated outstanding performance across all areas of its operation, including education quality, behavior, personal development, and leadership. Building on its previous inspection rating of outstanding, the school has maintained a high standard of education despite not undergoing a formal evaluation since 2012. The school's philosophy, encapsulated in the belief that 'Happy + Caring = Excellent,' fosters warm relationships among students and staff, ensuring a supportive and aspirational culture throughout the school community. The ambitious curriculum, coupled with effective support for disadvantaged students and those with special educational needs, positions them to achieve exceptionally well, especially in the sixth form.

Strengths

• Strong and caring relationships among pupils and staff
• High expectations for pupil behavior, swiftly dealt with by staff
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum
• Effective support for SEND pupils and disadvantaged students
• Comprehensive careers program with local employer engagement
• Robust personal development and health education
• Vibrant extracurricular activities enhancing cultural understanding
• Strong leadership and management supporting staff effectiveness

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 Malmesbury School attended 92.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 18.5% 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, 3.8% of pupils at Malmesbury 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 Malmesbury School had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.2% 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, 15.1% of pupils at Malmesbury School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.2% 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 Malmesbury School received £7,520 and spent £7,274 for each of its 1,465 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,053,000 (£1,401 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of The Athelstan Trust, income was £7,641 and spending £7,380 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 Malmesbury · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

Malmesbury School is part of The Athelstan Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Sir William Romney's School Tetbury
• Leighterton Primary School Tetbury
• Avening Primary School Tetbury
• Charter Primary School Chippenham
• Abbeyfield School Chippenham
• Kings Lodge Primary School Chippenham
• Bradon Forest School Swindon
• Chipping Sodbury School Bristol
• The Dean Academy Lydney

What is Malmesbury School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Malmesbury School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was Malmesbury School last inspected by Ofsted?

Malmesbury School was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does Malmesbury School have?

Malmesbury School has 1,438 pupils on roll.

What age range does Malmesbury School cover?

Malmesbury School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Malmesbury School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.9, and 51% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Malmesbury School?

Malmesbury School is at Corn Gastons, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 0DF.