Marlwood School

Marlwood School has improved its overall performance since the previous inspection, achieving a 'Good' rating across all evaluated domains. The school fosters a supportive environment where pupils feel safe and valued, and it has high expectations for both behaviour and academic achievement. Positive relationships between staff and students contribute to a calm atmosphere, while a variety of extracurricular activities enrich the pupils' school experience and promote responsibility and leadership skills. The school's curriculum is now broad and ambitious, aiming to improve pupil learning outcomes effectively, although some teaching methods require further refinement to match pupils' knowledge levels more closely. Despite these strengths, the school faces challenges in consistently addressing underlying behaviour issues, as a small number of pupils continue to struggle with conduct. Furthermore, the school needs to better utilize the information available regarding behaviour and personal development to identify and resolve issues more promptly. Overall, while the school has made notable progress, there are still areas that require attention to ensure all pupils can succeed academically and socially.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils
• High expectations for behaviour and achievement
• Effective support for pupils with SEND
• Broad and ambitious curriculum
• Variety of extracurricular activities
• Good preparation for future careers

Areas for Improvement

• Some teaching activities do not deepen understanding
• Inconsistent identification of underlying behaviour issues

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 Marlwood School attended 88.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.3% 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, 13.6% of pupils at Marlwood School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Marlwood School had 16.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.2% 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, 10.2% of pupils at Marlwood School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 Marlwood School received £8,063 and spent £8,047 for each of its 567 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £363,000 (£639 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Pathway Trust, income was £7,571 and spending £7,443 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 Bristol · South Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

Marlwood School is part of Pathway Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• The Castle School Bristol
• Tortworth Primary School Wotton-Under-Edge
• Severn Beach Primary School Bristol
• Charfield Primary School Wotton-Under-Edge
• Downend School Bristol
• Lyde Green Primary School Bristol
• Mangotsfield School Bristol
• Cherry Garden Primary School Bristol
• St Anne's Church Primary School Weston Super Mare
• Castle Batch Primary School Weston-Super-Mare

What is Marlwood School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Marlwood School is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was Marlwood School last inspected by Ofsted?

Marlwood School was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does Marlwood School have?

Marlwood School has 510 pupils on roll.

What age range does Marlwood School cover?

Marlwood School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Marlwood School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.3, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Marlwood School?

Marlwood School is at Vattingstone Lane, Alveston, Bristol, BS35 3LA.