Malcolm Arnold Academy

West Northamptonshire · NN2 6JW

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1278 pupils, 25.4% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN Resourced provision · 14.2% on SEN support Behaviour 9.3% absence rate Staff 22.3% turnover Financials £6,650 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

We haven't asked this school for its behaviour and staffing figures yet. Sign up to tell us you'd like them, and we'll email you when they arrive.

Notify me

Your email address

Leave this empty

We'll email you a link to confirm first. Your address is only used for news about this school, and every email has a link to stop them. Privacy

Malcolm Arnold Academy

General Information

Address: Trinity Avenue, Northampton, NN2 6JW – View on map
Phone: 01604778000
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Miss Clare Berry
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 166 families put it first for 235 places – 7 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 8 · 2024 8 · 2025 7 · 2026 7
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Church of England
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1278 pupils out of 1450 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 305
% eligible for free school meals: 25.4%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the West Northamptonshire average)
English as an additional language: 35% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 22.3% a year (West Northamptonshire 18.7%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 63% moved to another school, 37% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across West Northamptonshire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 57 (1.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 97 (3.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 24 (0.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in West Northamptonshire, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 9.3%
Persistently absent pupils: 23.7%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

Resourced provision for Hearing impairment 15 places · 7 pupils at the last count

Places are usually for children with an EHC Plan and are arranged through the council, not the normal school application.

Pupils on SEN Support: 14.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 72 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 41 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 37 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 10 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 5 pupils
Hearing impairment: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Be the first to review — win £100 of books for your school Every honest review enters you into our prize draw

Behaviour

–

Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

–

Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 41.4
Compared with the area: 4.3 points below the West Northamptonshire average (45.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−9.7 points against an expected 51.1)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 58% (West Northamptonshire 66%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolWest Northamptonshire averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 4.3 points below the West Northamptonshire average (45.7).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

16th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8

#14Abbeyfield School44.0
#15Weston Favell Academy41.8
#16Malcolm Arnold Academy41.4
#17Kingsthorpe College39.6
#18The Parker E-ACT Academy38.9

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Northampton School for Boys58.2
#2Northampton School for Girls54.9
#3Wootton Park School53.6
#4Northampton Academy52.1
#5Sponne School52.0
#6Caroline Chisholm School50.4
#7Chenderit School50.0
#8The Duston School50.0
#9Guilsborough Academy46.6
#10Campion School46.2
#11Moulton School and Science College46.1
#12Elizabeth Woodville School44.9
#13Magdalen College School44.2
#14Abbeyfield School44.0
#15Weston Favell Academy41.8
#16Malcolm Arnold Academy41.4
#17Kingsthorpe College39.6
#18The Parker E-ACT Academy38.9
#19St Thomas Becket Catholic School38.7
#20DSLV E-ACT Academy37.2
#21Northampton International Academy36.4
#22Silverstone UTC31.1

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 90.0%
Went into further education: 83.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
History
Geography
French Language
Art & Design
Business Studies
Sociology
Media Studies
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Sports Studies
Photography
Computer Science
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Polish
Russian
Religious Studies
Greek
Spanish

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

8th of 13 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Ofsted rating

#6Kingsthorpe CollegeGood
#7Magdalen College SchoolGood
#8Malcolm Arnold AcademyGood
#9Moulton School and Science CollegeGood
#10St Thomas Becket Catholic SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Northampton AcademyOutstanding
#2Wootton Park SchoolOutstanding
#3Caroline Chisholm SchoolGood
#4Chenderit SchoolGood
#5DSLV E-ACT AcademyGood
#6Kingsthorpe CollegeGood
#7Magdalen College SchoolGood
#8Malcolm Arnold AcademyGood
#9Moulton School and Science CollegeGood
#10St Thomas Becket Catholic SchoolGood
#11Weston Favell AcademyGood
#12Guilsborough AcademyRequires improvement
#13Silverstone UTCRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,650 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

20th of 23 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for spending per pupil

#18The Parker E-ACT Academy£6,713
#19Chenderit School£6,671
#20Malcolm Arnold Academy£6,650
#21Sponne School£6,638
#22Wootton Park School£6,601

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Silverstone UTC£8,417
#2Abbeyfield School£8,054
#3Northampton School for Boys£8,002
#4Northampton School for Girls£7,911
#5Elizabeth Woodville School£7,781
#6Northampton Academy£7,760
#7Northampton School£7,617
#8St Thomas Becket Catholic School£7,518
#9Weston Favell Academy£7,388
#10Guilsborough Academy£7,222
#11Caroline Chisholm School£7,193
#12The Duston School£7,113
#13Magdalen College School£7,075
#14Kingsthorpe College£6,989
#15Northampton International Academy£6,926
#16Campion School£6,907
#17DSLV E-ACT Academy£6,856
#18The Parker E-ACT Academy£6,713
#19Chenderit School£6,671
#20Malcolm Arnold Academy£6,650
#21Sponne School£6,638
#22Wootton Park School£6,601
#23Moulton School and Science College£6,576

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

Have you rated Malcolm Arnold Academy yet? Your experience helps other parents.

Rate this school

General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across West Northamptonshire: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered