Malcolm Arnold Academy

About Malcolm Arnold Academy

Malcolm Arnold Academy sits right on the local authority average for Progress 8, with a score of 0.04 compared to West Northamptonshire's 0.05. That's a negligible difference, placing the school squarely in the middle of the pack — 11th out of 22 secondaries in the LA, which is exactly the 50th percentile. Nationally, it sits around the 46th percentile, so this is a school that delivers broadly expected progress without any dramatic swings. What's more interesting is where that progress comes from: maths stands out with a Progress 8 score of 0.22, and English is a solid 0.15, both comfortably above the school's overall figure. The weaker areas are open elements (-0.11) and languages (-0.15), which pull the average down. The EBacc entry rate is 39.2%, and 23.9% of pupils achieve a grade 5 or above in English and maths, while 62.6% manage a grade 4 or above. Attainment 8 sits at 44.2, and the EBacc average point score is 3.93.

The school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2018 rated it Good overall, with Good for leadership, management, and sixth-form provision. An ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed it remains Good. That's a clear improvement from its 2016 Requires Improvement rating, where leadership and management were also graded as Requires Improvement. The sixth form, however, tells a more mixed story: value added is -0.26, banded as Below average, with an average points per entry of 27.66 (a C- grade). Only 5.6% of students achieved AAB or higher in at least two facilitating subjects, and the best three A-levels averaged a grade C. With 66 pupils in the sixth-form cohort, it's a modest-sized provision that may suit students aiming for solid passes rather than top-tier university entry.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 2025/26, it received 449 applications for 236 places, with 176 first-preference applications and 166 first-preference offers. That's a ratio of 1.9 applicants per place, so getting in is competitive. Facilities are strong for a state school — a swimming pool, sports hall, tennis courts, gymnasium, art studios, music rooms, and a chapel. There's a broad range of SEND support covering dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, SEMH, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairments, physical disabilities, and autism. Clubs include DofE, Young Enterprise, choir, drama, science club, and film club. This is a solid, mid-ranking Church of England secondary that suits families who want good core academic progress, strong facilities, and a sixth form that's available but not academically elite.

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