Marlborough Primary School

About Marlborough Primary School

Marlborough Primary School’s headline metrics sit well below the Birmingham local authority average, which is a significant point to consider. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, just 40% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a LA average of 63%. That gap of 23 percentage points is substantial. The school’s ranking reflects this: it sits at 246th out of 292 primary schools in Birmingham, placing it in the bottom 50% nationally. The average scaled scores in reading (100) and maths (99) are close to the national baseline of 100, but the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in any subject is very low — just 1% in the combined measure, 6% in maths, 11% in reading and 9% in writing. For families focused on academic attainment data, these figures will be a central factor in their decision-making.

That said, the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2023 rated it Good across all five categories: overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This is a notable improvement from its previous inspection in 2016, when it was rated Requires Improvement. The early years provision also moved from Requires Improvement to Good. Parent feedback is overwhelmingly positive: 93% of the 99 respondents would recommend the school, and strong majorities agreed that their child is happy (98% combined agree/strongly agree), feels safe (96%), and that the school has high expectations (94%). The school’s headteacher, Geni Begum, leads a large primary of 624 pupils, with 55.4% eligible for free school meals — well above the national average — which provides important context for the attainment figures.

Marlborough Primary offers a nursery provision for children from age 3, and the school has a capacity of 656, so there is some room for growth. It was oversubscribed for 2025/26 reception places, with 137 applications for 47 places and 42 first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.91. The school’s facilities include a Forest School, sensory room, art studios, playing fields and a chapel, and it offers a wide range of sports and clubs including netball, football, swimming, chess, coding and gardening. SEND provision is broad, covering moderate learning difficulty, speech and language needs, hearing and visual impairment, physical disability, social and emotional mental health, and autistic spectrum disorder. This is a school that serves a diverse, high-need community, and while its academic outcomes are below the LA average, its Ofsted improvement and strong parent satisfaction suggest it is a stable and well-led option for local families.

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