Malcolm Arnold Academy
Trinity Avenue, Northampton, NN2 6JW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- THE DAVID ROSS EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Miss Clare Berry
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peterborough
- Sponsor
- The David Ross Education Trust
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Northampton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,450
- Pupils on roll
- 1,278
- URN
- 136201
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01604778000
About this school
Malcolm Arnold Academy is a Church of England secondary academy in Northampton. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,278 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 229 | 222 | 241 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.0 | 44.2 | 41.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.34 to +0.05 | +0.04 -0.15 to +0.23 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 41.9% | 37.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 62.6% | 57.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 52% | 39.2% | 37.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Malcolm Arnold Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.2 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.4 | 35.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,404 |
| 2023/24 | 1,357 |
| 2024/25 | 1,307 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Malcolm Arnold Academy compares
Malcolm Arnold Academy ranked 16th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.4 | 9.3% | 25.2% | 1,278 | — |
| Northampton School for Girls | 54.9 | 6.4% | 16.6% | 1,670 | 1.1 miles |
| Kingsthorpe College | 39.6 | 9.7% | 23% | 1,415 | 1.2 miles |
| Northampton School for Boys | 58.2 | 4.4% | 10.6% | 1,756 | 1.5 miles |
| St Thomas Becket Catholic School | 38.7 | 9.8% | 29.6% | 912 | 1.6 miles |
| Weston Favell Academy | 41.8 | 10.1% | 38.1% | 1,431 | 1.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.18%
- English as an additional language
- 35.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.25%
- Persistent absence
- 23.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Northampton School for Girls1.1 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Kingsthorpe College1.2 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Northampton School for Boys1.5 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
St Thomas Becket Catholic School1.6 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Weston Favell Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Northampton
Other schools in Northampton
Malcolm Arnold Academy ranks 12th of the 15 ranked secondary schools in Northampton.
- Abbeyfield School Secondary
- Campion School Secondary
- Guilsborough Academy Secondary
- Kingsthorpe College Secondary
- Moulton School and Science College Secondary
- Northampton Academy Secondary
- Northampton School Secondary
- Northampton School for Boys Secondary
- Northampton School for Girls Secondary
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School Secondary
- Weston Favell Academy Secondary
- Camrose Early Years Centre for Children & Families Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does Malcolm Arnold Academy teach?
- Malcolm Arnold Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Northampton.
- Who is the principal of Malcolm Arnold Academy?
- The principal of Malcolm Arnold Academy is Miss Clare Berry, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Malcolm Arnold Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Malcolm Arnold Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Malcolm Arnold Academy?
- Malcolm Arnold Academy has 1,278 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Malcolm Arnold Academy full?
- Malcolm Arnold Academy has capacity for 1,450 pupils and 1,278 on roll (88%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Malcolm Arnold Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Malcolm Arnold Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Peterborough.
- Is Malcolm Arnold Academy a selective school?
- No. Malcolm Arnold Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Malcolm Arnold Academy?
- Malcolm Arnold Academy is part of THE DAVID ROSS EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Malcolm Arnold Academy have?
- The schools register lists Malcolm Arnold Academy's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Malcolm Arnold Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42 in 2022/23 and 41.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Malcolm Arnold Academy rank locally?
- Malcolm Arnold Academy ranked 16th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Malcolm Arnold Academy's absence rate?
- Malcolm Arnold Academy's overall absence rate is 9.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Malcolm Arnold Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Malcolm Arnold Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.