Marling School
Cainscross Road, Stroud, GL5 4HE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- COTSWOLD BEACON ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Peter Knight
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Sponsor
- Cotswold Beacon Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Stroud
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,150
- Pupils on roll
- 1,082
- URN
- 137123
- Local authority
- Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01453762251
About this school
Marling School is a boys' secondary academy in Stroud. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,082 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Marling School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 158 | 157 | 159 |
| Attainment 8 score | 68.3 | 71.3 | 73.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.50 +0.28 to +0.73 | +0.64 +0.40 to +0.87 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 96% | 98.1% | 98.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 98% | 99.4% | 100% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 39% | 39.5% | 40.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.6 |
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 Marling School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Gloucestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 68.3 | 43.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 71.3 | 44.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 73.9 | 44.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,230 |
| 2023/24 | 1,181 |
| 2024/25 | 1,117 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Marling School compares
Marling School ranked 4th of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73.9 | 4.7% | 4.5% | 1,082 | — |
| Stroud High School | 76.9 | 5.5% | 3.3% | 1,144 | 0.1 miles |
| Archway School | 43.3 | 11.7% | 26.8% | 1,053 | 0.4 miles |
| Maidenhill School | 45.5 | 10.4% | 24% | 714 | 2.0 miles |
| Thomas Keble School | 47.6 | 8.6% | 16.2% | 718 | 3.3 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre | 44.1 | 8.6% | 24.6% | 1,545 | 5.8 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)
- 4.49%
- English as an additional language
- 11.2%
- Overall absence
- 4.65%
- Persistent absence
- 10.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stroud High School0.1 miles
Secondary · Stroud
-
Archway School0.4 miles
Secondary · Stroud
-
Maidenhill School2.0 miles
Secondary · Stonehouse
-
Thomas Keble School3.3 miles
Secondary · Stroud
-
St Peter's Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre5.8 miles
Secondary · Gloucester
Other schools in Stroud
- Archway School Secondary
- Stroud High School Secondary
- Thomas Keble School Secondary
- Amberley Parochial School Primary
- Bisley Blue Coat Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brimscombe Church of England (VA) Primary School Primary
- Bussage Church of England Primary School Primary
- Callowell Primary School Primary
- Cashes Green Primary School Primary
- Chalford Hill Primary School Primary
- Eastcombe Primary School Primary
- Foxmoor Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Marling School teach?
- Marling School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Stroud.
- Who is the headteacher of Marling School?
- The headteacher of Marling School is Mr Peter Knight, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Marling School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Marling School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Marling School?
- Marling School has 1,082 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Marling School full?
- Marling School has capacity for 1,150 pupils and 1,082 on roll (94%), 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 Marling School a faith school?
- No. Marling School has no designated religious character.
- Is Marling School a selective school?
- Yes. Marling School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Is Marling School part of an academy trust?
- Marling School is part of COTSWOLD BEACON ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Marling School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 68.3 in 2022/23 and 73.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Marling School compare with other schools in Gloucestershire?
- Marling School ranked 4th of 39 secondary schools in Gloucestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 98% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Marling School's absence rate?
- Marling School's overall absence rate is 4.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Marling School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Marling School'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.