Marlwood School
Vattingstone Lane, Alveston, Bristol, BS35 3LA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CASTLE SCHOOL EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Simmons
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Castle School Education Trust
- Constituency
- Thornbury and Yate
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 510
- URN
- 141341
- Local authority
- South Gloucestershire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01454862525
About this school
Marlwood School is a secondary academy in Bristol. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 510 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Marlwood School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 78 | 86 | 109 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.1 | 47.6 | 43.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.21 -0.53 to +0.11 | -0.22 -0.52 to +0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 38% | 50% | 39.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 75.6% | 60.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 67% | 46.5% | 54.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.0 |
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 Marlwood 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 | South Gloucestershire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45.1 | 40 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.6 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.2 | 38.2 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 514 |
| 2023/24 | 544 |
| 2024/25 | 566 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Marlwood School compares
Marlwood School ranked 12th of 16 secondary schools in South Gloucestershire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.2 | 11.2% | 18% | 510 | — |
| The Castle School | 52.4 | 7.8% | 15% | 1,416 | 1.7 miles |
| Patchway Community School | 37 | 11.6% | 27.3% | 854 | 3.9 miles |
| Winterbourne Academy | 52 | 8.1% | 13% | 1,741 | 4.9 miles |
| Abbeywood Community School | 46 | 8.3% | 22.1% | 1,294 | 5.6 miles |
| Brimsham Green School | 44.9 | 10.2% | 21.2% | 1,095 | 5.6 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)
- 18.02%
- English as an additional language
- 8.8%
- Overall absence
- 11.19%
- Persistent absence
- 33.33%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Castle School1.7 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Patchway Community School3.9 miles
Secondary · Almondsbury
-
Winterbourne Academy4.9 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Abbeywood Community School5.6 miles
Secondary · Bristol
-
Brimsham Green School5.6 miles
Secondary · Bristol
Other schools in Bristol
Marlwood School ranks 34th of the 44 ranked secondary schools in Bristol.
- Abbeywood Community School Secondary
- Ashton Park School Secondary
- Backwell School Secondary
- Bedminster Down School Secondary
- Blaise High School Secondary
- Brimsham Green School Secondary
- Bristol Brunel Academy Secondary
- Bristol Cathedral Choir School Secondary
- Bristol Free School Secondary
- Bristol Metropolitan Academy Secondary
- Chew Valley School Secondary
- Chipping Sodbury School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Marlwood School teach?
- Marlwood School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bristol.
- Who is the headteacher of Marlwood School?
- The headteacher of Marlwood School is Mrs Helen Simmons, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Marlwood School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Marlwood 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 Marlwood School?
- Marlwood School has 510 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Marlwood School full?
- Marlwood School has capacity for 750 pupils and 510 on roll (68%), 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 Marlwood School a faith school?
- No. Marlwood School has no designated religious character.
- Is Marlwood School a selective school?
- No. Marlwood School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Marlwood School part of an academy trust?
- Marlwood School is part of CASTLE SCHOOL EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Marlwood School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.1 in 2022/23 and 43.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Marlwood School compare with other schools in South Gloucestershire?
- Marlwood School ranked 12th of 16 secondary schools in South Gloucestershire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 50% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Marlwood School's absence rate?
- Marlwood School's overall absence rate is 11.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Marlwood School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Marlwood 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.