Malvin's Close Academy
Malvin's Close Academy, Albion Way, Blyth, NE24 5BL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WISE ACADEMIES
- Headteacher
- Mrs Joanne Holmes
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- WISE Academies
- Constituency
- Blyth and Ashington
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 437
- URN
- 146544
- Local authority
- Northumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01670354082
About this school
Malvin's Close Academy is a primary academy in Blyth. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 437 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Malvin's Close Academy, 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 60 | 47 | 57 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 55% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 2% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 68% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 67% | 64% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 60% | 66% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Malvin's Close 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 | Northumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 62% | 54.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 55% | 52.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 56% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 434 |
| 2023/24 | 434 |
| 2024/25 | 440 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Malvin's Close Academy compares
Malvin's Close Academy ranked 39th of 72 primary schools in Northumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 4.8% | 42.1% | 437 | — |
| St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School | 47% | 5.3% | 39% | 217 | 0.3 miles |
| Morpeth Road Academy | 64% | 6.2% | 64.8% | 253 | 0.4 miles |
| Croftway Academy | 67% | 3.8% | 44.7% | 416 | 0.7 miles |
| Newsham Primary School | 43% | 5.1% | 40.4% | 452 | 0.9 miles |
| Horton Grange Primary School | 79% | 5.9% | 36.3% | 550 | 1.1 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)
- 42.13%
- English as an additional language
- 3.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.76%
- Persistent absence
- 11.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Blyth
-
Morpeth Road Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Blyth
-
Croftway Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Blyth
-
Newsham Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Blyth
-
Horton Grange Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Blyth
Other schools in Blyth
Malvin's Close Academy ranks 5th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Blyth.
- Cambois Primary School Primary
- Croftway Academy Primary
- Horton Grange Primary School Primary
- Morpeth Road Academy Primary
- New Delaval Primary School Primary
- Newsham Primary School Primary
- St Wilfrid's Catholic Primary School Primary
- The Blyth Academy Secondary
- Bede Academy All-through
- Gilbert Ward Academy Free Schools
- The Dales School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Malvin's Close Academy teach?
- Malvin's Close Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Blyth.
- Who is the headteacher of Malvin's Close Academy?
- The headteacher of Malvin's Close Academy is Mrs Joanne Holmes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Malvin's Close Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Malvin's Close 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 many pupils are at Malvin's Close Academy?
- Malvin's Close Academy has 437 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Malvin's Close Academy full?
- Malvin's Close Academy has capacity for 450 pupils and 437 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Malvin's Close Academy a faith school?
- No. Malvin's Close Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Malvin's Close Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Malvin's Close Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Malvin's Close Academy part of an academy trust?
- Malvin's Close Academy is part of WISE ACADEMIES. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Malvin's Close Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Malvin's Close Academy compare with other schools in Northumberland?
- Malvin's Close Academy ranked 39th of 72 primary schools in Northumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Malvin's Close Academy's absence rate?
- Malvin's Close Academy's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Malvin's Close Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Malvin's Close 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 10 July 2026.