SF School Facts UK

Secondary school in Marlow, Buckinghamshire

Great Marlow School

Bobmore Lane, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 1JE

Ofsted Good · 2022 Sixth form Full
School website 01628483752
Ofsted Good November 2022
Attainment 8 47.9 in the upper half nationally
Chance of a place 77% of first choices offered
Local deprivation 7/10 mid-range

Ofsted

Goodas at 10 November 2022

Remained Good at its last ungraded inspection, on 10 November 2022.

Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 3 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.

Read the Ofsted report

Current published outcome
Good
Last overall grade in this dataset
Good
Days since inspection
1,422 days
Framework era
Historic overall-grade framework (ended September 2024)

These four fields describe the latest published inspection on this record. The dataset does not keep a previous inspection row, so a school inspected under the current framework will usually have no overall grade to show as “prior”.

GCSE results 2024/25

Attainment 8 score

47.9 England 47

The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.

Grade 5+ in English & maths

48% England 46.2%

Grade 4+ in English & maths

70% England 66.2%

EBacc average point score

4 England 4.2

Entered the EBacc

18% England 40.8%

On Attainment 8 this school is in the upper half of state-funded secondaries in England.

Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the better-performing half.

Progress 8 2023/24

-0.02confidence interval -0.22 to 0.17

Taking that range into account, progress was not statistically different from the national average. DfE bands this as average.

Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.

A levels 2024/25

Average grade per entry
C
Average points per entry
29.6

England average 32.3

A level students
121

Getting a place 2026/27 entry

Slightly oversubscribed. Of the 242 families who named this school as their first choice, 77% were offered a place.

Places offered
225

for entry into Year 7

Named it first choice
242
First choices per place
1.08

England average 1.00

First choices offered a place
77%

England 88.5%

First preferences per place are up 11% on three years ago.

These are offers made on national offer day for 2026/27 entry, from the local authority's co-ordinated admissions round. They exclude later movement — waiting lists, appeals and in-year admissions — so a school shown as oversubscribed may still have places by September.

Oversubscription measures popularity, not quality, and the two are not the same thing: a school can be heavily oversubscribed because of its intake, its faith designation or simply because the nearest alternative is further away. We do not publish catchment maps, because catchments are not published: each admissions authority applies its own criteria afresh every year, and the distance that got a child in last year is not a boundary. Read the school's own admissions arrangements for the rules that will actually apply.

Pupils

Pupils on roll
1395
Places
1180
How full
Full — 1395 pupils against 1180 places
Girls / boys
708 / 687
Overall absence
9%

secondary schools average 8.6%

Persistently absent
20%

secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
17%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
9%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
4%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
11%

England 15%

School funding 2025-26 financial year

Not found for this URN in the 2025-26 release.

Evidence found
Not found for this URN in the 2025-26 release; this is not represented as £0.
Source coverage
DfE mainstream-school allocations for running costs for pupils aged 5-16, importer snapshot 23 August 2026.
What this means
The official mainstream allocation release does not provide a publishable row for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school received no public funding or has no budget; other establishment types and funding streams use different publications.

Allocation is not expenditure. DfE says this release combines the schools block with several other revenue grants and excludes capital spending. Funding is shown for context and is never used in School Facts ordering, peer groups or quality claims. Source, licence and coverage.

Roads and getting there

Road casualties within 500m

Child pedestrian casualties
0

England average 1.6 — pedestrians under 16, over five years

All reported collisions
16

England average 24.2 over five years

Of those, serious or fatal
2
Busiest road nearby
U

3,334 vehicles a day (2009)

Public transport

Bus stops within 500m
15

England average 11.9

Nearest station
Marlow Rail Station

1 km away — railway station

Traffic volume is the context the collision count needs: a school beside a major road will record more collisions than one on a quiet street without being any less well run.

Every collision reported to the police within 500m of the school over the five years to 2024, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe — counts rise with traffic and with how built up an area is, and a rural school on a fast road may have fewer collisions but a worse one. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position.

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
94%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
87%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
2%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
49%
No sustained destination
3%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
231

After sixth form

Went to university
45%

England 50%

In education, work or training
92%

England 84.4%

Started an apprenticeship
7%

England 6.5%

Students in the cohort
124

Going on to university 2021/22 leavers

Went to a top third university

17% England 20.9%

The third of higher education providers whose entrants hold the highest average entry qualifications. It is the closest thing in the public data to "did they get into a competitive university", and it separates schools far more sharply than the headline progression rate does.

Went on to a degree
67%

England 65.3%

Students in the cohort
155

These follow an earlier group of leavers than the figures above, and count anyone reaching higher education within two years rather than the term after leaving, so they are not directly comparable with them.

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year, and why the university figures track leavers from 2021/22. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The area around the school

7/10 Deprivation decile

Among the less deprived half of England.

4/10 Child poverty decile

Among the more deprived half of England for children in low-income families.

Indices of Deprivation 2019, for the small area the school stands in. 1 means the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. The second measure counts only children living in low-income families, which is the one that describes the intake a school is likely to draw on.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£547,500

postcode sector SL7 1 · 274 sales

Typical range
£409,375 to £838,750

middle half of sales

Detached
£1,017,000
Semi-detached
£686,500
Terraced
£537,250
Flat
£345,000

Homes around this school are among the dearest tenth of England.

Every residential sale registered in this postcode sector since January 2024, from HM Land Registry. A sector covers roughly 2,500 addresses. England's median over the same period was £293,000.

Who lives there

Adults with a degree
36%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
15%

England 18.3%

In professional or managerial work
24%

England 13.4%

Households deprived in 2+ ways
10%

England 17.8%

Residents in very good health
56%

England 48.4%

Housing

Owned by the occupier
57%

England 62.7%

Social housing
23%

England 17%

Privately rented
19%

England 19.2%

Detached homes
34%

England 38.2%

Four or more bedrooms
35%

England 22.5%

No car
11%

England 21.9%

Census 2021, for Buckinghamshire 062A and the wider neighbourhood around it. These figures describe the area, not the pupils — children may travel in from much further away, and for selective, faith and independent schools they usually do.

School details

Type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Guy Pendlebury
Opened as this establishment
1 August 2011
Register status
Open
Local authority
Buckinghamshire
Ward
Marlow
Constituency
Beaconsfield
URN
136964

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Official DfE record
Open the register entry

The source record for this establishment and URN.

The URN identifies this registered establishment. If a school converts or is replaced, DfE may issue a new URN; this page does not stitch different establishments together by a similar name.

Admissions history

The official school-level admissions releases contain up to 13 national-offer-day observations, from 2014/15 to 2026/27. The chart shows first choices per place; the table keeps the underlying counts.

Year 7

1.40 2014/15: 1.16 first choices per place2015/16: 1.31 first choices per place2016/17: 1.16 first choices per place2017/18: 1.20 first choices per place2018/19: 1.17 first choices per place2019/20: 1.23 first choices per place2020/21: 1.09 first choices per place2021/22: 0.74 first choices per place2022/23: 1.10 first choices per place2023/24: 0.97 first choices per place2024/25: 1.10 first choices per place2025/26: 0.98 first choices per place2026/27: 1.08 first choices per place2014201620182020202220242026
All 13 annual observations
Entry yearPlacesFirst choicesPer placeFirst choices offered
2014/15 201 233 1.16 68%
2015/16 195 256 1.31 64%
2016/17 220 255 1.16 74%
2017/18 215 259 1.20 72%
2018/19 224 261 1.17 74%
2019/20 222 272 1.23 72%
2020/21 225 245 1.09 79%
2021/22 225 166 0.74 82%
2022/23 217 239 1.10 77%
2023/24 230 223 0.97 92%
2024/25 233 257 1.10 77%
2025/26 224 220 0.98 88%
2026/27 225 242 1.08 77%

These are annual observations, not forecasts. They exclude waiting lists, appeals and in-year admissions. Each series follows this exact URN only, so academy conversions and missing releases remain visible as gaps rather than being joined by name.

Nearest secondary schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Progress 8DistanceCompare
Sir William Borlase's Grammar SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2024 72.4 0.560.30 to 0.81 1 mi
Cressex Community SchoolFoundation school Good 2024 50.7 0.480.24 to 0.71 2.5 mi
John Hampden Grammar SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2022 72.3 0.840.62 to 1.05 2.5 mi
E-Act Bourne End AcademyAcademy sponsor led Good 2022 38 -0.18-0.42 to 0.06 · not a win 2.6 mi
St Michael's Catholic SchoolAcademy converter Report card 2026 49.1 0.330.16 to 0.50 2.7 mi
Wycombe High SchoolAcademy converter Outstanding 2024 73.9 0.900.68 to 1.11 2.7 mi
Wycombe AbbeyOther independent school No overall grade — — 3.1 mi
Furze Platt Senior SchoolAcademy converter Report card 2026 47.5 0.360.16 to 0.55 3.2 mi

Schools like this

The 12 state schools in England whose intake most closely matches this one — same phase and sector, and as near as the data allows on size, disadvantage, SEN, English as an additional language and the deprivation of the surrounding area. These are the schools it can fairly be judged against.

This school 47.9
Median of its 12 closest peers 48.3
Buckinghamshire average 48.6
England average 47

Attainment 8 score. This school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

SchoolAreaOfstedAttainment 8Progress 8Compare
Sandbach SchoolFree schools Sandbach No overall grade 48.2 0.280.11 to 0.45
St Ivo AcademyAcademy converter St Ives Good 2024 47.1 0.14-0.03 to 0.31 · not a win
Arnold Hill Spencer AcademyAcademy converter Nottingham No overall grade 49.8 0.07-0.11 to 0.24 · not a win
Soham Village CollegeAcademy converter Ely Outstanding 2024 51.2 0.750.58 to 0.93
William Farr CofE Comprehensive SchoolAcademy converter Lincoln Good 2022 50.8 0.430.25 to 0.61
Kingsmead SchoolAcademy converter Cannock Report card 2026 48.5 0.440.24 to 0.63
Robert May's SchoolAcademy converter Hook Good 2022 48.3 -0.06-0.23 to 0.12 · not a win
Woldgate School and Sixth Form CollegeAcademy converter York No overall grade 46.9 0.350.15 to 0.55
The Thomas Adams SchoolAcademy converter Shrewsbury Good 2023 43.4 -0.50-0.69 to -0.30
Moulton School and Science CollegeAcademy converter Northampton Good 2023 46.1 -0.10-0.28 to 0.08 · not a win
Taverham High SchoolAcademy converter Norwich Good 2023 49 0.05-0.14 to 0.25 · not a win
Plymstock SchoolAcademy converter Plymouth Good 2023 47.3 0.00-0.17 to 0.17 · not a win

Matching uses only characteristics a school does not choose. It is not a ranking, and a close match on intake does not make two schools interchangeable — sixth form, faith character, admissions rules and simple geography all matter and are not in the calculation.

Evidence ledger

Reference dates and join methods are kept separate because the figures do not all describe the same year or geography.

EvidencePublisherReference dateHow it reaches this page
School identityGet Information About Schools23 August 2026Exact URN 136964; unified importer snapshot
Inspection evidenceOfsted management information31 July 2026Exact URN; inspection 10 November 2022
AttainmentDfE performance tables2024/25Exact URN; phase-specific definitions
Progress 8DfE performance tables2023/24Exact URN; confidence interval retained
AdmissionsDfE school applications and offers2026/27 plus history to 2014/15Exact URN and entry point; national offer day
Pupil intakeDfE school census2024/25Exact URN; suppressed values remain missing
Funding allocationDfE school funding statistics2025-26 financial yearNo row for this URN in the mainstream-school release; not represented as zero
Roads and transportDfT road casualties, traffic and NaPTANFive-year road window; access-node snapshotCoordinate join within the stated radius
NeighbourhoodONS Census2021LSOA/MSOA containing the school, not pupil homes
DeprivationEnglish Indices of Deprivation2019LSOA containing the school
Home pricesHM Land Registry Price Paid DataSales since January 2024School postcode sector, not a catchment

These sources are published for reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0, including the Crown database-right notice that accompanies Price Paid Data. Definitions and source notes. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.

Questions this school record can answer

Which exact school is this?

Match the DfE URN, school name and address; names and structures can change while the URN remains the stable identifier.

What does the latest inspection evidence say?

Use the inspection date and framework shown. Do not compare a legacy overall grade directly with the newer report-card judgements.

How should I compare nearby schools?

Compare the same phase, cohort and academic year, then keep intake context and confidence intervals beside performance measures.

What must a parent verify?

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