SCHOOL PROFILE

Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School

Primary Free schools URN 140946
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 420 Published school capacity
Capacity used 95.5% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

28 June 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Free schools
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Church of England
Local authority West Northamptonshire
Trust THE DAVID ROSS EDUCATION TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 401 401 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 193 48.1% of pupils
Male pupils 208 51.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

18.5%
6.3 pts below England
School 18.5%
West Northamptonshire 17.1%
East Midlands 25.0%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

37.4%
17.1 pts above England
School 37.4%
West Northamptonshire 22.5%
East Midlands 18.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

1.5%
0.5 pts above England
School 1.5%
West Northamptonshire 0.7%
East Midlands 0.7%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
35.7%
143
Any other White background
28.2%
113
African
11.2%
45
Unclassified
5.2%
21
Indian
3.5%
14
Any other Mixed background
2.5%
10
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 19.2% 77 of 401 pupils
1.6 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 19.2%
West Northamptonshire 18.6%
East Midlands 19.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 17.7% 71 pupils
England 14.8% 2.9 pts above
EHC plans 1.5% 6 pupils
England 6.0% 4.5 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
No specialist assessment yet 36
Speech, language & communication 12
Autistic spectrum disorder 9
Social, emotional & mental health 9
Moderate learning difficulty 4
Other difficulty or disability 4

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

75.0% 14.6 pts above England
School 75.0%
West Northamptonshire 60.7%
East Midlands 59.2%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

81.0%

7.2 pts above England

School 81.0%
West Northamptonshire 75.5%
East Midlands 72.9%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

86.0%

15.7 pts above England

School 86.0%
West Northamptonshire 71.7%
East Midlands 69.9%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

79.0%

7.0 pts above England

School 79.0%
West Northamptonshire 73.3%
East Midlands 71.5%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

4.62%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.59 pts lower than England
School 4.62%
West Northamptonshire 5.91%
East Midlands 5.90%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

12.90%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

2.91 pts lower than England
School 12.90%
West Northamptonshire 13.97%
East Midlands 14.53%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.81%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.00 pts lower than England
School 0.81%
West Northamptonshire 1.94%
East Midlands 1.72%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

95.5% 7.3 pts above England
Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School
95.5%
West Northamptonshire
84.5%
East Midlands
86.8%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information