Malcolm Arnold Academy

About the Academy

Malcolm Arnold Academy is one of the David Ross Education Trust (DRET) schools. It is a popular and oversubscribed co-educational secondary school based in Northampton, Northamptonshire, for students aged 11-18. It has approximately 1300 pupils on roll, with around 130 of these pupils comprising our sixth form.

Malcolm Arnold Academy is a Good school, with our most recent OFSTED report being in May 2018, citing us as Good in all inspection judgement categories.

Executive Principal

Megan Morris

The DRET vision for education:

Crafting an unbeatable learning climate through our Warm:Strict philosophy, we hold unapologetically high expectations for and of the students in our care.  We have clear boundaries, rules and routines because students deserve to feel safe and calm in school.

We value the acquisition of powerful knowledge as a goal in itself, as an entitlement for all children.  We invest significant time and resource into ensuring that students gain a wide, broad knowledge base to enable them to become active members of their community in the future.  Alongside a rigorous and challenging academic curriculum, students also experience a broad range of sport, art and musical opportunities ensuring that they have the richest experience a secondary education can give.

Our teachers are subject experts and make use of evidence-based research to ensure they pass on their knowledge to students in the most direct and effective ways, ensuring that it is learnt, remembered and that it supports every child to achieve their fullest potential.

We know that the way we do things is as important as what we do; that is why the DRETWay is the True North of our mission’s compass.

Ofsted report

The trust, governors and senior leaders know the school well. They are determined that all pupils will make at least good progress. The school’s values of ‘friendship, truth, peace’ underpin the ethos of the school. There is a strong culture of openness, honesty and respect. Pupils make good progress across a range of subjects and all current year groups. The leadership of the school’s work with pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is strong. Pupils make good progress from their starting points, including pupils in the school’s specialist provision. The school’s work to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is a strength of the school and contributes well to pupils’ personal development and good behaviour. The curriculum is regularly reviewed and adapted to meet the needs of pupils. The extra-curricular opportunities offered to pupils are outstanding and make a significant contribution to pupils’ personal development. Procedures to safeguard pupils are robust. Pupils feel safe and are taught well how to keep themselves safe. The school provides good support to vulnerable pupils.