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Denmark Road High School vs Marling School

Both are grammar schools in Gloucestershire, 8.8 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

Denmark Road High School Marling School
Phase Secondary Secondary
Gender Girls Boys
Pupils on roll 1,013 1,117
Free school meals 5.4% 4.1%
Ofsted rating Good Not judged
Attainment 8 — 2024/25 72.9 73.9
A-level average points — 2024/25 37.31 38.34
11+ test board GL Assessment (switched from CEM in 2024) GL Assessment (switched from CEM in 2024)
Admission system score-ranked (places allocated in score order, no fixed threshold) score-ranked (places allocated in score order, no fixed threshold)
Places offered — 202627 147 149
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place 1.29 1.1

Qualifying scores

Denmark Road High School

Not published. Gloucestershire Grammar Schools Consortium uses GL Assessment (4 papers; switched from CEM in 2024). Each school sets its own qualifying standard after the test — not pre-announced. Places are rank-ordered by score within priority bands. No competitive cutoff is published before or after the test.

Council source ↗

Marling School

Not published. Gloucestershire Grammar Schools Consortium uses GL Assessment (4 papers; switched from CEM in 2024). Each school sets its own qualifying standard after the test — not pre-announced. Places are rank-ordered by score within priority bands. No competitive cutoff is published before or after the test.

Council source ↗

Who gets priority

Where a school is oversubscribed, these are the first criteria applied, in order. This is usually what decides an application.

Denmark Road High School

  1. Looked After Children / Previously Looked After Children who achieve the qualifying standard
  2. Up to 15 places: Pupil Premium, qualifying standard, any Gloucestershire (GL) postcode
  3. Up to 15 places: Pupil Premium, qualifying standard, outside Gloucestershire
  4. Children of permanent staff employed ≥2 years (or demonstrable skills shortage recruit)

Source: school admissions policy.

Marling School

  1. Looked After Children / Previously Looked After Children who have met the qualifying standard
  2. Pupil Premium candidates (registered for free school meals in the 6 years before test day) who met the qualifying standa
  3. Other candidates who met the qualifying standard, in test rank order

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Denmark Road High School is a girls school and Marling School is a boys school, so for many families the starting point is which one can admit their child. The figures on this page are the published ones — they describe intakes and results, not what either school would be like for your child. The right choice depends on your family's own priorities and circumstances.

Full detail for each school: Denmark Road High School · Marling School
Or see all secondary schools in Gloucestershire ranked.

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