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Marling School vs Stroud High School

Both are grammar schools in Gloucestershire, 0.1 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.

Side by side

Marling School Stroud High School
Phase Secondary Secondary
Gender Boys Girls
Pupils on roll 1,117 1,106
Free school meals 4.1% 2.9%
Ofsted rating Not judged Outstanding
Attainment 8 — 2024/25 73.9 76.9
A-level average points — 2024/25 38.34 41.62
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 149 149
First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place 1.1 1.32

Qualifying scores

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 ↗

Stroud 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 ↗

Who gets priority

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

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.

Stroud High School

  1. Looked After Children / Previously Looked After Children who achieve the qualifying standard
  2. Pupil Premium or Service Pupil Premium (at time of test) who achieve the required standard
  3. All other qualifying candidates, by rank order of entrance test score

Source: school admissions policy.

Choosing between them

Marling School is a boys school and Stroud High School is a girls 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: Marling School · Stroud High School
Or see all secondary schools in Gloucestershire ranked.

Other Gloucestershire comparisons

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