OFSTED
Latest graded inspection
3 December 2024
Latest published outcome
Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Bedford
Trust
MERIDIAN TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics
for 2025/26.
2025/26
Total pupils
923
923 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
451
48.9% of pupils
Male pupils
472
51.1% of pupils
10.5 pts
below England
School
14.3%
Bedford
20.1%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
11.7 pts
below England
School
8.6%
Bedford
23.1%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
0.7 pts
below England
School
0.3%
Bedford
1.8%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
Any other White background
6.7%
62
White and Black Caribbean
3.4%
31
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
17.4%
161 of
923 pupils
3.4 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
SEN support
11.5%
106 pupils
England
14.8%
3.3 pts
below
EHC plans
6.0%
55 pupils
England
6.0%
0.1 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Most common identified needs
Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder
53
Social, emotional & mental health
29
Specific learning difficulty
26
No specialist assessment yet
21
Moderate learning difficulty
12
Speech, language & communication
9
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.
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
7.85%
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
1.64 pts
higher than
England
School
7.85%
Bedford
5.81%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
Persistent absence
21.79%
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
5.97 pts
higher than
England
School
21.79%
Bedford
15.50%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
Severe absence
3.70%
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.90 pts
higher than
England
School
3.70%
Bedford
1.52%
East of England
1.83%
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
secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
92.3%
In line with
England
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.