OFSTED
24 April 2025
Latest ungraded inspection
Latest published outcome
Outstanding
OEIF
Quality of education
Outstanding
Behaviour & attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Outstanding
Leadership & management
Outstanding
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
15 January 2020
Graded inspection
Outstanding
Published
23 March 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Bedford
Trust
ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
536
536 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
260
48.5% of pupils
Male pupils
276
51.5% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
4.7 pts
above England
School
29.5%
Bedford
20.1%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
46.1 pts
above England
School
66.4%
Bedford
23.1%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.7 pts
above England
School
1.7%
Bedford
1.8%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
Indian
15.5%
83
Any other White background
15.1%
81
African
13.1%
70
White British
12.5%
67
Bangladeshi
10.1%
54
Any other Mixed background
9.0%
48
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
8.2%
44 of
536 pupils
12.6 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
10.1 pts
below
England
6.0%
2.5 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
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
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
46.5
7.3 pts
above England
Latest published: 1.11 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
7.72%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
1.50 pts
higher than
England
School
7.72%
Bedford
5.81%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
19.42%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
3.60 pts
higher than
England
School
19.42%
Bedford
15.50%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
3.09%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.28 pts
higher than
England
School
3.09%
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
107.2%
14.9 pts
above England
Bedford Free School
107.2%
Bedford
88.6%
East of England
92.9%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.