Bedford Academy
Secondary · Academy sponsor led · Mixed · Bedford
Mile Road, Bedford, MK42 9TR
62
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Good
Graded 21/03/2023
Application demand
94%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
91.4%
25.6% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,480
Capacity used
Nearly full99%
1,500 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
94%
1st preference success rate
260 of 277 families who put it first got an offer
290
Places offered
654
Total applications
2.3
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 277 | 260 | ● 94% |
| 2nd preference | 255 | 24 | ● 9% |
| 3rd preference | 79 | 4 | ● 5% |
| 4th preference | 43 | 2 | ● 5% |
| Total | 654 | 290 | 44% |
1st preference success by year
Bedford lets families list 4 preferences. 3 applications came from outside the council area (0 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Chris Deller
- Address
- Mile Road, Bedford, MK42 9TR
- Phone
- 01234301500
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Ward / constituency
- Cauldwell · Bedford
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 136085
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 40% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 39% | — | — |
| SEN support | 11% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: HEART ACADEMIES TRUST
1,480 pupils · 1,500 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
21 March 2023
Full graded inspection
Good overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,228 pupils
Attendance
91.4%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
8.6%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
25.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
2.9%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
2.8%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 43.4 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.43 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 35% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 55% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 3.82 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 29.37 | — | — |
Average grade: C (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 42.8 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 37.8% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 57.6% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 48.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.83 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 217 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 33.4 | 35 |
| Average grade | C+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 10% | 17% |
| A-level students | 48 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 211 | 14% | 43% | 59% | |
| English Literature | 210 | 15% | 48% | 69% | |
| Mathematics | 209 | 19% | 46% | 64% | |
| Combined Science | 147 | 1% | 24% | 37% | |
| Spanish | 100 | 7% | 45% | 54% | |
| Geography | 99 | 7% | 26% | 44% | |
| History | 95 | 19% | 52% | 63% | |
| Social Studies | 92 | 18% | 53% | 66% | |
| Biology | 63 | 32% | 86% | 95% | |
| Physics | 63 | 25% | 75% | 89% | |
| Chemistry | 63 | 35% | 73% | 97% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 61 | 13% | 54% | 74% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 20 | 5% | 25% | 55% | |
| English Language and Literature | 14 | 0% | 0% | 21% | |
| Mathematics | 12 | 0% | 17% | 50% | |
| Biology | 11 | 0% | 36% | 45% | |
| Chemistry | 11 | 0% | 18% | 55% | |
| History | 10 | 0% | 0% | 60% | |
| Sociology | 6 | 0% | 33% | 67% | |
| Government and Politics | 6 | 0% | 0% | 17% | |
| Physics | 5 | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| Geography | 5 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #324 of 1,897 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 17751: Bedford Academy
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Applications | <3 |
| Offers | <3 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | <3 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 37% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 9% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 42% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Bedford council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.