Bedford Free School
Secondary · Free schools · Mixed · Bedford
Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AD
75
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Outstanding
Graded 15/01/2020
Application demand
52%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
92.3%
19.4% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
536
Capacity used
Over capacity107%
500 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
52%
1st preference success rate
98 of 190 families who put it first got an offer
108
Places offered
376
Total applications
3.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 190 | 98 | ● 52% |
| 2nd preference | 135 | 9 | ● 7% |
| 3rd preference | 51 | 1 | ● 2% |
| Total | 376 | 108 | 29% |
1st preference success by year
Bedford lets families list 4 preferences. 4 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
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Tom Wood
- Address
- Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AD
- Phone
- 01234332299
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Ward / constituency
- Cauldwell · Bedford
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 138228
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 30% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 67% | — | — |
| SEN support | 7% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 4 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS
536 pupils · 500 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
24 April 2025
Ungraded inspection
Standards maintained - 20
15 January 2020
Full graded inspection
Outstanding overall effectivenessPersonal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 551 pupils
Attendance
92.3%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
7.7%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
19.4%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
3.1%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
3.7%
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 | 52.7 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 1.11 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 54% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 75% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 5.16 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 46.5 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 36.7% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 62.2% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 88.8% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.51 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 98 | — |
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.
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+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 98 | 16% | 40% | 64% | |
| English Language | 98 | 22% | 54% | 76% | |
| English Literature | 98 | 28% | 64% | 81% | |
| Combined Science | 82 | 6% | 37% | 61% | |
| Spanish | 73 | 10% | 33% | 63% | |
| Geography | 57 | 14% | 33% | 53% | |
| History | 41 | 32% | 68% | 76% | |
| Religious Studies | 36 | 28% | 67% | 78% | |
| Art and Design | 33 | 15% | 45% | 58% | |
| Drama | 31 | 6% | 35% | 65% | |
| Computer Science | 28 | 21% | 39% | 46% | |
| Physical Education | 25 | 0% | 16% | 52% |
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.