Castle Newnham School
Goldington Road, Bedford, MK40 3EP
This school is closed (it closed in August 2024).
It was replaced by Castle Newnham School. That page has the school's current information.
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Federation Principal
- Mrs Kat Edwards
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- (England/Wales) Urban city and town
- Capacity
- 630
- Pupils on roll
- 659
- URN
- 109435
- Local authority
- Bedford
About this school
Castle Newnham School was a foundation primary school in Bedford. It taught children aged 4 to 11 and had 659 pupils on roll.
Ofsted did not inspect it under the current framework.
Ofsted judgement
Castle Newnham School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 86 | 88 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 51% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 1% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 86% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.90 | - |
| Writing progress | -3.10 | - |
| Maths progress | +1.10 | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Castle Newnham School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bedford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | — | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | — | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 679 |
| 2023/24 | 659 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Castle Newnham School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 77% of England schools in 2023/24.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.6% | 9.8% | 659 | — |
| Castle Newnham School | 67% | 4.6% | 9.3% | 624 | 0.0 miles |
| St John Rigby Catholic Primary School | 49% | 4.7% | 11.8% | 268 | 0.4 miles |
| Hazeldene School | 75% | 3.7% | 17% | 443 | 0.8 miles |
| The Hills Academy | 63% | 3.8% | 13.4% | 442 | 0.8 miles |
| Priory Primary School | 50% | 6.1% | 25.1% | 214 | 0.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2023/24 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 9.8%
- English as an additional language
- 17.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.6%
- Persistent absence
- 10%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Castle Newnham School0.0 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
St John Rigby Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Hazeldene School0.8 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
The Hills Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Priory Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Bedford Road Primary Academy Primary
- Brickhill Primary School Primary
- Broadmead Lower School Primary
- Bromham CofE Primary School Primary
- Camestone School Primary
- Carlton CofE Primary School Primary
- Castle Newnham School Primary
- Cauldwell School Primary
- Cotton End Forest School Primary
- Cranfield Church of England Academy Primary
- Edith Cavell Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Castle Newnham School teach?
- Castle Newnham School taught children aged 4 to 11. It was a primary school in Bedford.
- Has Castle Newnham School been inspected?
- Ofsted has not inspected Castle Newnham School under its current framework, so no current judgement is shown. That is common for newer schools and is not a mark against a school.
- How big is Castle Newnham School?
- Castle Newnham School had 659 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- How have Castle Newnham School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 51% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2023/24. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What are Castle Newnham School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Castle Newnham School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 September 2024.