Castle Newnham School
Polhill Avenue, Bedford, MK41 9DT
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
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sara Levesley
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- (England/Wales) Urban city and town
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 719
- URN
- 109661
- Local authority
- Bedford
About this school
Castle Newnham School was a foundation secondary school in Bedford. It taught children aged 11 to 16 and had 719 pupils on roll.
Ofsted did not inspect it under the current framework.
Ofsted judgement
Castle Newnham School has not been inspected by Ofsted yet. It opened in its current form in September 1960, and new or converted schools usually wait a few years for their first inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 148 | 115 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.9 | 40.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.34 -0.58 to -0.11 | -0.01 -0.28 to +0.26 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 33% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 59.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 80% | 82.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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 | 40.9 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.7 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | — | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | — | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 711 |
| 2023/24 | 719 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Castle Newnham School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2023/24.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 7.7% | 19.2% | 719 | — |
| Castle Newnham School | 42.7 | 7.6% | 20.1% | 744 | 0.0 miles |
| Goldington Academy | 54.3 | 6.1% | 22.9% | 958 | 0.4 miles |
| Bedford Free School | 46.5 | 7.7% | 28.6% | 536 | 1.1 miles |
| Mark Rutherford School | 41.5 | 9.1% | 27.1% | 1,150 | 1.2 miles |
| St Thomas More Catholic School | 47 | 10.2% | 21.2% | 893 | 1.2 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)
- 19.2%
- English as an additional language
- 22.3%
- Overall absence
- 7.7%
- Persistent absence
- 21.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Castle Newnham School0.0 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Goldington Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Bedford Free School1.1 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Mark Rutherford School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
St Thomas More Catholic School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
- Bedford Academy Secondary
- Bedford Free School Secondary
- Biddenham International School and Sports College Secondary
- Castle Newnham School Secondary
- Daubeney Academy Secondary
- Goldington Academy Secondary
- Kempston Academy Secondary
- Lincroft Academy Secondary
- Mark Rutherford School Secondary
- Redborne Upper School and Community College Secondary
- Sharnbrook Academy Secondary
- St Thomas More Catholic School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Castle Newnham School teach?
- Castle Newnham School taught children aged 11 to 16. It was a secondary 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 719 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- How have Castle Newnham School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.9 in 2022/23 and 40.7 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.