Bedford Academy
Mile Road, Bedford, MK42 9TR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HEART ACADEMIES TRUST
- Head Teacher
- Mr Chris Deller
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Harpur Trust
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,500
- Pupils on roll
- 1,480
- URN
- 136085
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234301500
About this school
Bedford Academy is a secondary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,480 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 205 | 206 | 217 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.8 | 43.4 | 42.8 |
| Progress 8 score | 0.00 -0.21 to +0.20 | +0.43 +0.23 to +0.63 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 35.4% | 37.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 50% | 55.3% | 57.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 36% | 48.5% | 48.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Bedford Academy 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 | 38.8 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.4 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.8 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,309 |
| 2023/24 | 1,332 |
| 2024/25 | 1,375 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bedford Academy compares
Bedford Academy ranked 8th of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.8 | 8.6% | 37.8% | 1,480 | — |
| Bedford Free School | 46.5 | 7.7% | 28.6% | 536 | 1.1 miles |
| Daubeney Academy | 38.5 | 6.8% | 26.7% | 576 | 1.4 miles |
| Goldington Academy | 54.3 | 6.1% | 22.9% | 958 | 1.8 miles |
| Castle Newnham School | 42.7 | 7.6% | 20.1% | 744 | 1.9 miles |
| Biddenham International School and Sports College | 42.1 | 8.8% | 35.3% | 1,422 | 2.2 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 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 37.75%
- English as an additional language
- 39.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.56%
- Persistent absence
- 25.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bedford Free School1.1 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Daubeney Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Goldington Academy1.8 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Castle Newnham School1.9 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Biddenham International School and Sports College2.2 miles
Secondary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Bedford Academy ranks 9th of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Bedford.
- 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
- Wixams Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bedford Academy teach?
- Bedford Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bedford.
- Who is the head teacher of Bedford Academy?
- The head teacher of Bedford Academy is Mr Chris Deller, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bedford Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bedford Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Bedford Academy?
- Bedford Academy has 1,480 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Bedford Academy full?
- Bedford Academy has capacity for 1,500 pupils and 1,480 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Bedford Academy a faith school?
- No. Bedford Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Bedford Academy a selective school?
- No. Bedford Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Bedford Academy?
- Bedford Academy is part of HEART ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Bedford Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.8 in 2022/23 and 42.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Bedford Academy rank locally?
- Bedford Academy ranked 8th of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bedford Academy's absence rate?
- Bedford Academy's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bedford Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bedford Academy'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 8 July 2026.