Sharnbrook Academy
Odell Road, Sharnbrook, Bedford, MK44 1JL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MERIDIAN TRUST
- Head of School
- Clare Keating - Roberts
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Meridian Trust
- Constituency
- North Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,950
- Pupils on roll
- 1,684
- URN
- 136470
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234782211
About this school
Sharnbrook Academy is a secondary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,684 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sharnbrook Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 265 | 254 | 263 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.4 | 51.1 | 51.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.09 -0.08 to +0.26 | +0.17 -0.01 to +0.34 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 53.9% | 58.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 71% | 74.8% | 77.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 30% | 46.1% | 46% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
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 Sharnbrook 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 | 47.4 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.1 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.6 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,741 |
| 2023/24 | 1,670 |
| 2024/25 | 1,685 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sharnbrook Academy compares
Sharnbrook Academy ranked 2nd of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.6 | 8% | 12.8% | 1,684 | — |
| Lincroft Academy | 45 | 7.9% | 14.8% | 923 | 4.1 miles |
| Wollaston School | 46.1 | 9% | 16.1% | 1,432 | 5.0 miles |
| Rushden Academy | 41.6 | 9.3% | 25.7% | 961 | 5.6 miles |
| The Ferrers School | 38.9 | 10.2% | 20.1% | 937 | 5.7 miles |
| St Thomas More Catholic School | 47 | 10.2% | 21.2% | 893 | 5.8 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)
- 12.78%
- English as an additional language
- 8.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.95%
- Persistent absence
- 22.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lincroft Academy4.1 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Wollaston School5.0 miles
Secondary · Wellingborough
-
Rushden Academy5.6 miles
Secondary · Rushden
-
The Ferrers School5.7 miles
Secondary · Rushden
-
St Thomas More Catholic School5.8 miles
Secondary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Sharnbrook Academy ranks 2nd of the 14 ranked secondary 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
- St Thomas More Catholic School Secondary
- Wixams Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Sharnbrook Academy teach?
- Sharnbrook Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bedford.
- Who is the head of school of Sharnbrook Academy?
- The head of school of Sharnbrook Academy is Clare Keating - Roberts, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sharnbrook Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sharnbrook 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 many pupils are at Sharnbrook Academy?
- Sharnbrook Academy has 1,684 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Sharnbrook Academy full?
- Sharnbrook Academy has capacity for 1,950 pupils and 1,684 on roll (86%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Sharnbrook Academy a faith school?
- No. Sharnbrook Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Sharnbrook Academy a selective school?
- No. Sharnbrook Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Sharnbrook Academy part of an academy trust?
- Sharnbrook Academy is part of MERIDIAN TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Sharnbrook Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.4 in 2022/23 and 51.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sharnbrook Academy compare with other schools in Bedford?
- Sharnbrook Academy ranked 2nd of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 80% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 17% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sharnbrook Academy's absence rate?
- Sharnbrook Academy's overall absence rate is 8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sharnbrook Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sharnbrook 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 2 July 2026.