Harlington Upper School
Goswell End Road, Harlington, Dunstable, LU5 6NX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 13 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE PYRAMID SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Harris
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,360
- Pupils on roll
- 1,156
- URN
- 137941
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01525755100
About this school
Harlington Upper School is a secondary academy in Dunstable. It teaches children aged 13 to 18 and has 1,156 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Harlington Upper School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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 | 305 | 313 | 279 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.5 | 44.4 | 47.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.24 -0.40 to -0.08 | -0.34 -0.49 to -0.18 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% | 44.4% | 48.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 68.7% | 75.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 30% | 33.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.2 |
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 Harlington Upper 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 | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46.5 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.4 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.8 | 42.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,209 |
| 2023/24 | 1,248 |
| 2024/25 | 1,198 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harlington Upper School compares
Harlington Upper School ranked 3rd of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.8 | 7.8% | 12.9% | 1,156 | — |
| Lealands High School | 44.3 | 6.8% | 35% | 1,025 | 3.4 miles |
| Redborne Upper School and Community College | 46.6 | 8.4% | 13.9% | 1,657 | 3.6 miles |
| Lea Manor High School | 36.3 | 9.5% | 43.7% | 916 | 3.7 miles |
| Houstone School | 46.1 | 7.4% | 29.4% | 765 | 3.8 miles |
| Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College | 50 | 6.6% | 18.8% | 1,655 | 4.2 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)
- 12.91%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.77%
- Persistent absence
- 19.59%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lealands High School3.4 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Redborne Upper School and Community College3.6 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Lea Manor High School3.7 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Houstone School3.8 miles
Secondary · Dunstable
-
Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College4.2 miles
Secondary · Luton
Other schools in Dunstable
Harlington Upper School ranks 1st of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Dunstable.
- All Saints Academy Dunstable Secondary
- Houstone School Secondary
- Queensbury Academy Secondary
- Westfield Nursery School Nursery
- Willow Nursery School Nursery
- Ardley Hill Academy Primary
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School Primary
- Beecroft Academy Primary
- Dunstable Icknield Lower School Primary
- Eaton Bray Academy Primary
- Edlesborough Primary Academy Primary
- Hadrian Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Harlington Upper School teach?
- Harlington Upper School teaches children aged 13 to 18. It is a secondary school in Dunstable.
- Who is the headteacher of Harlington Upper School?
- The headteacher of Harlington Upper School is Mrs Helen Harris, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Harlington Upper School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harlington Upper School, 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 Harlington Upper School?
- Harlington Upper School has 1,156 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 13 to 18.
- Is Harlington Upper School full?
- Harlington Upper School has capacity for 1,360 pupils and 1,156 on roll (85%), 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 Harlington Upper School a faith school?
- No. Harlington Upper School has no designated religious character.
- Is Harlington Upper School a selective school?
- No. Harlington Upper School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Harlington Upper School part of an academy trust?
- Harlington Upper School is part of THE PYRAMID SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Harlington Upper School have?
- The schools register lists Harlington Upper School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Harlington Upper School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.5 in 2022/23 and 47.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harlington Upper School compare with other schools in Central Bedfordshire?
- Harlington Upper School ranked 3rd of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 68% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harlington Upper School's absence rate?
- Harlington Upper School's overall absence rate is 7.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harlington Upper School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harlington Upper 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 July 2026.