Biggleswade Academy
Mead End, Biggleswade, SG18 8JU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LIFE ACADEMIES TRUST
- Academy Principal
- Mr Mark Steer
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- North Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 957
- Pupils on roll
- 839
- URN
- 137947
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01767660515
About this school
Biggleswade Academy is a primary academy in Biggleswade. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 839 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Biggleswade 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
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
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 134 | 138 | 124 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% | 72% | 57% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 3% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 79% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 79% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 84% | 81% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.60 | - | - |
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 Biggleswade 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 | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 67% | 47.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 72% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 57% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,198 |
| 2023/24 | 1,168 |
| 2024/25 | 875 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Biggleswade Academy compares
Biggleswade Academy ranked 25th of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 57% | 5.4% | 14.4% | 839 | — |
| Lawnside Academy | — | 6.9% | 25% | 283 | 0.6 miles |
| St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School | — | 4.6% | 10.3% | 945 | 0.9 miles |
| Langford Village Academy | 62% | 5% | 15.3% | 295 | 1.6 miles |
| Caldecote Church of England Academy | — | 12.9% | 33.8% | 85 | 2.2 miles |
| Dunton CofE Junior School | — | 3.4% | 12% | 66 | 2.4 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)
- 14.38%
- English as an additional language
- 11.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.44%
- Persistent absence
- 12.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lawnside Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Biggleswade
-
St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Biggleswade
-
Langford Village Academy1.6 miles
Primary · Biggleswade
-
Caldecote Church of England Academy2.2 miles
Primary · Biggleswade
-
Dunton CofE Junior School2.4 miles
Primary · Biggleswade
Other schools in Biggleswade
- Caldecote Church of England Academy Primary
- Dunton CofE Junior School Primary
- Langford Village Academy Primary
- Lawnside Academy Primary
- Northill CofE Academy Primary
- Southill Lower School Primary
- St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School Primary
- Edward Peake CofE VC School Secondary
- Stratton School Secondary
- Ivel Valley School & College Special schools
- OneSchool Global UK - Biggleswade Campus Independent schools
Common questions
- What ages does Biggleswade Academy teach?
- Biggleswade Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Biggleswade.
- Who is the academy principal of Biggleswade Academy?
- The academy principal of Biggleswade Academy is Mr Mark Steer, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Biggleswade Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Biggleswade 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 Biggleswade Academy?
- Biggleswade Academy has 839 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Biggleswade Academy full?
- Biggleswade Academy has capacity for 957 pupils and 839 on roll (88%), 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 Biggleswade Academy a faith school?
- No. Biggleswade Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Biggleswade Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Biggleswade Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Biggleswade Academy part of an academy trust?
- Biggleswade Academy is part of LIFE ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Biggleswade Academy have?
- The schools register lists Biggleswade Academy's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Biggleswade Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 67% in 2022/23 and 57% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Biggleswade Academy compare with other schools in Central Bedfordshire?
- Biggleswade Academy ranked 25th of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 34% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Biggleswade Academy's absence rate?
- Biggleswade Academy's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Biggleswade Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Biggleswade 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 1 July 2026.