Samuel Whitbread Academy
Shefford Road, Clifton, Shefford, SG17 5QS
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 13 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED
- Principal
- Mr Nicholas Martin
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Bedfordshire Schools Trust Limited
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Hitchin
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,657
- URN
- 137948
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01462629900
About this school
Samuel Whitbread Academy is a secondary academy in Shefford. It teaches children aged 13 to 18 and has 1,657 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Samuel Whitbread 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 3 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 393 | 401 | 396 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.8 | 47.1 | 46.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.18 -0.32 to -0.04 | -0.13 -0.27 to +0.01 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 49% | 50.9% | 48% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 69.8% | 72.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 16% | 11.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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 Samuel Whitbread 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 | 46.8 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.1 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.7 | 42.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,674 |
| 2023/24 | 1,670 |
| 2024/25 | 1,660 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Samuel Whitbread Academy compares
Samuel Whitbread Academy ranked 4th of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.7 | 10.6% | 12.6% | 1,657 | — |
| Henlow Church of England Academy | 42.7 | 8.4% | 18.5% | 599 | 1.6 miles |
| Stratton School | 38.9 | 10.2% | 21.4% | 917 | 4.5 miles |
| Edward Peake CofE VC School | — | 7% | 26.3% | 359 | 5.0 miles |
| Fearnhill School | 38.9 | 10.9% | 39.3% | 597 | 5.2 miles |
| The Priory School | 48.5 | 8.7% | 24.2% | 1,221 | 5.4 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)
- 12.61%
- English as an additional language
- 2.5%
- Overall absence
- 10.56%
- Persistent absence
- 27.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Henlow Church of England Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Henlow
-
Stratton School4.5 miles
Secondary · Biggleswade
-
Edward Peake CofE VC School5.0 miles
Secondary · Biggleswade
-
Fearnhill School5.2 miles
Secondary · Letchworth
-
The Priory School5.4 miles
Secondary · Hitchin
Other schools in Shefford
- Campton Academy Primary
- Meppershall Church of England Academy Primary
- Shefford Lower School Primary
- Robert Bloomfield Academy Middle deemed secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Samuel Whitbread Academy teach?
- Samuel Whitbread Academy teaches children aged 13 to 18. It is a secondary school in Shefford.
- Who is the principal of Samuel Whitbread Academy?
- The principal of Samuel Whitbread Academy is Mr Nicholas Martin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Samuel Whitbread Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Samuel Whitbread 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 Samuel Whitbread Academy?
- Samuel Whitbread Academy has 1,657 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 13 to 18.
- Is Samuel Whitbread Academy full?
- Samuel Whitbread Academy has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,657 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Samuel Whitbread Academy a faith school?
- No. Samuel Whitbread Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Samuel Whitbread Academy a selective school?
- No. Samuel Whitbread Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Samuel Whitbread Academy part of an academy trust?
- Samuel Whitbread Academy is part of BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Samuel Whitbread Academy have?
- The schools register lists Samuel Whitbread 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 Samuel Whitbread Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.8 in 2022/23 and 46.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Samuel Whitbread Academy compare with other schools in Central Bedfordshire?
- Samuel Whitbread Academy ranked 4th of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 64% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Samuel Whitbread Academy's absence rate?
- Samuel Whitbread Academy's overall absence rate is 10.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Samuel Whitbread Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Samuel Whitbread 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.