Mark Rutherford School
Wentworth Drive, Bedford, MK41 8PX
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MARK RUTHERFORD SCHOOL TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Kelli Foster
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,243
- Pupils on roll
- 1,150
- URN
- 139160
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234290200
About this school
Mark Rutherford School is a secondary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,150 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 197 | 234 | 220 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.9 | 45.4 | 41.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.03 -0.17 to +0.23 | -0.05 -0.23 to +0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 39% | 44% | 39.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 62.4% | 61.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 32% | 32.5% | 15% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
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 Mark Rutherford 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 | Bedford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.9 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.4 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.5 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,298 |
| 2023/24 | 1,259 |
| 2024/25 | 1,180 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Mark Rutherford School compares
Mark Rutherford School ranked 11th of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.5 | 9.1% | 27.1% | 1,150 | — |
| Goldington Academy | 54.3 | 6.1% | 22.9% | 958 | 1.1 miles |
| Castle Newnham School | 42.7 | 7.6% | 20.1% | 744 | 1.2 miles |
| St Thomas More Catholic School | 47 | 10.2% | 21.2% | 893 | 1.2 miles |
| Bedford Free School | 46.5 | 7.7% | 28.6% | 536 | 2.3 miles |
| Bedford Academy | 42.8 | 8.6% | 37.8% | 1,480 | 2.9 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 27.13%
- English as an additional language
- 13.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.13%
- Persistent absence
- 28.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Goldington Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Castle Newnham School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
St Thomas More Catholic School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Bedford Free School2.3 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Bedford Academy2.9 miles
Secondary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Mark Rutherford School ranks 12th 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
- 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 Mark Rutherford School teach?
- Mark Rutherford School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Mark Rutherford School?
- The headteacher of Mark Rutherford School is Headteacher Kelli Foster, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Mark Rutherford School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Mark Rutherford 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 big is Mark Rutherford School?
- Mark Rutherford School has 1,150 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Mark Rutherford School full?
- Mark Rutherford School has capacity for 1,243 pupils and 1,150 on roll (93%), 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 Mark Rutherford School a faith school?
- No. Mark Rutherford School has no designated religious character.
- Is Mark Rutherford School a selective school?
- No. Mark Rutherford School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Mark Rutherford School?
- Mark Rutherford School is part of MARK RUTHERFORD SCHOOL TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Mark Rutherford School have?
- The schools register lists Mark Rutherford School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Mark Rutherford School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.9 in 2022/23 and 41.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Mark Rutherford School rank locally?
- Mark Rutherford School ranked 11th of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 44% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Mark Rutherford School's absence rate?
- Mark Rutherford School's overall absence rate is 9.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Mark Rutherford School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Mark Rutherford 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.