Grange Academy
Halsey Road, Kempston, Bedford, MK42 8AU
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 5 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- BEDFORD INCLUSIVE LEARNING AND TRAINING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachel Timms
- Religious ethos
- None
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 162
- Pupils on roll
- 161
- URN
- 139374
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234407100
About this school
Grange Academy is a special academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 5 to 18 and has 161 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
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
- 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 | 13 | 18 | 10 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -9.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -7.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -10.20 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 11 | 16 | 14 |
| Attainment 8 score | 3.9 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.20 -2.04 to -0.37 | -1.34 -2.05 to -0.62 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
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 Grange 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 | 0% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Bedford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.9 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 2.5 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 2.6 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 136 |
| 2023/24 | 149 |
| 2024/25 | 152 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 44.74%
- English as an additional language
- 8.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.61%
- Persistent absence
- 15.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Rivertree Free School0.3 miles
Free Schools · Bedford
-
Greys Education Centre0.5 miles
Academies · Bedford
-
St John's School0.5 miles
Academies · Bedford
-
Ridgeway School1.2 miles
Special schools · Bedford
-
Polam School1.5 miles
Independent schools · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
- Cambian Walnut Tree Lodge School Special schools
- Greys Education Centre Academies
- Ridgeway School Special schools
- Rivertree Free School Free Schools
- St John's School Academies
- Cherry Trees Nursery School Nursery
- Peter Pan Nursery School Nursery
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Bedford Road Primary Academy Primary
- Brickhill Primary School Primary
- Broadmead Lower School Primary
- Bromham CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Grange Academy teach?
- Grange Academy teaches children aged 5 to 18. It is a special school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Grange Academy?
- The headteacher of Grange Academy is Mrs Rachel Timms, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Grange Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Grange 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 big is Grange Academy?
- Grange Academy has 161 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 18.
- Is Grange Academy full?
- Grange Academy has capacity for 162 pupils and 161 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Grange Academy a faith school?
- No. Grange Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Grange Academy?
- Grange Academy is part of BEDFORD INCLUSIVE LEARNING AND TRAINING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Grange Academy have?
- The schools register lists Grange Academy's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Grange Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Grange Academy's absence rate?
- Grange Academy's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Grange Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Grange 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.