The Hills Academy
Stancliffe Road, Bedford, MK41 9AT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE HILLS ACADEMY
- Headteacher
- Mrs Moya Whitehead
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 442
- URN
- 139522
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234266498
About this school
The Hills Academy is a primary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 442 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Hills 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
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 53 | 61 | 62 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 72% | 63% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 6% | 10% | 10% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 85% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 87% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 87% | 81% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 107.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +4.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +5.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +5.40 | - | - |
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 The Hills 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 | 60% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 72% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 63% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 441 |
| 2023/24 | 447 |
| 2024/25 | 440 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Hills Academy compares
The Hills Academy ranked 16th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63% | 3.8% | 13.4% | 442 | — |
| Hazeldene School | 75% | 3.7% | 17% | 443 | 0.0 miles |
| St John Rigby Catholic Primary School | 49% | 4.7% | 11.8% | 268 | 0.4 miles |
| Brickhill Primary School | 57% | 4.8% | 17.8% | 209 | 0.6 miles |
| Putnoe Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 39.8% | 494 | 0.7 miles |
| Castle Newnham School | 67% | 4.6% | 9.3% | 624 | 0.8 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
-
Ungraded inspection report12 March 2025
- 5 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 13.37%
- English as an additional language
- 21.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.8%
- Persistent absence
- 6.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hazeldene School0.0 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
St John Rigby Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Brickhill Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Putnoe Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Castle Newnham School0.8 miles
Primary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
The Hills Academy ranks 14th of the 53 ranked primary schools in Bedford.
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Bedford Road Primary Academy Primary
- Brickhill Primary School Primary
- Broadmead Lower School Primary
- Bromham CofE Primary School Primary
- Camestone School Primary
- Carlton CofE Primary School Primary
- Castle Newnham School Primary
- Cauldwell School Primary
- Cotton End Forest School Primary
- Cranfield Church of England Academy Primary
- Edith Cavell Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Hills Academy teach?
- The Hills Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of The Hills Academy?
- The headteacher of The Hills Academy is Mrs Moya Whitehead, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Hills Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Hills 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 The Hills Academy?
- The Hills Academy has 442 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Hills Academy full?
- The Hills Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 442 on roll (105%), 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 The Hills Academy a faith school?
- No. The Hills Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does The Hills Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Hills Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is The Hills Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Hills Academy is part of THE HILLS ACADEMY. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Hills Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 63% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Hills Academy compare with other schools in Bedford?
- The Hills Academy ranked 16th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 47% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 87% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Hills Academy's absence rate?
- The Hills Academy's overall absence rate is 3.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Hills Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Hills 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.