Kempston Academy
Hill Rise, Kempston, Bedford, MK42 7EB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul House
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Chiltern Learning Trust
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 982
- Pupils on roll
- 773
- URN
- 142387
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234290900
About this school
Kempston Academy is a secondary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 773 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 16 October 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 75 | 143 | 166 |
| Attainment 8 score | 35.5 | 37.3 | 40.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.20 -0.58 to +0.18 | -0.09 -0.33 to +0.16 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 19% | 32.2% | 35.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 48% | 54.5% | 54.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 59.4% | 35.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 3.3 | 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 Kempston 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 | 35.5 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 37.3 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.3 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 733 |
| 2023/24 | 834 |
| 2024/25 | 824 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kempston Academy compares
Kempston Academy ranked 12th of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.3 | 8.7% | 30% | 773 | — |
| Daubeney Academy | 38.5 | 6.8% | 26.7% | 576 | 1.1 miles |
| Wootton Academy | 44.3 | 9.3% | 19.7% | 822 | 1.7 miles |
| Biddenham International School and Sports College | 42.1 | 8.8% | 35.3% | 1,422 | 1.9 miles |
| Wixams Academy | 47.5 | 9.9% | 21.1% | 903 | 2.3 miles |
| Bedford Free School | 46.5 | 7.7% | 28.6% | 536 | 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)
- 29.95%
- English as an additional language
- 26.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.65%
- Persistent absence
- 24.42%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Daubeney Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Wootton Academy1.7 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Biddenham International School and Sports College1.9 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Wixams Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Bedford Free School2.4 miles
Secondary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Kempston Academy ranks 13th 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
- Lincroft Academy Secondary
- Mark Rutherford School 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 Kempston Academy teach?
- Kempston Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Kempston Academy?
- The headteacher of Kempston Academy is Mr Paul House, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Kempston Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kempston 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 Kempston Academy?
- Kempston Academy has 773 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Kempston Academy full?
- Kempston Academy has capacity for 982 pupils and 773 on roll (79%), 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 Kempston Academy a faith school?
- No. Kempston Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Kempston Academy a selective school?
- No. Kempston Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Kempston Academy?
- Kempston Academy is part of CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Kempston Academy have?
- The schools register lists Kempston Academy's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Kempston Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 35.5 in 2022/23 and 40.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kempston Academy rank locally?
- Kempston Academy ranked 12th of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 39% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Kempston Academy's absence rate?
- Kempston Academy's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kempston Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kempston 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 2 July 2026.