Manshead Church of England Academy
Dunstable Road, Caddington, Luton, LU1 4BB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- DIOCESE OF ST ALBANS MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Wajid Tufiq
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of St Albans
- Sponsor
- Diocese of St Albans
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Luton South and South Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,134
- URN
- 144342
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582679400
About this school
Manshead Church of England Academy is a Church of England secondary academy in Luton. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,134 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Manshead Church of England 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
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
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 192 | 205 | 180 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.6 | 40.8 | 43.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.40 -0.61 to -0.20 | -0.53 -0.72 to -0.33 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 36.1% | 37.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 57.1% | 55.6% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 12% | 11.7% | 11.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.6 |
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 Manshead Church of England 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 | 39.6 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.8 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43 | 42.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,095 |
| 2023/24 | 1,118 |
| 2024/25 | 1,146 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Manshead Church of England Academy compares
Manshead Church of England Academy ranked 8th of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 | 43 | 10.5% | 19.9% | 1,134 | — |
| Queensbury Academy | 40 | 8.7% | 14.6% | 1,093 | 1.4 miles |
| The Chalk Hills Academy | 45.7 | 8.7% | 35.1% | 1,644 | 1.6 miles |
| Challney High School for Boys | 47.7 | 7% | 28.4% | 1,197 | 1.9 miles |
| All Saints Academy Dunstable | 36.9 | 8.6% | 34.7% | 520 | 2.1 miles |
| Challney High School for Girls | 50.1 | 6.3% | 30.3% | 1,062 | 2.1 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
-
Graded inspection report3 February 2026
- 15 September 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.92%
- English as an additional language
- 19.9%
- Overall absence
- 10.5%
- Persistent absence
- 31.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Queensbury Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Dunstable
-
The Chalk Hills Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
Challney High School for Boys1.9 miles
Secondary · Luton
-
All Saints Academy Dunstable2.1 miles
Secondary · Dunstable
-
Challney High School for Girls2.1 miles
Secondary · Luton
Other schools in Luton
Manshead Church of England Academy ranks 10th of the 14 ranked secondary schools in Luton.
- Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College Secondary
- Challney High School for Boys Secondary
- Challney High School for Girls Secondary
- Chiltern Academy Secondary
- Denbigh High School Secondary
- Icknield High School Secondary
- Lea Manor High School Secondary
- Lealands High School Secondary
- Putteridge High School Secondary
- Queen Elizabeth School Secondary
- Stopsley High School Secondary
- The Chalk Hills Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Manshead Church of England Academy teach?
- Manshead Church of England Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Luton.
- Who is the headteacher of Manshead Church of England Academy?
- The headteacher of Manshead Church of England Academy is Mr Wajid Tufiq, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Manshead Church of England Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Manshead Church of England 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 Manshead Church of England Academy?
- Manshead Church of England Academy has 1,134 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Manshead Church of England Academy full?
- Manshead Church of England Academy has capacity for 1,350 pupils and 1,134 on roll (84%), 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 Manshead Church of England Academy a faith school?
- Yes. Manshead Church of England Academy is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of St Albans.
- Is Manshead Church of England Academy a selective school?
- No. Manshead Church of England Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Manshead Church of England Academy part of an academy trust?
- Manshead Church of England Academy is part of DIOCESE OF ST ALBANS MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Manshead Church of England Academy have?
- The schools register lists Manshead Church of England 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 Manshead Church of England Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39.6 in 2022/23 and 43 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Manshead Church of England Academy compare with other schools in Central Bedfordshire?
- Manshead Church of England Academy ranked 8th of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 49% 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 Manshead Church of England Academy's absence rate?
- Manshead Church of England Academy's overall absence rate is 10.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Manshead Church of England Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Manshead Church of England 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.