Cauldwell School
Edward Road, Bedford, MK42 9DR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HEART ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Judith Apps
- Sponsor
- Harpur Trust
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 415
- URN
- 144528
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234301400
About this school
Cauldwell School is a primary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 415 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Cauldwell School, 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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 59 | 53 | 53 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 53% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 72% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 72% | 92% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 80% | 83% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +3.10 | - | - |
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 Cauldwell 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 | 46% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 53% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 419 |
| 2023/24 | 417 |
| 2024/25 | 419 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cauldwell School compares
Cauldwell School ranked 7th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 4.3% | 26% | 415 | — |
| Shackleton Primary School | 54% | 5.9% | 37.3% | 487 | 0.5 miles |
| Camestone School | 48% | 4.6% | 11.8% | 408 | 0.7 miles |
| Priory Primary School | 50% | 6.1% | 25.1% | 214 | 0.8 miles |
| Queen's Park Academy | 61% | 5.5% | 36.8% | 446 | 0.9 miles |
| Westfield Primary School | 48% | 5.8% | 23% | 298 | 1.0 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)
- 26.01%
- English as an additional language
- 69%
- Overall absence
- 4.27%
- Persistent absence
- 10.03%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Shackleton Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Camestone School0.7 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Priory Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Queen's Park Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Westfield Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Cauldwell School ranks 7th 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
- Cotton End Forest School Primary
- Cranfield Church of England Academy Primary
- Edith Cavell Primary School Primary
- Elstow School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Cauldwell School teach?
- Cauldwell School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Cauldwell School?
- The headteacher of Cauldwell School is Mrs Judith Apps, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Cauldwell School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cauldwell 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 many pupils are at Cauldwell School?
- Cauldwell School has 415 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Cauldwell School full?
- Cauldwell School has capacity for 420 pupils and 415 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 Cauldwell School a faith school?
- No. Cauldwell School has no designated religious character.
- Does Cauldwell School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Cauldwell School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Cauldwell School part of an academy trust?
- Cauldwell School is part of HEART ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Cauldwell School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cauldwell School compare with other schools in Bedford?
- Cauldwell School ranked 7th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cauldwell School's absence rate?
- Cauldwell School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cauldwell School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cauldwell 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 10 July 2026.