Wixams Academy
Green Lane, Wixams, Bedford, MK42 6BA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- KNOWLEDGE SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Nathaniel Wilson
- Sponsor
- Knowledge Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,750
- Pupils on roll
- 903
- URN
- 144595
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234608950
About this school
Wixams Academy is a secondary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 903 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 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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- 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 | 114 | 171 | 168 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.6 | 46.1 | 47.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.19 -0.07 to +0.46 | +0.23 +0.02 to +0.44 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 51% | 49.7% | 52.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 72% | 69.6% | 73.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 50% | 44.4% | 51.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
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 Wixams 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 | 47.6 | 38 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.1 | 38.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47.5 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 802 |
| 2023/24 | 926 |
| 2024/25 | 933 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Wixams Academy compares
Wixams Academy ranked 3rd of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47.5 | 9.9% | 21.1% | 903 | — |
| Daubeney Academy | 38.5 | 6.8% | 26.7% | 576 | 2.0 miles |
| Bedford Academy | 42.8 | 8.6% | 37.8% | 1,480 | 2.3 miles |
| Kempston Academy | 40.3 | 8.7% | 30% | 773 | 2.3 miles |
| Wootton Academy | 44.3 | 9.3% | 19.7% | 822 | 3.1 miles |
| Bedford Free School | 46.5 | 7.7% | 28.6% | 536 | 3.1 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 March 2026
- 5 March 2024
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.1%
- English as an additional language
- 17.1%
- Overall absence
- 9.93%
- Persistent absence
- 27.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Daubeney Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Bedford Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Kempston Academy2.3 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Wootton Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Bedford Free School3.1 miles
Secondary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Wixams Academy ranks 3rd 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
- Kempston 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Wixams Academy teach?
- Wixams Academy teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Wixams Academy?
- The headteacher of Wixams Academy is Mr Nathaniel Wilson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Wixams Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Wixams 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 Wixams Academy?
- Wixams Academy has 903 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Wixams Academy full?
- Wixams Academy has capacity for 1,750 pupils and 903 on roll (52%), 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 Wixams Academy a faith school?
- No. Wixams Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Wixams Academy?
- Wixams Academy is part of KNOWLEDGE SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Wixams Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.6 in 2022/23 and 47.5 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Wixams Academy rank locally?
- Wixams Academy ranked 3rd of 13 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 67% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Wixams Academy's absence rate?
- Wixams Academy's overall absence rate is 9.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Wixams Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Wixams 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 10 July 2026.