Marston Vale Middle School
The Crescent, Stewartby, Bedford, MK43 9NH
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CHILTERN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Wathen
- Sponsor
- Chiltern Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 609
- Pupils on roll
- 563
- URN
- 145861
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234768224
About this school
Marston Vale Middle School is a middle academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 9 to 13 and has 563 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 148 | 142 | 159 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 38% | 54% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 1% | 2% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% | 62% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 66% | 59% | 62% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 61% | 57% | 59% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 101.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
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 Marston Vale Middle 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 | 54% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 38% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 54% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 580 |
| 2023/24 | 599 |
| 2024/25 | 571 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Marston Vale Middle School compares
Marston Vale Middle School ranked 32nd of 51 primary schools in Bedford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54% | 6.4% | 21.5% | 563 | — |
| Alameda Middle School | 51% | 6.2% | 11.9% | 720 | 2.8 miles |
| Holywell School | 27% | 5.7% | 17.6% | 668 | 3.9 miles |
| Woodland Middle School Academy | 39% | 5.6% | 16.4% | 645 | 4.5 miles |
| Robert Bloomfield Academy | 42% | 5.3% | 14.3% | 962 | 7.6 miles |
| Parkfields Middle School | 50% | 6.4% | 10.5% | 460 | 8.2 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)
- 21.54%
- English as an additional language
- 5.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.36%
- Persistent absence
- 18.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Alameda Middle School2.8 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Bedford
-
Holywell School3.9 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Bedford
-
Woodland Middle School Academy4.5 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Bedford
-
Robert Bloomfield Academy7.6 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Shefford
-
Parkfields Middle School8.2 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Dunstable
Other schools in Bedford
Marston Vale Middle School ranks 31st of the 53 ranked primary schools in Bedford.
- Alameda Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- Arnold Academy Middle deemed secondary
- Holywell School Middle deemed secondary
- Woodland Middle School Academy Middle deemed secondary
- Cherry Trees Nursery School Nursery
- Peter Pan Nursery School Nursery
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Marston Vale Middle School teach?
- Marston Vale Middle School teaches children aged 9 to 13. It is a middle school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Marston Vale Middle School?
- The headteacher of Marston Vale Middle School is Mr Simon Wathen, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Marston Vale Middle School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Marston Vale Middle 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 big is Marston Vale Middle School?
- Marston Vale Middle School has 563 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 13.
- Is Marston Vale Middle School full?
- Marston Vale Middle School has capacity for 609 pupils and 563 on roll (92%), 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 Marston Vale Middle School a faith school?
- No. Marston Vale Middle School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Marston Vale Middle School?
- Marston Vale Middle School 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.
- How have Marston Vale Middle School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 54% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Marston Vale Middle School rank locally?
- Marston Vale Middle School ranked 32nd of 51 primary schools in Bedford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 28% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Marston Vale Middle School's absence rate?
- Marston Vale Middle School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Marston Vale Middle School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Marston Vale Middle 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.