Parkfields Middle School
Park Road, Toddington, Dunstable, LU5 6AB
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE PYRAMID SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr James Hughes
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 452
- Pupils on roll
- 460
- URN
- 147804
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01525872555
About this school
Parkfields Middle School is a middle academy in Dunstable. It teaches children aged 9 to 13 and has 460 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Parkfields Middle School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 | 117 | 118 | 115 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 36% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 78% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 59% | 72% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 67% | 72% | 59% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.70 | - | - |
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 Parkfields 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 | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50% | 47.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 36% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 458 |
| 2023/24 | 460 |
| 2024/25 | 467 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Parkfields Middle School compares
Parkfields Middle School ranked 31st of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% 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 | 50% | 6.4% | 10.5% | 460 | — |
| Woodland Middle School Academy | 39% | 5.6% | 16.4% | 645 | 3.9 miles |
| Arnold Academy | 60% | 6.1% | 11.9% | 704 | 5.0 miles |
| Gilbert Inglefield Academy | — | — | — | — | 5.0 miles |
| Brooklands Middle School | 48% | 5.9% | 17.6% | 598 | 5.3 miles |
| Alameda Middle School | 51% | 6.2% | 11.9% | 720 | 5.6 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)
- 10.49%
- English as an additional language
- 3.4%
- Overall absence
- 6.38%
- Persistent absence
- 16.63%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Woodland Middle School Academy3.9 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Bedford
-
Arnold Academy5.0 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Bedford
-
Gilbert Inglefield Academy5.0 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Leighton Buzzard
-
Brooklands Middle School5.3 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Leighton Buzzard
-
Alameda Middle School5.6 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Bedford
Other schools in Dunstable
Parkfields Middle School ranks 11th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Dunstable.
- Westfield Nursery School Nursery
- Willow Nursery School Nursery
- Ardley Hill Academy Primary
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School Primary
- Beecroft Academy Primary
- Dunstable Icknield Lower School Primary
- Eaton Bray Academy Primary
- Edlesborough Primary Academy Primary
- Hadrian Academy Primary
- Harlington Lower School Primary
- Houghton Regis Primary School Primary
- Kensworth Church of England Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Parkfields Middle School teach?
- Parkfields Middle School teaches children aged 9 to 13. It is a middle school in Dunstable.
- Who is the headteacher of Parkfields Middle School?
- The headteacher of Parkfields Middle School is Mr James Hughes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Parkfields Middle School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Parkfields 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 many pupils are at Parkfields Middle School?
- Parkfields Middle School has 460 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 13.
- Is Parkfields Middle School full?
- Parkfields Middle School has capacity for 452 pupils and 460 on roll (102%), so it is at or above 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 Parkfields Middle School a faith school?
- No. Parkfields Middle School has no designated religious character.
- Is Parkfields Middle School part of an academy trust?
- Parkfields Middle School is part of THE PYRAMID SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Parkfields Middle School have?
- The schools register lists Parkfields Middle School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Parkfields Middle School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Parkfields Middle School compare with other schools in Central Bedfordshire?
- Parkfields Middle School ranked 31st of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% 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 Parkfields Middle School's absence rate?
- Parkfields Middle School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Parkfields Middle School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Parkfields 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.