Bedford Road Primary Academy
Hillgrounds Road, Kempston, Bedford, MK42 8QH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- KNOWLEDGE SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Alex Holdsworth
- Sponsor
- Knowledge Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 365
- URN
- 150474
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234851011
About this school
Bedford Road Primary Academy is a primary academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 365 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Bedford Road Primary Academy, 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
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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 59 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 54% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 61% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 |
Trends over time
How Bedford Road Primary 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 392 |
| 2024/25 | 373 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Bedford Road Primary Academy compares
Bedford Road Primary Academy ranked 43rd of 51 primary schools in Bedford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46% | 5.4% | 30% | 365 | — |
| Camestone School | 48% | 4.6% | 11.8% | 408 | 0.5 miles |
| Balliol Primary School | 39% | 4.7% | 35.5% | 355 | 0.5 miles |
| Springfield Primary School | 51% | 5.6% | 32.8% | 365 | 0.6 miles |
| Kempston Rural Primary School | 67% | 4.3% | 14.3% | 439 | 0.9 miles |
| Great Denham Primary School | 72% | 4.3% | 16% | 677 | 0.9 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 report9 December 2025
- 4 May 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.03%
- English as an additional language
- 33%
- Overall absence
- 5.44%
- Persistent absence
- 16.96%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Camestone School0.5 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Balliol Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Springfield Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Kempston Rural Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Kempston
-
Great Denham Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Bedford Road Primary Academy ranks 42nd of the 53 ranked primary schools in Bedford.
- Balliol Primary School 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
- Cauldwell 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 Bedford Road Primary Academy teach?
- Bedford Road Primary Academy teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Bedford Road Primary Academy?
- The headteacher of Bedford Road Primary Academy is Mr Alex Holdsworth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Bedford Road Primary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bedford Road Primary 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 Bedford Road Primary Academy?
- Bedford Road Primary Academy has 365 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is Bedford Road Primary Academy full?
- Bedford Road Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 365 on roll (87%), 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 Bedford Road Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Bedford Road Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Bedford Road Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Bedford Road Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Bedford Road Primary Academy part of an academy trust?
- Bedford Road Primary 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 does Bedford Road Primary Academy compare with other schools in Bedford?
- Bedford Road Primary Academy ranked 43rd of 51 primary schools in Bedford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 17% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 49% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Bedford Road Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Bedford Road Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bedford Road Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bedford Road Primary 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.