Castle Newnham School
Goldington Road, Bedford, MK40 3EP
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED
- Federation Principal
- Mrs Donna Neely-Hayes
- Sponsor
- Bedfordshire Schools Trust Limited
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,380
- Pupils on roll
- 624
- URN
- 151125
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234303403
About this school
Castle Newnham School is an all-through academy in Bedford. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 624 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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- 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 | 90 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 77% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 |
How Castle Newnham School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.6% | 9.3% | 624 | — |
| Glebe Farm School | — | 5.9% | 24.2% | 1,188 | 11.7 miles |
| Bedford School | 14.6 | — | 0% | 994 | 0.4 miles |
| St John Rigby Catholic Primary School | — | 4.7% | 11.8% | 268 | 0.4 miles |
| Goldington Academy | 54.3 | 6.1% | 22.9% | 958 | 0.5 miles |
| Bedford Girls' School | 14.2 | — | 0% | 843 | 0.6 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)
- 9.32%
- English as an additional language
- 17%
- Overall absence
- 4.57%
- Persistent absence
- 9.68%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Glebe Farm School11.7 miles
All-through · Milton Keynes
-
Bedford School0.4 miles
Independent schools · Bedford
-
St John Rigby Catholic Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Goldington Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Bedford
-
Bedford Girls' School0.6 miles
Independent schools · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Castle Newnham School ranks 12th of the 53 ranked primary schools in Bedford.
- 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
- Carlton CofE Primary School Primary
- Cauldwell School Primary
- Cotton End Forest School Primary
- Cranfield Church of England Academy Primary
Recorded changes at this school
- Capacity changed from 680 to 1380 recorded 28 Aug 2026
- Phase changed from Primary to All-through recorded 28 Aug 2026
Common questions
- What year groups does Castle Newnham School teach?
- Castle Newnham School teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is an all-through school in Bedford.
- Who is the federation principal of Castle Newnham School?
- The federation principal of Castle Newnham School is Mrs Donna Neely-Hayes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Castle Newnham School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Castle Newnham 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 Castle Newnham School?
- Castle Newnham School has 624 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is Castle Newnham School full?
- Castle Newnham School has capacity for 1,380 pupils and 624 on roll (45%), 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 Castle Newnham School a faith school?
- No. Castle Newnham School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Castle Newnham School?
- Castle Newnham School is part of BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What is Castle Newnham School's absence rate?
- Castle Newnham School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census.
- What are Castle Newnham School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Castle Newnham 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 28 August 2026.