Bedford Free School

Bedford · MK42 9AD

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 536 pupils, 29.5% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted: Outstanding

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 4.7% on SEN support Behaviour 7.7% absence rate Staff 13.7% turnover Financials £7,816 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Bedford Free School

General Information

Address: Cauldwell Street, Bedford, MK42 9AD – View on map
Phone: 01234332299
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Tom Wood
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 168 families put it first for 109 places – 15 for every 10 places. 64% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 22 · 2024 19 · 2025 18 · 2026 15
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

536 pupils out of 500 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 158
% eligible for free school meals: 29.5%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (more mixed than the Bedford average)
English as an additional language: 66% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 13.7% a year (Bedford 16.3%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 53% moved to another school, 47% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Bedford: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 35 (2.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 21 (1.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 8 (0.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Bedford, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 19.4%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 4.7%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.5%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 6 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Moderate learning difficulty: 7 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Outstanding 2020 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 46.5
Compared with the area: 1.2 points above the Bedford average (45.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (−7.8 points against an expected 54.3)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 62% (Bedford 66%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolBedford averageEngland↘ Falling Down 4.5 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 1.2 points above the Bedford average (45.3).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

5th of 12 secondary schools in Bedford for Attainment 8

#3Wixams Academy47.5
#4St Thomas More Catholic School47.0
#5Bedford Free School46.5
#6Lincroft Academy45.0
#7Wootton Academy44.3

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Goldington Academy54.3
#2Sharnbrook Academy51.6
#3Wixams Academy47.5
#4St Thomas More Catholic School47.0
#5Bedford Free School46.5
#6Lincroft Academy45.0
#7Wootton Academy44.3
#8Bedford Academy42.8
#9Biddenham International School and Sports College42.1
#10Mark Rutherford School41.5
#11Kempston Academy40.3
#12Daubeney Academy38.5

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 91.0%
Went into further education: 86.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
Spanish
Geography
History
Religious Studies
Art & Design
Speech & Drama
Computer Science
Sports Studies
D & T
Biology
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
French Language
Music Studies (General)
Arabic
Polish
Italian
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

1st of 6 secondary schools in Bedford for Ofsted rating

#1Bedford Free SchoolOutstanding
#2Bedford AcademyGood
#3Biddenham International School and Sports CollegeGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Bedford Free SchoolOutstanding
#2Bedford AcademyGood
#3Biddenham International School and Sports CollegeGood
#4Kempston AcademyGood
#5St Thomas More Catholic SchoolGood
#6Wootton AcademyGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,816 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

6th of 14 secondary schools in Bedford for spending per pupil

#4Mark Rutherford School£8,234
#5Wixams Academy£7,847
#6Bedford Free School£7,816
#7St Thomas More Catholic School£7,715
#8Marston Vale Middle School£7,539

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Biddenham International School and Sports College£8,789
#2Daubeney Academy£8,348
#3Kempston Academy£8,310
#4Mark Rutherford School£8,234
#5Wixams Academy£7,847
#6Bedford Free School£7,816
#7St Thomas More Catholic School£7,715
#8Marston Vale Middle School£7,539
#9Lincroft Academy£7,378
#10Bedford Academy£7,375
#11Goldington Academy£7,369
#12Wootton Academy£7,159
#13Sharnbrook Academy£6,891
#14Castle Newnham School£6,268

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Bedford: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered