Schools in Bedford
74 state-funded schools, 30,808 pupils. 98.5% of those carrying an Ofsted grade are Good or Outstanding, including 5 rated Outstanding.
Ofsted Management Information, Feb 2026. Grades are the current published rating, which may pre-date the school’s most recent visit.
Ofsted grades
4 schools have been inspected under Ofsted's post-September-2024 report-card framework, which replaces the single 1–4 grade with separate judgments. Those are excluded from the percentages above rather than mapped onto the old scale, because the two scales have no clean equivalence. 2 schools are awaiting a first inspection.
Quick answers
How many schools are there in Bedford?
Bedford has 74 state-funded schools teaching 30,808 pupils. 53 primary, 14 secondary, 4 special.
What percentage of schools in Bedford are Good or Outstanding?
98.5% of the 68 schools carrying an Ofsted grade in Bedford are rated Good or Outstanding: 5 Outstanding and 62 Good. 1 require improvement and 0 are rated Inadequate.
Which schools in Bedford are rated Outstanding?
5 schools are currently rated Outstanding by Ofsted in Bedford: Great Denham Primary School, Castle Newnham School, Bedford Free School, Cherry Trees Nursery School, Peter Pan Nursery School.
Rated Outstanding
Ofsted’s highest grade. Largest first; a grade can be several years old, so the year is shown.
- Great Denham Primary SchoolPrimary677Outstanding 2024
- Castle Newnham SchoolPrimary622Outstanding 2013
- Bedford Free SchoolSecondary525Outstanding 2020
- Cherry Trees Nursery SchoolNursery161Outstanding 2019
- Peter Pan Nursery SchoolNursery122Outstanding 2023
By phase
| Phase | Schools | Graded | Good or better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 53 | 49 | 100% |
| Secondary | 14 | 13 | 92.3% |
| Special | 4 | 3 | 100% |
| Nursery | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| Alternative provision | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Every school in Bedford
Showing 20 of 74 schools.
| New framework | Links | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sharnbrook Academy | Secondary | 1,685 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Bedford Academy | Secondary | 1,375 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Biddenham International School and Sports College | Secondary | 1,357 | Good2019 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Mark Rutherford School | Secondary | 1,180 | Requires Improvement2023 | OfstedWebsite | |
Goldington Academy | Secondary | 942 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wixams Academy | Secondary | 933 | Requires Improvement2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Lincroft Academy | Secondary | 931 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Thomas More Catholic School | Secondary | 929 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
King's Oak Primary School | Primary | 868 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wootton Upper School | Secondary | 867 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Kempston Academy | Secondary | 824 | Good2018 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Castle Newnham School | Secondary | 750 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Great Denham Primary School | Primary | 677 | Outstanding2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wootton Primary School | Primary | 626 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Castle Newnham School | Primary | 622 | Outstanding2013 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Goldington Green Academy | Primary | 581 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Marston Vale Middle School | Secondary | 571 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Daubeney Academy | Secondary | 561 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wixams Tree Primary Academy | Primary | 529 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Bedford Free School | Secondary | 525 | Outstanding2020 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Schools are one input. Bedford’s pay, house prices, rent, council tax, crime and deprivation are on the Bedford profile, and the UK regions tool compares all 361 Local Authorities side by side.