A council (local authority) in the East of England
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Bedford at a glance
How Bedford's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
54 mainstream schools in Bedford, best first
Results well above the England average.
115 first choices, 89 offers made
Met the standard at 1172%
England 62%
Results above the England average.
63 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1167%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
75 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1175%
England 62%
13 mainstream schools in Bedford, best first
Results above the England average.
272 first choices, 182 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1652.0
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
168 first choices, 109 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.0
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
235 first choices, 246 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.7
England 46.2
59 in Bedford, highest Ofsted grade first
Bedford, MK40 2NY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Bedford, MK42 9LS · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bedford, MK44 1BE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
18 in Bedford, by the school's Eduscope score
Results close to the England average.
235 first choices, 246 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.7
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
192 first choices, 201 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.8
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
92 first choices, 108 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1641.0
England 46.2
5 in Bedford. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Bedford, MK44 2PT · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bedford, MK42 8AU · Academy · All-through · Ages 5 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bedford, MK42 7EB · Special · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
8 in Bedford. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Bedford, MK44 2PT · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bedford, MK41 9TJ · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bedford, MK40 2BU · Independent · Primary · Ages 1 to 9
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Bedford is a unitary authority in the East of England with 54 mainstream primary schools and 13 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Bedford, Kempston and Wixams. It has 1 middle school, so some children change school at a different age. Pupil numbers have grown 14% since 2018.
From Bedford council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions@bedford.gov.uk
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
93.4%got their first-choice primary school in Bedford in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 73 of 151 councils. 98.4% got one of their top three.2.9% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
90.6%got their first-choice secondary school in Bedford in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 43 of 151 councils. 98.9% got one of their top three.1.3% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
2 of 8 primary appeals heard in Bedford succeeded in 2025. 25 of 68 secondary appeals heard in Bedford succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Bedford school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 43 inspected are Good or better.
59nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 57% met the standard at 11.
68schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 5 inspected are Good or better. 42% got grade 5 in English and maths.
25schools
All 3 inspected are Good or better. About 9 pupils per teacher.
5schools
Here's how Bedford's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Bedford average, 41.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
BedfordEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 35 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
5 of the 5 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
57%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
42%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
22%
Latest graded inspection for the 47 schools that have one.
100%
Good or Outstanding
Bedford in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Bedford | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 100% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 57% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 44.1 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.5:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,527 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 93% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 44% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 18% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 26% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 23% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 822, ONS code E06000055.
Bedford has 141 schools and nurseries across 5 towns and villages, the biggest being Bedford, Kempston, Wixams and Stewartby.
There are 14% more pupils than in 2018.
22% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Bedford's state schools each January.
Up 14% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Bedford22%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Bedford has 141 schools, including 68 primary schools, 25 secondary schools, 59 nurseries, 8 independent schools, 5 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Bedford on Eduscope are Goldington Academy, Great Denham Primary School, Bedford Free School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
100% of inspected schools in Bedford hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 4 schools rated Outstanding and 43 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Bedford, 57% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Bedford is 18.5:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Bedford is 18.0%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 31,312 pupils enrolled across schools in Bedford, with 16,344 in primary and 13,954 in secondary. 22.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 8 independent schools in Bedford. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Bedford on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 141 schools in Bedford by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
