A town in Bedford
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 below England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Kempston at a glance
How Kempston'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.
5 mainstream schools in Kempston, best first
Results above the England average.
63 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1167%
England 62%
Results well below the England average.
46 first choices, 53 offers made
Met the standard at 1148%
England 62%
Results well below the England average.
23 first choices, 24 offers made
Met the standard at 1139%
England 62%
2 mainstream schools in Kempston, best first
Results close to the England average.
95 first choices, 111 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.1
England 46.2
Results well below the England average.
105 first choices, 118 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1638.4
England 46.2
7 in Kempston, highest Ofsted grade first
Bedford, MK42 8BQ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Bedford, MK42 7AL · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Kempston, MK42 8LS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
5 in Kempston, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well below the England average.
105 first choices, 118 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1638.4
England 46.2
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.
4 in Kempston. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
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.
Bedford, MK42 8AA · Academy · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
1 first choice, 1 offer made
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.
Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every Kempston school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 5 inspected are Good or better.
7nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 47% met the standard at 11.
10schools
Ages 11 to 16
The one inspected is Good or better. 39% got grade 5 in English and maths.
7schools
All 2 inspected are Good or better. About 9 pupils per teacher.
4schools
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.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
KempstonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 4 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
1 of the 1 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
47%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
39%
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.
27%
Latest graded inspection for the 8 schools that have one.
100%
Good or Outstanding
Kempston in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Kempston has 19 schools and nurseries.
There are 25% more pupils than in 2018.
27% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Kempston's state schools each January.
Up 25% 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.
Kempston27%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Kempston has 19 schools, including 10 primary schools, 7 secondary schools, 7 nurseries, 4 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Kempston on Eduscope are Kempston Rural Primary School, Daubeney Academy, Camestone 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 Kempston hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 0 schools rated Outstanding and 8 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Kempston, 47% 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 Kempston is 14.9:1. 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 Kempston is 17.9%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 3,928 pupils enrolled across schools in Kempston, with 1,932 in primary and 1,996 in secondary. 28.0% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 19 schools in Kempston 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.
