Secondary schools in Bedford
Where pupils go after Year 11 and after sixth form, school by school, with GCSE results. Destinations are for the 2023 leavers; results are from 2025.
Bedford has 14 state-funded secondary schools. Of the 2,196 pupils who finished Year 11 here in 2023, 88% stayed in education (England 86%): 39% in a school sixth form, 47% at a further education college.
Apprenticeships take 2% of leavers, well below the England rate of 3%.
4% of leavers had no sustained destination six months on, fewer than the 6% across England.
After sixth form, 24% of students in Bedford went to university (England 37%), and 9% of level 3 students reached one of the most selective universities (England 19%).
After Year 11: Bedford against England
| Measure | Bedford | England |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 2,196 | 607,348 |
| Stayed in education | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 39% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 47% | 37% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 4% | 6% |
Where each school’s Year 11 leavers went
One band per school, sorted by the size of its 2023 Year 11 cohort. Band width is pupils; hover a band for the share, click a school for its profile. Counts are worked back from the percentages DfE publishes, so a band can be out by a pupil.
Map of secondary schools in Bedford
Darker blue means a larger share of Year 11 leavers stayed in education. Click a school for details. Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
State-funded secondary schools (14)
Sorted by name. Click a school for its full picture. “Stayed in education” counts school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and FE colleges together.
| School | Pupils | Stayed in education | School sixth form | FE college | Apprenticeship | To university | Attainment 8 | 5+ Eng & maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford AcademyAcademy sponsor led · sixth form | 1,480 | 86% | 38% | 47% | 1% | 44% | 42.8 | 38% |
| Bedford Free SchoolFree schools | 536 | 86% | 39% | 47% | 1% | — | 46.5 | 37% |
| Biddenham International School and Sports CollegeFoundation school · sixth form | 1,422 | 91% | 61% | 29% | 0% | 39% | 42.1 | 36% |
| Castle Newnham SchoolAcademy converter | 624 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Daubeney AcademyAcademy converter | 576 | 84% | 13% | 68% | 1% | — | 38.5 | 29% |
| Goldington AcademyAcademy converter | 958 | 95% | 32% | 62% | 0% | — | 54.3 | 64% |
| Kempston AcademyAcademy sponsor led · sixth form | 773 | 80% | 12% | 67% | 1% | 40% | 40.3 | 36% |
| Lincroft AcademyAcademy converter | 923 | 95% | 37% | 53% | 2% | — | 45.0 | 48% |
| Mark Rutherford SchoolAcademy converter · sixth form | 1,150 | 86% | 35% | 49% | 3% | 61% | 41.5 | 40% |
| Marston Vale Middle SchoolAcademy converter | 563 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Sharnbrook AcademyAcademy converter · sixth form | 1,684 | 90% | 51% | 37% | 2% | 47% | 51.6 | 59% |
| St Thomas More Catholic SchoolAcademy converter · sixth form | 893 | 90% | 59% | 30% | 4% | 45% | 47.0 | 46% |
| Wixams AcademyFree schools · sixth form | 903 | 89% | 33% | 53% | 3% | — | 47.5 | 52% |
| Wootton AcademyAcademy converter · sixth form | 822 | 84% | 39% | 44% | 6% | — | 44.3 | 45% |
Independent schools, colleges and special schools with published data (10)
| School | Pupils | Stayed in education | School sixth form | FE college | Apprenticeship | To university | Attainment 8 | 5+ Eng & maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Collegecollege · Further education | — | — | — | — | — | 18% | — | — |
| Bedford Girls' Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 843 | — | — | — | — | — | 14.2 | 0% |
| Bedford Greenacre Independent Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 775 | — | — | — | — | — | 44.9 | 41% |
| Bedford Modern Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form · selective | 1,219 | — | — | — | — | — | 31.3 | 0% |
| Bedford Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 994 | — | — | — | — | — | 14.6 | 0% |
| KWS Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | 3.4 | 0% |
| Kimberley 16 - 19 Stem Collegesixth form · Free schools 16 to 19 · sixth form | 749 | — | — | — | — | 45% | — | — |
| Ridgeway Schoolspecial · Community special school · sixth form | 125 | 100% | 0% | 14% | 0% | — | — | — |
| Grange Academystate · Academy special converter · sixth form | 161 | 100% | 0% | 73% | 0% | — | 2.6 | 0% |
| St John's Schoolstate · Academy special converter · sixth form | 178 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | — | — | — |