Bedford Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,480 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.8
Community special school
Ridgeway School
- Pupils on roll
- 125of 125 places
- Free school meals
- 36.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 7
- Ofsted
- Standards maintained, 2 April 2025Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Of the 7 pupils who finished Year 11 at Ridgeway School in 2023, 0% stayed on in Ridgeway School’s own sixth form (Bedford average 39%), 14% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Every pupil in the 2023 cohort went on to a sustained destination, against 92% across England.
Almost every leaver found a sustained destination: only 0% were not in education, work or training six months on, against 6% nationally.
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Bedford and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Ridgeway School | Bedford | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 7 | 2,196 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 100% | 93% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 100% | 88% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 39% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 14% | 47% | 37% |
| — other education | 86% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 2% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 0% | 4% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
No published Key Stage 4 results for this school.
Other secondary schools in Bedford
Bedford Free School
Free schools · 536 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 46.5
Biddenham International School and Sports College
Foundation school · sixth form · 1,422 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.1
Daubeney Academy
Academy converter · 576 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 38.5
Goldington Academy
Academy converter · 958 pupils
95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.3
Kempston Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 773 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.3
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.