Bedford Free School

State-Funded School

bedford-free-school-bedford-east-of-england

East of EnglandRegion

BedfordLocal Authority

BedfordConstituency

MK42 9ADPostcode

9.5

Academic Performance

Ofsted

About the School

Bedford Free School is a state-funded secondary for pupils aged 11–16, located in Bedford, East of England.

The school is rated Outstanding by Ofsted. It currently serves 536 pupils. Bedford Free School is part of Advantage Schools.

Ofsted Rating

Safeguarding effective

Yes

Rating last maintained

2025

Subject Areas

Leadership &management

Outstanding

Quality ofeducation

Outstanding

Personaldevelopment

Outstanding

Behaviour &attitudes

Outstanding

Academic Performance

Well above average

Ranked against secondary schools in England · 2024-25

Attainment 8: 46.5
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 36.7%
EBacc average point score: 4.51

Ethnicity

White

28%

Asian

36%

Black

16%

Mixed

14%

Chinese

<1%

Any other group

Unclassified

Pupils

536

Total Pupils

51%Boys

49%Girls

Pupil Characteristics

Free school meals

29%

England average

27%

First language not English

66%

England average

22%

Young carers

England average

0%25%50%75%100%

DfE school census, January 2026.

Key Information

Phase: Secondary
Age range: 11 – 16
Deprivation band: Deprived
Total pupils: 536
IDACI quintile: 4 (Less deprived)
MAT name: Advantage Schools

Inspection history

Ofsted has published one graded inspection for this school. The most recent ungraded inspection is shown below.

Standards maintained

Ungraded inspection on 24 April 2025. An ungraded inspection checks whether the existing grade still holds; it does not award a new one.

Read the inspection letter on Ofsted

Report published					Overall
23 Mar 2020	Outstanding	Outstanding	Outstanding	Outstanding	Outstanding

A grey dot means Ofsted did not report that judgement in the inspection of the day — the sub-judgements shown here were introduced with the 2019 framework.

Ofsted data as at 31 December 2024. A school may have been inspected since, or had an ungraded visit that does not change its grade — check Ofsted’s own record.