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Schools in Central Bedfordshire

134 schools in the Central Bedfordshire local authority.

Schools

134

Open schools

Pupils

49,227

2025–26 census

Good or better

93%

94 of 101 graded

Academic Performance

4.5

out of 10 · 120 schools

Ofsted ratings

Outstanding
2 2%
Good
92 91%
Requires improvement
5 5%
Inadequate
2 2%
20 inspected since 2024, no overall grade13 superseded by a report card13 not judged2 in a category of concern1 safeguarding not effective
4.5
Academic Performance

Averaged over 120 of 134 schools that can be scored

Pupils

49,227

pupils on roll

Boys 51%49% Girls

Roll from 133 of 134 schools (49,227 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.

Ethnicity

White
80%
Asian
5%
Black
4%
Mixed
9%
Chinese
<1%
Any other group
<1%
Unclassified
2%

Ethnicity from 128 of 134 schools (48,869 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.

Pupil characteristics

Free school meals
14.9%

7,292 of 48,869 pupils · 128 of 134 schools

First language not English
10.8%

5,276 of 48,869 pupils · 128 of 134 schools

Young carers
2.0%

986 of 48,664 pupils · 126 of 134 schools

Schools by phase

Primary
96
Secondary
27
All-through
1
Special
7
Nursery
2
PRU
1

Top primary schools in Central Bedfordshire

The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.

Top secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire

The 20 highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.

Browse all 134 schools in Central Bedfordshire — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.

About schools in Central Bedfordshire

How many schools are there in Central Bedfordshire?
Central Bedfordshire has 134 open schools — 96 primary, 27 secondary, 7 special, 2 nursery, teaching 49,227 pupils in total.
How many schools in Central Bedfordshire are rated Good or Outstanding?
94 of the 101 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 93% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 2 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 134: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
What is the average Academic Performance in Central Bedfordshire?
4.5 out of 10, averaged across the 120 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
Why do some Central Bedfordshire schools have no Ofsted rating?
33 schools in Central Bedfordshire currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
What does Central Bedfordshire local authority do?
A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Central Bedfordshire covers 134 schools and sits in the East of England region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
How many pupils in Central Bedfordshire are eligible for free school meals?
14.9% — 7,292 of 48,869 pupils at the 128 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.

Part of the East of England region.