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School · SecondaryiSource and licenceOfficial record from Get Information about Schools (DfE). Results, attendance, pupil numbers, finance and inspection outcomes are from the Department for Education and Ofsted, as published.Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.Governance Register calculates the connections.How we handle data

Bedford Free School

Free schools secondary school in Bedford (Bedford).

Attainment 8
51
▲ 4.8 England 2025/26 provisional: 46.2
2025/26 provisional
English & maths 5+
58.3%
▲ 12pp England 2025/26 provisional: 46.3%
2025/26 provisional
Attendance rate
92.3%
▲ 1pp England 2024/25: 91.6%
2024/25 academic year
Pupil : Teacher
15.4
▼ 1.3 England 2025/26: 16.7
2025/26
Eligible for free school meals
29.5%
▲ 2pp England 2025/26: 27.3%
school census 15/01/2026
Teacher turnover
5.1%
▼ 9pp England 2024/25: 14.2% (secondary schools)
2024/25
Capacity
107%
536 / 500 pupils
register figure (GIAS)
Ofsted
Outstanding
last graded, 2020

Academy trust

iGet Information about Schools (DfE), extract of 24 Oct 2026, and Governance Register.

Advantage Schools

Bedford Free School is one of 10 schools run by Advantage Schools.

Type of school
Free schools
Ages
11 to 16

Open the trust on Governance Register to see its trustees and board →

Schools in the trust

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SchoolPhaseLocal authorityPupilsGovernors on Governance RegisterLatest Ofsted in our data (as at 30 Sep 2026)
Bedford Free School (this school)SecondaryBedford53612Outstanding 2020Ungraded inspection Apr 2025, no grade given
Elstow SchoolPrimaryBedford4139Ungraded inspection 2025Last graded Good (Nov 2016, previous school)
Houstone SchoolSecondaryCentral Bedfordshire76512Key judgements 2025Good in all four key judgements; safeguarding effective
Laburnum Primary SchoolPrimaryCentral Bedfordshire1749Report card 2025Expected standard in all seven areas; safeguarding standards met
Queen's Park AcademyPrimaryBedford4469Good 2022
The Chalk Hills AcademySecondaryLuton1,64412Ungraded inspection 2023Last graded Good (Sep 2014)
The Linden AcademyPrimaryLuton4279Good 2024
The Rushmere Park AcademyPrimaryCentral Bedfordshire2079Report card 2026Strong standard in 2 areas, Expected standard in 5; safeguarding standards met
The Stockwood Park AcademySecondaryLuton1,43812Key judgements 2024Good in all four key judgements; sixth form provision Good; safeguarding effective
The Vale AcademyPrimaryCentral Bedfordshire6019Key judgements 2025Outstanding in 1 key judgement, Good in 3; early years provision Good; safeguarding effective
10 schools6,651

Schools linked to the trust in the Governance Register school data (Get Information about Schools, extract of 24 Oct 2026). Pupils are on-roll counts from the register. Ofsted: latest inspection in the Ofsted management information (as at 30 September 2026); "No overall grade" means inspected since September 2024 without a one-word grade; what the inspection found is shown beneath, and the school's Ofsted card has the full table.

What this means

Funding
An academy is funded directly by the Department for Education, through its trust, rather than through the local council.
Admissions
The trust is the admissions authority and sets the admissions policy. Applications are usually still coordinated by the local council.
Governance
The trust board is legally accountable for the school. It often delegates some oversight to a local governing body.

General explanation of how academy trusts work in England, not a statement about this trust. See GOV.UK Academy trust governance guide.