Best Secondary schools in Bedford
These rankings cover secondary schools in the town of Bedford based on the most recent graded Ofsted inspections. We order by headline grade first, then by publication date; ties are broken using “Quality of education” (where available), then contextual signals.
Ofsted grade mix (graded schools)
Summary
These rankings use each school’s latest graded Ofsted inspection. Ungraded visits do not replace the most recent graded judgement.
-
1.Bedford Free SchoolSecondary • Free schools • Bedford • MK42 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Mar 2020 – graded Outstanding by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Outstanding -
2.Redborne Upper School and Community CollegeSecondary • Academy converter • Bedford • MK45 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Sep 2024 – graded Good by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Good -
3.St Thomas More Catholic SchoolSecondary • Academy converter • Bedford • MK41 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Nov 2023 – graded Good by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Good -
4.Bedford AcademySecondary • Academy sponsor led • Bedford • MK42 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on May 2023 – graded Good by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Good -
5.Goldington AcademySecondary • Academy converter • Bedford • MK41 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Mar 2022 – graded Good by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Good -
6.Biddenham International School and Sports CollegeSecondary • Foundation school • Bedford • MK40 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Apr 2019 – graded Good by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Good -
7.Kempston AcademySecondary • Academy sponsor led • Bedford • MK42 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Oct 2018 – graded Good by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Good -
8.Wixams AcademySecondary • Free schools • Bedford • MK42 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Jun 2024 – graded Requires improvement by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Requires improvement -
9.Mark Rutherford SchoolSecondary • Academy converter • Bedford • MK41 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Jul 2023 – graded Requires improvement by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Requires improvement -
10.Daubeney AcademySecondary • Academy converter • Bedford • MK42 (full postcode for Pro)
Last inspected on Apr 2023 – graded Requires improvement by Ofsted. (exact date for Pro)
Requires improvement
How we rank these schools
- Headline Ofsted grade orders: Outstanding (1), then Good (2), then RI (3), then Inadequate (4).
- More recent graded inspection dates rank higher.
- Where available, we use the Quality of education sub-judgement as a tie-breaker.
- We may consider contextual signals (e.g., %FSM, roll size) to break remaining ties.
Ungraded visits don’t replace the last graded judgement.
About Ofsted grades
- Outstanding (1) — highest judgement across key areas.
- Good (2) — consistently meets standards.
- Requires improvement (3) — not yet good; clear areas to improve.
- Inadequate (4) — significant weaknesses found.
Map of best schools
Explore more secondary rankings
Go Pro — unlock full school data & exports
See exact pupil numbers, Ofsted sub-judgements, and download clean exports for your work. No ads. Just fast, reliable school intelligence.
Join now and enjoy all future features at today’s price — even as we add more powerful exports.
Built for decision-makers
All the details you need in one place—plus clean exports for sharing.
- Full data unlocked: exact pupils, FSM %, Ofsted sub-judgements, utilisation & more.
- Export ready: one-click CSV, Excel & PDF for schools you care about.
- Ad-free experience: faster pages, fewer distractions.
- Coming soon: Top 30 by area, multi-school comparisons, trust-wide lists, filtered tables, and more.