UK Schools
Bedford Free School
Bedford Free School is a mixed secondary free school in Bedford, Bedford Borough Council, teaching 536 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted rated it Outstanding at its last graded inspection in January 2020. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 46.5 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 17 July 2026.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for Bedford Free School.
Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Bedford Free School.
- 3 First Day of Term (Year 7)
- 8 First Day of Term (All Other Years)
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term
- 1–7 Autumn Half Term
- 19 Last Day of Autumn Term
- 22–31 Christmas Holidays
- 1–2 Christmas Holidays
- 5 School INSET Day
- 6 First Day of Spring Term
- 16–20 Spring Half Term
- 27 Last Day of Spring Term
- 30–31 Easter Holidays
- 1–10 Easter Holidays
- 14 First Day of Summer Term
- 4 Early May Bank Holiday
- 25 Spring Bank Holiday
- 25–29 Summer Half Term
- 17 Last Day of Summer Term
- 20 School INSET Day
- 21–31 Summer Holidays
- 1–31 Summer Holidays
- 1 Summer Holidays
- 1–2 Staff INSET Days
- 3 Pupils Return
Key dates (2025–2026)
- First Day of Term (Year 7) Sep 3, 2025 Term
- First Day of Term (All Other Years) Sep 8, 2025 Term
- Autumn Half Term Oct 27 - Nov 7, 2025 Holiday
- Last Day of Autumn Term Dec 19, 2025 Term
- Christmas Holidays Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 2, 2026 Holiday
- School INSET Day Jan 5, 2026 Inset Day
- First Day of Spring Term Jan 6, 2026 Term
- Spring Half Term Feb 16 - Feb 20, 2026 Holiday
- Last Day of Spring Term Mar 27, 2026 Term
- Easter Holidays Mar 30 - Apr 10, 2026 Holiday
- First Day of Summer Term Apr 14, 2026 Term
- Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Half Term May 25 - May 29, 2026 Holiday
- Last Day of Summer Term Jul 17, 2026 Term
- School INSET Day Jul 20, 2026 Inset Day
- Summer Holidays Jul 21 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday
- Staff INSET Days Sep 1-2, 2026 Inset Day
- Pupils Return Sep 3, 2026 Event
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Bedford Free School with Bedford Borough Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 46.5 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Bedford Borough Council England
Attendance 19.4% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Bedford Borough Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 91% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Bedford Borough Council England
About this data source & caveats
Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.
We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.
Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Bedford Free School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.
Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Location & catchment area
Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Bedford Free School than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.