Wixams Academy is a mixed secondary free school in Bedford, Bedford Borough Council, teaching 903 pupils aged 11 to 19. Ofsted graded achievement as Expected standard at its most recent inspection in March 2026. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 47.5 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 17 December 2025 to 14 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Wixams Academy.

Latest inspection
2025 framework Graded by evaluation area
AchievementExpected standard
Curriculum & teachingExpected standard
Attendance & behaviourNeeds attention
Personal development & wellbeingExpected standard
InclusionNeeds attention
Leadership & governanceExpected standard
Post-16 provisionExpected standard
Safeguarding Met
S5 Inspection · Inspected 3 Mar 2026 · Published 5 May 2026
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Wixams Academy.

Wixams Academy original calendar 2025–2026
Original calendar · source
Download PDF
Wixams Academy interactive calendar 2025–2026
Interactive calendar
Download Term Dates 2025–2026
All 2 pages of the original:

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 2–3 Staff INSET
  • 4 Year 7 and 12 Induction Day
  • 5 Year 7 and Years 11, 12, 13 Induction Day
  • 8 All pupils return to academy
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 27–31 Autumn Half Term
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 24 Staff INSET
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 17 Last Day of Autumn Term
  • 18–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 26 Boxing Day (Bank Holiday)
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–4 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day (Bank Holiday)
  • 5 Staff INSET
  • 6 Years 7-13 First Day of Spring Term
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 27 Last Day of Spring Term
  • 28–31 Easter Holiday
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–12 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday (Bank Holiday)
  • 6 Easter Monday (Bank Holiday)
  • 13 Staff INSET
  • 14 Years 7-13 First Day of Summer Term
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 14 Last Day of Summer Term
  • 15–31 Summer Holiday
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Staff INSET Sep 2-3, 2025 Inset Day
  • Year 7 and 12 Induction Day Sep 4, 2025 Event
  • Year 7 and Years 11, 12, 13 Induction Day Sep 5, 2025 Event
  • All pupils return to academy Sep 8, 2025 Event
  • Autumn Half Term Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
  • Staff INSET Nov 24, 2025 Inset Day
  • Last Day of Autumn Term Dec 17, 2025 Term
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 18, 2025 - Jan 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Staff INSET Jan 5, 2026 Inset Day
  • Years 7-13 First Day of Spring Term Jan 6, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
  • Last Day of Spring Term Mar 27, 2026 Term
  • Easter Holiday Mar 28 - Apr 12, 2026 Holiday
  • Staff INSET Apr 13, 2026 Inset Day
  • Years 7-13 First Day of Summer Term Apr 14, 2026 Term
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Half Term May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
  • Last Day of Summer Term Jul 14, 2026 Term
  • Summer Holiday Jul 15 - Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Jan 1, 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Apr 3, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Dec 26, 2025 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
47.5 Attainment 8 England 46.1 Top 33%
52.4% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4% Top 25%
25.05 A level average score England 35
27.9% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Wixams Academy with Bedford Borough Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 47.5 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Bedford Borough Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 47.5
Bedford Borough Council 44.4 England 46.1 +1.4 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 52.4%
Bedford Borough Council 43.7% England 45.4% +7 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 35.5
Bedford Borough Council 34.6 England 34.9 in line with England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 14.6
Bedford Borough Council 12.7 England 15.5 -0.9 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 17.9%
Bedford Borough Council 23.5% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 168
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 25.05 A level average point score

Results for students finishing post-16 study.

This school Bedford Borough Council England

A level average point score · Per entry, 50 = A* 25.05
Bedford Borough Council 30.14 England 35 -9.9 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 39
Attendance 27.9% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Bedford Borough Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 27.9%
Bedford Borough Council 18% England 17.8% +10.1 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 9.9%
Bedford Borough Council 6.5% England 6.8% +3.2 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 94% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Bedford Borough Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 94%
Bedford Borough Council 93% England 92% +2 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 95%
Bedford Borough Council 86% England 83% +12 vs 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 Wixams Academy. 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 catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Wixams Academy 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.