Goldington AcademyBedford Free School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Bedford.
Summary of the comparison
Goldington Academy and Bedford Free School are secondary schools in Bedford.
Goldington Academy scores 76 out of 100 (grade B, strong) and Bedford Free School scores 76 out of 100 (grade B, strong). Our score is the same for each of them on the data available.
Goldington Academy was judged strong and Bedford Free School was judged Outstanding.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 52.0 for Goldington Academy and 51.0 for Bedford Free School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Goldington Academy (54.8 in 2021-22, 52.0 in 2025-26) and has fallen at Bedford Free School (54.6 in 2021-22, 51.0 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | BedfordGoldington Academy | BedfordBedford Free School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | B76/100 | B76/100 | |
| Local ranking | 2nd of 14 in Bedford | 1st of 14 in Bedford Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Strong | Ofsted: OutstandingStronger figure | |
| School type | Academy converter | Free schools | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-16 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 958 | 536 | |
| Capacity | 750 | 500 | |
| Location | Bedford, MK41 9BX | Bedford, MK42 9AD | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 52.0 Stronger figure | 51.0 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 59.7% Stronger figure | 58.3% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 75.4% Stronger figure | 68.0% | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 191 | 103 | |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 942 | 525 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 22.9% | 28.6% | |
| English as an additional language | 18.3% | 64.0% | |
| SEN support | 13.5% | 4.4% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 1.3% | 4.2% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 6.1% Stronger figure | 7.7% | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 16.7% Stronger figure | 19.4% | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Goldington Academy
Bedford Free School
Full profiles: Goldington Academy · Bedford Free School