Holywell School
Middle deemed secondary · Bedford · MK43 0JA
Data updated
Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection
Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.
Inspected 12 July 2023
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
668 pupils · 93% of 720 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 9–13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Free school meals
- 17.4% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 5.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 13.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 3.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
- URN
- 138844
In figures
An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 12 July 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.5% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2025 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.
Admissions cutoff distance: Year 5
Every applicant was offered a place for 2025 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.
Cutoff by admission criterion (2024 entry)
- Criterion 4 (Religious - CofE)
- 3894.19 m (≈2.42 mi)
2024 is the most recent year we hold a cutoff for this school. It describes that year, not 2025.
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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Bedford school admissions · Central Bedfordshire school admissions
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
184 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 67% (Central Bedfordshire 75%, England 59%) · Not recorded 5% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Any other White background 4% (Central Bedfordshire 6%, England 7%) · Black African 4% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Central Bedfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Central Bedfordshire 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 2% (Central Bedfordshire 1%, England 4%) · Any other Black background 2% (Central Bedfordshire 0%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Central Bedfordshire 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Central Bedfordshire 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Central Bedfordshire 1%, England 5%) · other groups together 2%
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
9.85 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Central Bedfordshire: 15.62 suspensions and 0.26 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
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Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
82% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 13% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 2.76% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
73.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.2 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £53,490; 10% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 81% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (6%) · supplies and services 11% (11%) · educational supplies 8% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 1% (3%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £568,000; in-year balance +£83,000
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
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Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 6 March 2018: School remains Good
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 6/10around the middle for England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 8/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 38.8% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 13.4% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 41.8% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 10.3% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 49.9% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 73.9% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 7.1% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 18.9% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 43.8% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 5.1% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 35.6% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 10.2% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01017397 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £375,000219 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £306,500–£465,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 2a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 2a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 4a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 1a rural school averages 0.9
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted