Schools in Bedford
83 open schools · Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and admission criteria · best primary schools · best secondary schools
Bedford has 77 state schools: 55 primary, 13 secondary, 2 nursery. Between them they teach around 31,280 pupils. 63 have enough published data for a score, averaging 4.0 out of 10, and 1 score 8 or above.
14 have a sixth form. 35 take children from age three or under. 16 have a religious character, which usually means the school sets its own admissions criteria rather than the council's. How the score works.
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Bedford covers several towns — jump straight to the schools in yours.
Undersubscribed schools rated Good or Outstanding
These schools didn't fill on first preference in the latest admissions year, despite an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding — worth a look if you're chasing the same handful of famous names everyone else applies to.
How places are allocated in Bedford
Primary schools: Explicit catchment-area criterion (with/without sibling) ahead of general sibling priority; catchment areas explained on a dedicated council page. (source)
Most schools use the local authority's default scheme rather than a school-specific catchment map — see each school's page for its own designated/catchment area where one is published.
Key dates
| Entry year | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 2028 | Application deadline | 2027-10-31 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary application deadline | 2028-01-15 |
| Sept 2028 | Offer day | 2028-03-01 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary offer day | 2028-04-17 |
| Sept 2027 | Application deadline | 2026-10-31 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary application deadline | 2027-01-15 |
| Sept 2027 | Offer day | 2027-03-01 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary offer day | 2027-04-16 |
| Sept 2026 | Application deadline | 2025-10-31 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary application deadline | 2026-01-15 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Offer day | 2026-03-02 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary offer day | 2026-04-16 (passed) |
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