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Best secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire

13 of 26 secondary schools ranked by Progress 8 · all Central Bedfordshire schools · primary schools

Ranked on Progress 8, 2023/24 — the most recent year each school has published. Official data, not our opinion — but the ranking is only as good as the measure, and a single number never describes a school.

# School Progress 8 Ofsted Places Catchment
1 Etonbury Academy Arlesey 0.1 Good — approximate
2 Redborne Upper School and Community College Bedford 0.08 Good about even 1.07 first prefs per place, 2025/26 approximate
3 Vandyke Upper School Leighton Buzzard 0.01 Good improving oversubscribed 1.15 first prefs per place, 2025/26 approximate
4 Cedars Upper School Leighton Buzzard hidden gem -0.11 Good undersubscribed 0.8 first prefs per place, 2025/26 approximate
5 Samuel Whitbread Academy Shefford -0.13 Good improving about even 1.02 first prefs per place, 2025/26 approximate
6 Stratton School Biggleswade -0.17 Not judged about even 1.02 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
7 Henlow Church of England Academy Henlow -0.23 Not judged about even 0.98 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
8 Sandy Secondary School Sandy -0.24 Not judged improving about even 0.97 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
9 Harlington Upper School Dunstable hidden gem -0.34 Good about even 0.91 first prefs per place, 2025/26 approximate
10 Manshead Church of England Academy Luton hidden gem -0.53 Good about even 0.86 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
11 Queensbury Academy Dunstable -0.56 Not judged about even 0.91 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
12 Houstone School Dunstable -0.74 Not judged about even 1.14 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate
13 All Saints Academy Dunstable Dunstable -0.88 Not judged declining undersubscribed 0.69 first prefs per place, 2026/27 approximate

Also in Central Bedfordshire

13 further secondary schools with no published Progress 8 for the latest year — usually too small a cohort to report, newly opened, or a special school. Listed because leaving them out would make this a misleading picture of Central Bedfordshire, not a fairer one.

Applying in Central Bedfordshire

Knowing which school is best is only half of it — these are the deadlines that decide whether you can apply at all.

Rankings compare published results. They do not tell you which school your child will get into — that depends on where you live, sibling and faith priority, and how many people apply this year. Ask below, or check the Central Bedfordshire admission criteria.

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