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The UK school decision platform — compare schools free, then buy one-off decision reports: Parent Report (£4.99), Admissions Advantage (£9.99), and Complete School Decision Report (£14.99).

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Data sources

  • DfE — Get Information about Schools (GIAS)
  • Ofsted inspection reports
  • DfE admissions and appeals data
  • DfE performance and outcomes
  • Local admissions authorities

Last refresh: 14 June 2026

View data status · Methodology

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Harlington Upper School

URN
137941
Phase
Secondary
Status
Open

School overview

School name
Harlington Upper School
URN
137941
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Age range
13-18
Status
Open

School Compass Score

Strong

73 / 100

Strong

Based on official data for academic year 2024/25.

Academic Outcomes

63

Inspection

80

Admissions Value

74

Destinations

57

Stability & Context

100

School Compass rankings

Top 50% of secondary schools in England

Top 50% nationally

#3 of 19 schools in Central Bedfordshire

Based on School Compass rankings calculated from performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

School Compass recommendation

Consider

This school has a mixed profile and may warrant further investigation.

Get the full School Compass Parent Report →

Based on School Compass analysis of official performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

Admissions strategy

  • Application category: Target school
  • Admissions pressure: Moderate competition
  • Admissions risk: Moderate risk

Plan a balanced application list

Get the full Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Recommended application mix
  • Alternative schools
  • Admissions warnings

View Parent Report options →

Crime & Safety

  • Safety score: Very Safe
  • National comparison: Lower crime than average
  • Crime trend: Stable trend
  • Confidence: High confidence

Higher share of violent and serious offences than typical

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Crime categories in the surrounding area
  • Local authority and nearby-school comparisons
  • Safety trends over the past year
  • Area context and confidence notes

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report →

Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.

  • Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.
  • This section reflects police-recorded crime in the surrounding area, not incidents on school premises.
  • Figures are anonymised by the police and aggregated within approximately one mile of the school site.

Question 1: Is it a good school?

School Compass Parent Report

Your decision briefing for Harlington Upper School

A plain-English verdict on school quality, plus application strategy, rankings, similar schools, and neighbourhood crime context — one PDF for £4.99. No subscription.

Preview sample report →

£4.99 — one-time purchase

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Question 2

Can we realistically get in?

  • Data confidence: Moderate confidence
  • Admissions pressure: Accessible
  • Personalised application strategy available
  • 7 alternative schools identified

What Admissions Advantage can and cannot tell you

Can tell you

  • Competitiveness on published admissions data
  • Demand trends over recent admission cycles
  • Application portfolio balance across your shortlist
  • Accessible alternative schools in your area

Cannot tell you

  • Last admitted distance
  • Catchment boundaries
  • Postcode-specific likelihood
  • Offer probability
  • Waiting list position
  • Priority rules
  • Grammar / selective cut-offs

Get Admissions Advantage — £9.99

Full confidence factors, trend analysis, portfolio coaching, school names, and rationales are in the paid report only.

View Admissions Advantage options →

Can we realistically get in?

School Compass Admissions Advantage

Admissions strategy for Harlington Upper School

A nine-page admissions briefing: competitiveness, pressure trends, portfolio balance, alternatives, and a plain-English action plan — advice-first, not a prediction of offer outcomes.

£9.99 — Admissions Advantage

One school, one admissions briefing. Buy Parent Report and Admissions Advantage separately if you want both decision reports.

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Is this the right school and area for our family?

Complete School Decision Report

Full family decision briefing for Harlington Upper School

One integrated PDF — school quality, admissions reality, neighbourhood safety, transport, housing, amenities, persona lens, trade-offs, and a plain-English action plan.

£14.99 — Complete School Decision Report

Everything in Parent Report and Admissions Advantage, plus family-life context and a unified verdict — one purchase, one PDF.

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Ofsted inspections

Previous inspection framework
Latest publication date
14 January 2024
Inspection date
3 October 2023
Inspection type
S5 Inspection
Category of concern
None recorded
SafeguardingNot available

Inspection outcomes

  • Overall effectiveness

    Good

    Graded 14 January 2024

  • Quality of education

    Good

    Graded 14 January 2024

  • Behaviour and attitudes

Admissions

Moderate pressure

Official Department for Education applications and offers data for Secondary Transfer in academic year 2025/26.

Academic year

Academic year

2025/26

Published admission number (PAN)

Published admission number (PAN)

202

Places offered by the school

Applications received

Applications received

284

Times listed as any preference

Offers made

Offers made

195

Preferred offers from this school

Oversubscription ratio

Oversubscription ratio

1.41×

Applications per place

Offer rate

Where to apply

Use these official links to submit your application. Deadlines and portals are set by your local authority — always confirm the latest dates before you apply.

Local authority
Central Bedfordshire
Admissions portal
GOV.UK — apply for a secondary school place (Central Bedfordshire)
Application deadline
31 October 2026 (on-time deadline for secondary entry, September 2027)
School website
http://www.harlington.org

If the portal link opens GOV.UK, select Central Bedfordshire to reach your council's application system.

Performance & outcomes

Official Department for Education attainment and outcomes data. Suppressed or unpublished figures are shown as “Not published”.

Key stage 4 (secondary)

Key stage 4 (secondary) data for academic year 2024/25

Official Department for Education key stage 4 performance for academic year 2024/25. Progress 8 is not published for this academic year.

Attainment 8

Attainment 8

47.8

Progress 8

Progress 8

Not published

English and maths grade 5 or above

English & maths 5+

48.4%

English and maths grade 4 or above

English & maths 4+

75.6%

EBacc entry

EBacc entry

33.7%

EBacc achievement

Location

LU5 6NX - Goswell End Road, Harlington, Dunstable, Bedfordshire

Contact details

Address
Goswell End Road, Harlington, Dunstable, Bedfordshire
Postcode
LU5 6NX
Phone
1525755100
Website
http://www.harlington.org
Visit websiteOpen in Google Maps

Administrative details

Local authority name
Central Bedfordshire
Local authority code
823

School insights

Local authority context

This school is one of 240 schools in Central Bedfordshire.

Authority statistics

Total schools

240

Open schools

135

Closed schools

105

Primary schools

148

Data quality

Last updated
14 June 2026
Last imported
14 June 2026

Dates reflect the latest GIAS import and any recorded closure date for this school.

The School Compass Score combines academic outcomes, inspection findings, admissions value, destinations, and school stability to help parents compare schools consistently.

  • Not all crime is reported to the police. Small areas can vary significantly year to year.
  • Source: data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence; population from ONS.
  • Good

    Graded 14 January 2024

  • Personal development

    Good

    Graded 14 January 2024

  • Leadership and management

    Good

    Graded 14 January 2024

  • Sixth form

    Good

    Graded 14 January 2024

  • View official Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)

    Inspection history

    Showing the last 1 inspection on record, including monitoring visits.

    PublishedInspectedTypeSummaryReport
    14 January 20243 October 2023S5 InspectionGoodView report for inspection published 14 January 2024
    • Good

      Published
      14 January 2024
      Inspected
      3 October 2023
      Type
      S5 Inspection
      Report
      View report

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Ofsted management information via GOV.UK.

    Offer rate

    68.7%

    Offers as a share of applications

    First preference offers: 184

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education school applications and offers statistics.

    EBacc achievement

    15.4%

    Post-16 (A level)

    Average

    Post-16 (A level) data for academic year 2024/25

    Official Department for Education 16 to 18 performance (A level) for academic year 2024/25.

    Average point score per entry

    APS

    31.4

    Value added

    Value added

    -0.08

    AAB with two facilitating subjects

    AAB %

    17.4%

    Retention

    Retention %

    Not published

    Key stage 4 destinations

    Key stage 4 destinations data for leaver academic year 2022/23

    Sustained destination measures for pupils who completed key stage 4 in 2022/23 (destinations in 2023/24).

    Education destination

    Education %

    83.0%

    Employment destination

    Employment %

    4.0%

    Apprenticeship destination

    Apprenticeships %

    6.0%

    Not in education, employment or training

    NEET %

    4.0%

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education performance and outcomes statistics (England).

    Secondary schools

    26

    Special schools

    0

    Phase distribution

    • Primary148 (62.7%)
    • Secondary26 (11.0%)
    • Special0 (0.0%)
    • Other62 (26.3%)

    Nearby schools

    School nameDistancePhaseStatus
    Harlington Upper School0 mSecondaryClosed
    Harlington Lower School408 mPrimaryOpen
    Harlington Lower School408 mPrimaryClosed
    Westoning Lower School1.7 kmPrimaryClosed
    Westoning Lower School1.7 kmPrimaryOpen
    Phoenix School2.7 kmNot applicableClosed
    Sundon Lower School3.2 kmPrimaryOpen
    Sundon Lower School3.2 kmPrimaryClosed
    Flitwick Lower School3.7 kmPrimaryOpen
    Pulloxhill Lower School3.8 kmPrimaryClosed
    • Harlington Upper School
      Distance
      0 m
      Phase
      Secondary
      Status
      Closed
    • Harlington Lower School
      Distance
      408 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Open
    • Harlington Lower School
      Distance
      408 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Closed
    • Westoning Lower School
      Distance
      1.7 km
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Closed

    Similar schools

    Same phase (Secondary) and local authority (Central Bedfordshire)

    School namePhasePostcodeStatus
    All Saints Academy DunstableSecondaryLU5 5ABOpen
    Cedars Upper SchoolSecondaryLU7 2AEOpen
    Cedars Upper SchoolSecondaryLU7 2AEClosed
    Central Bedfordshire UTCSecondaryLU5 5PYClosed
    Edward Peake CofE VC SchoolSecondarySG18 0EJOpen
    • All Saints Academy Dunstable
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      LU5 5AB
      Status
      Open
    • Cedars Upper School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      LU7 2AE
      Status
      Open
    • Cedars Upper School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      LU7 2AE
      Status
      Closed
    • Central Bedfordshire UTC
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      LU5 5PY
      Status
      Closed
    • Edward Peake CofE VC School
    Westoning Lower School
    Distance
    1.7 km
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Phoenix School
    Distance
    2.7 km
    Phase
    Not applicable
    Status
    Closed
  • Sundon Lower School
    Distance
    3.2 km
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Sundon Lower School
    Distance
    3.2 km
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Flitwick Lower School
    Distance
    3.7 km
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Pulloxhill Lower School
    Distance
    3.8 km
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Phase
    Secondary
    Postcode
    SG18 0EJ
    Status
    Open