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  • Ofsted inspection reports
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  • DfE performance and outcomes
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Last refresh: 14 June 2026

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  5. Castle Newnham School
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Castle Newnham School

URN
151042
Phase
Secondary
Status
Open

School overview

School name
Castle Newnham School
URN
151042
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Age range
11-16
Status
Open

School Compass Score

Developing

52 / 100

Developing

Based on official data for academic year 2024/25.

Academic Outcomes

53

Inspection

33

Admissions Value

51

Destinations

—

Stability & Context

100

School Compass rankings

Below top 50% of secondary schools in England

Below top 50% nationally

#13 of 13 schools in Bedford

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

School Compass recommendation

Proceed With Caution

Some performance indicators suggest families should review details carefully.

Get the full School Compass Parent Report →

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

Admissions strategy

  • Application category: Not recommended
  • Admissions pressure: High competition
  • Admissions risk: High risk

Add a genuine safety school to your 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: Average
  • National comparison: Similar to national 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 Castle Newnham 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: Competitive
  • Personalised application strategy available
  • 8 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.

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Can we realistically get in?

School Compass Admissions Advantage

Admissions strategy for Castle Newnham 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 Castle Newnham 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

Ungraded inspection
Latest publication date
18 June 2024
Inspection date
24 April 2024
Inspection type
-
Category of concern
None recorded
SafeguardingNot available

Inspection outcomes

  • Outcome

    School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

    Graded 18 June 2024

View official Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)

This inspection was recorded under URN 109661 (Castle Newnham School).

Inspection history

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

Admissions

High 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)

135

Places offered by the school

Applications received

Applications received

324

Times listed as any preference

Offers made

Offers made

135

Preferred offers from this school

Oversubscription ratio

Oversubscription ratio

2.4×

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

If the portal link opens GOV.UK, select Bedford 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

42.7

Progress 8

Progress 8

Not published

English and maths grade 5 or above

English & maths 5+

34.2%

English and maths grade 4 or above

English & maths 4+

62.4%

EBacc entry

EBacc entry

87.9%

EBacc achievement

Location

MK41 9DT - Polhill Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire

Contact details

Address
Polhill Avenue, Bedford, Bedfordshire
Postcode
MK41 9DT
Phone
1234303403
Website
http://www.castlenewnham.school
Visit websiteOpen in Google Maps

Administrative details

Local authority name
Bedford
Local authority code
822

School insights

Local authority context

This school is one of 171 schools in Bedford.

Authority statistics

Total schools

171

Open schools

85

Closed schools

85

Primary schools

86

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.
  • PublishedInspectedTypeSummaryReport
    18 June 202424 April 2024-School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 NextView report for inspection published 18 June 2024
    • School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

      Published
      18 June 2024
      Inspected
      24 April 2024
      Type
      -
      Report
      View report

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

    Offer rate

    41.7%

    Offers as a share of applications

    First preference offers: 89

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

    EBacc achievement

    19.5%

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

    Secondary schools

    20

    Special schools

    0

    Phase distribution

    • Primary86 (51.2%)
    • Secondary20 (11.9%)
    • Special0 (0.0%)
    • Other62 (36.9%)

    Nearby schools

    School nameDistancePhaseStatus
    Castle Newnham School0 mSecondaryClosed
    St John Rigby RC VA Lower School317 mPrimaryClosed
    St John Rigby Catholic Primary School317 mPrimaryOpen
    The Acorn School583 mNot applicableClosed
    Goldington Academy585 mSecondaryOpen
    Goldington Middle School585 mMiddle deemed secondaryClosed
    Hazeldene School615 mPrimaryOpen
    St Andrew's School630 mNot applicableClosed
    The Hills Lower School652 mPrimaryClosed
    The Hills Academy652 mPrimaryOpen
    • Castle Newnham School
      Distance
      0 m
      Phase
      Secondary
      Status
      Closed
    • St John Rigby RC VA Lower School
      Distance
      317 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Closed
    • St John Rigby Catholic Primary School
      Distance
      317 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Open
    • The Acorn School
      Distance
      583 m
      Phase
      Not applicable
      Status
      Closed

    Similar schools

    Same phase (Secondary) and local authority (Bedford)

    School namePhasePostcodeStatus
    Bedford AcademySecondaryMK42 9TROpen
    Bedford Free SchoolSecondaryMK42 9ADOpen
    Biddenham International School and Sports CollegeSecondaryMK40 4AZOpen
    Castle Newnham SchoolSecondaryMK41 9DTClosed
    Daubeney AcademySecondaryMK42 7PSOpen
    • Bedford Academy
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      MK42 9TR
      Status
      Open
    • Bedford Free School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      MK42 9AD
      Status
      Open
    • Biddenham International School and Sports College
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      MK40 4AZ
      Status
      Open
    • Castle Newnham School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      MK41 9DT
      Status
      Closed
    • Daubeney Academy
    Goldington Academy
    Distance
    585 m
    Phase
    Secondary
    Status
    Open
  • Goldington Middle School
    Distance
    585 m
    Phase
    Middle deemed secondary
    Status
    Closed
  • Hazeldene School
    Distance
    615 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • St Andrew's School
    Distance
    630 m
    Phase
    Not applicable
    Status
    Closed
  • The Hills Lower School
    Distance
    652 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • The Hills Academy
    Distance
    652 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Phase
    Secondary
    Postcode
    MK42 7PS
    Status
    Open