Most sought-after schools in Bedford

Ordered by how many families put the school first, for each place it gave out.

This list is sorted by one number: first preferences per place. For each school it is the number of families who named it first, divided by the number of offers it made, in the newest year we hold. A higher number means more families wanted a place than there were places.

This is not a list of the best schools. It does not measure how good a school is, how happy the children are, or how well they do. It also does not tell you whether a child would get a place: that depends on where you live, the year, and the council's rules. It only shows how many people applied.

#	School	First preferences per place	Newest intake	Latest Ofsted
1	Priory Primary School Bedford, primary	1.57	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
2	Bedford Free School Bedford, secondary	1.54	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
3	Goldington Academy Bedford, secondary	1.49	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
4	Great Denham Primary School Bedford, primary	1.29	2026	Outstanding (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
5	Hazeldene School Bedford, primary	1.25	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
6	The Hills Academy Bedford, primary	1.22	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
7	Livingstone Primary School Bedford, primary	1.17	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
8	Cauldwell School Bedford, primary	1.15	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
9	Kempston Rural Primary School Kempston, primary	1.07	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
10	Biddenham International School and Sports College Bedford, secondary	1.06	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
11	Great Ouse Primary Academy Bedford, primary	1.05	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
12	Bedford Road Primary Academy Bedford, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
13	Oakley Primary Academy Bedford, primary	1.00	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
14	Riseley CofE Primary School Bedford, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
15	Sharnbrook Primary Bedford, primary	1.00	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
16	Sheerhatch Primary School Bedford, primary	1.00	2026	Needs attention (Ofsted report card (current framework))
17	Shortstown Primary School Bedford, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
18	St Lawrence Church of England Primary School Rushden, primary	1.00	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
19	King's Oak Primary School Bedford, primary	0.99	2026	Strong standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
20	Putnoe Primary School Bedford, primary	0.98	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
21	Ursula Taylor Church of England School Bedford, primary	0.98	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
22	Bedford Academy Bedford, secondary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
23	Springfield Primary School Bedford, primary	0.97	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
24	Balliol Primary School Bedford, primary	0.96	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
25	Broadmead Lower School Bedford, primary	0.96	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
26	Goldington Green Academy Bedford, primary	0.96	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
27	Sharnbrook Academy Bedford, secondary	0.96	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
28	Wootton Academy Bedford, secondary	0.96	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
29	Wootton Primary School Bedford, primary	0.96	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
30	St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School Bedford, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
31	Wixams Tree Primary Academy Bedford, primary	0.95	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
32	Cotton End Forest School Bedford, primary	0.94	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
33	Lakeview School Bedford, primary	0.94	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
34	Lincroft Academy Bedford, secondary	0.94	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
35	Brickhill Primary School Bedford, primary	0.93	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
36	Elstow School Bedford, primary	0.93	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
37	St James' CofE Academy Bedford, primary	0.93	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
38	Great Barford Church of England Primary Academy Bedford, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
39	Wilden CofE VA Primary School Bedford, primary	0.92	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
40	Wixams Academy Bedford, secondary	0.92	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
41	Edith Cavell Primary School Bedford, primary	0.91	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
42	Westfield Primary School Bedford, primary	0.91	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
43	Shackleton Primary School Bedford, primary	0.90	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
44	Kempston Academy Bedford, secondary	0.89	2026	Standards maintained (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
45	Renhold VC Primary School Bedford, primary	0.89	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
46	Scott Primary School & Nursery Bedford, primary	0.89	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
47	St John Rigby Catholic Primary School Bedford, primary	0.89	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
48	Camestone School Bedford, primary	0.87	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
49	Daubeney Academy Bedford, secondary	0.86	2026	Not judged (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
50	Queen's Park Academy Bedford, primary	0.85	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
51	St Thomas More Catholic School Bedford, secondary	0.85	2026	Good (Ofsted graded inspection (previous framework))
52	Bromham CofE Primary School Bedford, primary	0.84	2026	School remains Good (Ofsted ungraded inspection)
53	Mark Rutherford School Bedford, secondary	0.83	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))
54	Castle Newnham School Bedford, all through	0.78	2026	Expected standard (Ofsted report card (current framework))

Figures from the Department for Education, applications and offers. 54 schools in Bedford have a published per-place figure. Schools with too few places for the figure to mean anything are left off. All schools in Bedford · How we compare schools.