OFSTED
11 November 2025
Latest inspection
Latest published outcome
Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding
Met
Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development
Expected standard
Leadership & governance
Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
14 June 2023
Graded inspection
Requires improvement
Published
27 July 2023
11 March 2020
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Published
10 May 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Academy converter
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Bedford
Trust
MARK RUTHERFORD SCHOOL TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
1,150
1,150 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
566
49.2% of pupils
Male pupils
584
50.8% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
3.5 pts
above England
School
28.3%
Bedford
20.1%
East of England
19.7%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
8.3 pts
below England
School
12.0%
Bedford
23.1%
East of England
16.4%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
4.6 pts
above England
School
5.6%
Bedford
1.8%
East of England
1.7%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
59.6%
685
Any other White background
11.4%
131
White and Black Caribbean
5.6%
64
African
4.6%
53
Indian
3.4%
39
Any other Mixed background
2.6%
30
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
20.1%
231 of
1,150 pupils
0.7 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
1.2 pts
above
England
6.0%
1.9 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
41.5
2.3 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.05 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
9.13%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.91 pts
higher than
England
School
9.13%
Bedford
5.81%
East of England
6.17%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
28.66%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
12.85 pts
higher than
England
School
28.66%
Bedford
15.50%
East of England
15.39%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
4.28%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
2.47 pts
higher than
England
School
4.28%
Bedford
1.52%
East of England
1.83%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
92.5%
0.2 pts
above England
Mark Rutherford School
92.5%
Bedford
88.6%
East of England
92.9%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.