Ofsted: Good

Holywell School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personHeadteacher Michael Simpson

corporate_fareHOLYWELL CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY

location_onBedford, MK43 0JA

language Visit Website phone 1234750381

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2018

groups

Students

719

school

Expected Standard

27%

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Age Range

9-13

summarize

Holywell School is a Academy converter secondary school in Bedford, serving ages 9-13. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

Holywell School is an academy converter in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, admitting pupils aged 9-13. It is part of HOLYWELL CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY. The school has approximately 711 pupils on roll, of whom 18% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 27% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 1% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #44 of 53 primaries in Central Bedfordshire and #14,064 of 15,231 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2018. The school's current overall rating is Good.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 18.6:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there was 1 permanent exclusion. The average suspension rate was 2.5 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

27%

LA 50%

Reading65% LA 68%

Writing29% LA 62%

Maths71% LA 62%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

58%

LA 49%England 61%

Reading72% LA 68% · Eng 74%

Writing72% LA 61% · Eng 72%

Maths74% LA 62% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

54%

LA 48%England 60%

Reading70% LA 67% · Eng 73%

Writing70% LA 61% · Eng 71%

Maths75% LA 63% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

-3.6

Read

LA -1.4

-4.5 to -2.6

-2.4

Write

LA -2.4

-3.3 to -1.5

-2.9

Maths

LA -2.0

-3.8 to -2.0

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

60%

LA 57%England 65%

Reading73% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing71% LA 71% · Eng 78%

Maths82% LA 69% · Eng 79%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

105

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.9

Read

LA -2.0

-2.9 to -0.9

-3.4

Write

LA -2.1

-4.4 to -2.5

-0.7

Maths

LA -2.3

-1.6 to 0.2

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

68%

LA 55%

Reading79% LA 66%

Writing80% LA 70%

Maths82% LA 65%

Read SS

106

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.2

Read

LA -2.2

-2.2 to -0.2

-1.4

Write

LA -1.9

-2.3 to -0.5

-1

Maths

LA -2.1

-1.9 to -0.1

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

11 July 2023

Inspection Report

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20 October 2020

Inspection Report

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06 March 2018

Inspection Report

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09 October 2014

Inspection Report

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02 October 2012

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2018-03-06

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2014-10-09

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2011-07-05

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

2.5%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.8%(13 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 711 pupils. During this period, there were 18 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 2.5%, which is below the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	711	18	2.5%	7.3%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	715	17	2.4%	7.8%	1
2023/24 (Summer term)	721	14	1.9%	7.4%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	722	14	1.9%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	720	8	1.1%	8.2%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	715	28	3.9%	6.6%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	719	29	4.0%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	717	27	3.8%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	722	12	1.7%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	730	14	1.9%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	728	28	3.8%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	698	14	2.0%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	698	1	0.1%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	705	45	6.4%	3.9%	2
2019/20 (Summer term)	684	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	684	8	1.2%	3.2%	1
2019/20 (Autumn term)	691	26	3.8%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	653	9	1.4%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	658	12	1.8%	3.8%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	660	8	1.2%	3.8%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	626	6	1.0%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	631	5	0.8%	3.0%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	637	12	1.9%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	608	6	1.0%	3.0%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	611	0	0.0%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	603	1	0.2%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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psychology_alt

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Moderate Learning Difficulty 41 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 37 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 18 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 16 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 8 pupils

Profound & Multiple Learning 1 pupils

Hearing Impairment 1 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Multi-Sensory Impairment 1 pupils

health_and_safety

Parent View on Pastoral Care

Results from the official Ofsted Parent View survey, reflecting direct parent sentiment regarding the school environment.

My child is happy at this school.

75.0%Positive

My child feels safe at this school.

80.0%Positive

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

29.0%Positive

View All Survey Responseskeyboard_arrow_down

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

strongly agree25%

agree46%

disagree16%

strongly disagree8%

don't know5%

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

strongly agree13%

agree43%

disagree27%

strongly disagree13%

don't know4%

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

strongly agree29%

agree29%

disagree18%

strongly disagree5%

don't know1%

not applicable17%

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

yes26%

no74%

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

strongly agree14%

agree21%

disagree41%

strongly disagree24%

The school has high expectations for my child.

strongly agree29%

agree45%

disagree14%

strongly disagree6%

don't know6%

My child does well at this school.

strongly agree32%

agree48%

disagree12%

strongly disagree7%

don't know1%

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

strongly agree24%

agree55%

disagree13%

strongly disagree8%

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

strongly agree36%

agree52%

disagree6%

strongly disagree3%

don't know4%

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

strongly agree36%

agree56%

disagree4%

strongly disagree2%

don't know2%

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

strongly agree21%

agree39%

disagree14%

strongly disagree9%

don't know16%

I would recommend this school to another parent.

yes74%

no26%

Top Secondary Schools in Central Bedfordshire

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Cedars Upper School

Good

location_on Leighton Buzzard, LU7 2AE

emoji_events #1 in LA

Vandyke Upper School

Good

location_on Leighton Buzzard, LU7 3DY

emoji_events #2 in LA

Harlington Upper School

Good

location_on Dunstable, LU5 6NX

emoji_events #3 in LA

Houstone School

N/A

location_on Dunstable, LU5 5PX

emoji_events #4 in LA

Priory Academy

Good

location_on Dunstable, LU5 4JA

emoji_events #5 in LA

Samuel Whitbread Academy

Good

location_on Shefford, SG17 5QS

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Central Bedfordshire arrow_forward

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Parent View on Pastoral Care

My child is happy at this school.

My child feels safe at this school.

My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively.

The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved.

The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year.

When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly

Does your child have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)?

My child has special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed.

The school has high expectations for my child.

My child does well at this school.

The school lets me know how my child is doing.

There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school.

My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school.

The school supports my child's wider personal development.

I would recommend this school to another parent.

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Secondary Schools in Central Bedfordshire

Cedars Upper School

Vandyke Upper School

Harlington Upper School

Houstone School

Priory Academy

Samuel Whitbread Academy