Cedars Upper School, Leighton Buzzard

In its own words: "Thank you to everyone who attended the Sixth Form Open Evening on Wednesday 12th November. If you were not able to attend please see the presentation posted below. Applications are now closed. The closing date for applications for September 2026 was 30th January 2026."

Coming up: an open evening on Friday 20 November 2026 and an open evening on Friday 15 January 2027. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Cedars Upper School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 50.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 43.7 in Central Bedfordshire and 47 across England.

50% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 41% in Central Bedfordshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 48.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.11: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 33.7, against 53.3 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 19.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Business Studies and Geography.

For September 2025 entry, 188 families put Cedars Upper School as their first choice and 430 named it as one of their preferences, for 236 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2025 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Cedars Upper School are Linslade School (0.1 miles, Good); Leighton Middle School (0.7 miles, Good); Brooklands Middle School (1.3 miles, Good); and Gilbert Inglefield Academy (1.7 miles, Good).

Cedars Upper School is one of 21 schools run by Chiltern Learning Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 48.5 in 2024/25.

Of the 238 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 85% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 38% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 124 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 44% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 29% into work. 24% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

13.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 9.7% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (72%), Mixed (6%) and Black (5%).

In 2026, 57 pupils (5%) received SEN support and 34 (3%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

Cedars Upper School had 52 teachers in 2026, one for every 20 pupils: fewer teachers per pupil than a typical secondary school, at about one for every 17.

The nearest railway station is Leighton Buzzard Rail Station, about 1020 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).

2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Cedars Upper School (outside), 170 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Cedars Upper School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 136 crimes within a mile of the school, most often shoplifting, violence and sexual offences and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Central Bedfordshire (47), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Cedars Upper School issued 192 suspensions, 18.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to Cedars Upper School are Pulford CofE VA Lower School (0.7 miles), Linslade Lower School (0.8 miles), The Mary Bassett Lower School (0.9 miles) and Southcott Lower School (1 mile). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.