Daubeney Academy, Bedford

In its own words: "Welcome to Daubeney Academy; a community secondary school in the heart of Kempston. Here at Daubeney Academy we are driven by our core purpose of 'Nurturing First Class Futures'. We provide a nurturing environment for our young people, where every child is given the support and opportunities needed to flourish by the time they leave us as well rounded citizens."

The school runs a breakfast club.

In 2026, pupils at Daubeney Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45 in Bedford and 47 across England.

52% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Bedford and 47% in England.

That is up from 38.5 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.02: pupils made about 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 33.2, against 51 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 18 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Social Studies and History.

For September 2026 entry, 95 families put Daubeney Academy as their first choice and 210 named it as one of their preferences, for 111 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. 1 family who put it first was not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Daubeney Academy are Kempston Academy (1.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.4); Bedford Academy (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.4); Bedford Free School (1.5 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 51); and Biddenham International School and Sports College (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 40.3).

Daubeney Academy's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

Daubeney Academy 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.

64 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Daubeney Academy (as of September 2025): 97% would recommend the school, 98% say their child is happy there and 94% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (100%); the weakest, that the school supports their child's wider development (86%).

Of the 79 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 79% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 62% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

36.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (31%), Asian (22%) and Black (17%).

The nearest railway station is Bedford St Johns Rail Station, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Mullberry Bush (opposite), 70 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 246 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Bedford (136), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Daubeney Academy issued 92 suspensions, 16.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Daubeney Academy are Springfield Primary School (under 0.1 miles), Camestone School (0.3 miles), Bedford Road Primary Academy (0.6 miles) and Balliol Primary School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.