Robert Bloomfield Academy, Shefford
Robert Bloomfield Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 9 to 13 in Shefford, part of Bedfordshire Schools Trust Limited. It was rated Outstanding at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2014. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in February 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 33rd-highest of the 51 schools in Central Bedfordshire with published results, and 11,772nd of 14,452 across England. It was full in 2025, at 101% of capacity.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Outstanding (2014)
- Capacity
- Full
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Central Bedfordshire (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Robert Bloomfield Academy in detail
Robert Bloomfield Academy in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis, athletics, gymnastics, basketball and badminton.
Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 12 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.
All school open days in Central Bedfordshire
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils at Robert Bloomfield Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 63% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 72% and 66% in Central Bedfordshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results were similar in 2024 (72% in reading, 61% in maths).
Getting a place at Robert Bloomfield Academy
Across Central Bedfordshire, 91% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 96% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2026, families in Central Bedfordshire lodged 144 appeals against secondary school offers; 129 reached a hearing and 35 succeeded (27.1% of those heard).
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Robert Bloomfield Academy are Samuel Whitbread Academy (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 45.7); Henlow Church of England Academy (2.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41); Etonbury Academy (4.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.8); and Pix Brook Academy (4.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.6).
Samuel Whitbread AcademyHenlow Church of England AcademyEtonbury AcademyPix Brook Academy
The trust
Robert Bloomfield Academy is one of 12 schools run by Bedfordshire Schools Trust Limited, an academy trust.
What parents say
179 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Robert Bloomfield Academy (as of September 2025): 92% would recommend the school, 93% say their child is happy there and 72% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (94%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (72%).
Who goes there
13.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 2.4% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (84%) and Mixed (7%).
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Robert Bloomfield Academy.
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Scotgrange Meadow (opposite), 250 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Robert Bloomfield Academy stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Robert Bloomfield Academy issued 39 suspensions, 4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Robert Bloomfield Academy are Shefford Lower School (under 0.1 miles), Campton Academy (0.7 miles), Meppershall Church of England Academy (1.5 miles) and Clifton All Saints Academy (1.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Shefford Lower SchoolCampton AcademyMeppershall Church of England AcademyClifton All Saints Academy
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from June 2014, 12 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's February 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Robert Bloomfield Academy creates a welcoming, inclusive environment where all pupils thrive, particularly those with special needs. The school offers an impressive range of clubs and leadership opportunities that build confidence and self-awareness, while maintaining high expectations across academics and behaviour. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school's work and the positive difference it makes to children's lives.
Key Strengths
- Exceptional support for pupils with SEND who learn seamlessly alongside their peers
- Strong reading programme with carefully selected books that complement the curriculum
- Exceptional provision for personal development with extensive clubs and age-appropriate leadership roles
- Consistent high expectations resulting in excellent behaviour and positive pupil attitudes
- Well-designed curriculum that builds logically on previous learning and prepares pupils for upper school
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with a strong and well-established culture of safeguarding that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Lunchtime clubs, after-school clubs, pupil leadership roles, careers education
Robert Bloomfield Academy is an Outstanding middle school where pupils thrive in a welcoming and inclusive environment. The school has strong leadership, excellent behaviour, and a carefully designed curriculum that extends beyond national expectations.
At a Glance
13.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
179 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Exclusions & Suspensions
1
Permanent exclusions
0.10%
Exclusion rate
39
Suspensions
4.00%
Suspension rate
18 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 974 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Robert Bloomfield Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Robert Bloomfield Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Robert Bloomfield Academy is in Central Bedfordshire; for families living there:
- Central Bedfordshire's school travel policy: Apply for school transport
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 4
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 4 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Central Bedfordshire is 6 (the median across 135 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Will you get a place at Robert Bloomfield Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Robert Bloomfield Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Robert Bloomfield Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Robert Bloomfield Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Central Bedfordshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- How many families in Central Bedfordshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
101%
Over capacity
971 pupils
960 places
11 pupils over capacity in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Shefford
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Shefford
Across Central Bedfordshire council
Places available
1,710
Applications
1,502
Got 1st preference
91.0%
Got preferred school
95.9%
All secondary applications across Central Bedfordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(2)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
120
SEN Support
44
EHC Plans
17.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
962
Total Pupils
476
Boys
486
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
52
Teachers
18.5:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,633
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,588
Per pupil
£5800k
Total funding
£167k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
5.3%
Overall absence
11.1%
Persistent absence
987
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Robert Bloomfield Academy
Questions parents ask about Robert Bloomfield Academy
What are SATs results like at Robert Bloomfield Academy?
Of the pupils at Robert Bloomfield Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 68% reached the expected standard in reading and 63% did so in maths.
What is Robert Bloomfield Academy's Ofsted rating?
Robert Bloomfield Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2014, it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Robert Bloomfield Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Robert Bloomfield Academy is oversubscribed, Central Bedfordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Robert Bloomfield Academy?
Robert Bloomfield Academy was full in 2025, at 101% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at Robert Bloomfield Academy?
Classes at Robert Bloomfield Academy average 30 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Robert Bloomfield Academy?
Robert Bloomfield Academy has around 962 pupils on roll. 13% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Robert Bloomfield Academy?
5.3% of sessions were missed at Robert Bloomfield Academy in 2024/25. 11.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Robert Bloomfield Academy?
Apply through Central Bedfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Robert Bloomfield Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Robert Bloomfield Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 4 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 4 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Central Bedfordshire is 6 (the median across 135 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Robert Bloomfield Academy?
Robert Bloomfield Academy is at Bloomfield Drive, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5BU.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)