Sharnbrook Primary, Bedford
Sharnbrook Primary is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Bedford. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2024. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 6th-highest of the 53 schools in Bedford with published results, and 3,408th of 14,452 across England. It was 94% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2024)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Bedford (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Sharnbrook Primary in detail
Sharnbrook Primary in its own words
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, rugby, basketball, French and Spanish.
The school runs after-school care, from £3 per session.
Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 90% of Year 6 pupils at Sharnbrook Primary reached the expected standard in reading and 80% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 70% in Bedford and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 97% in reading and 90% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at Sharnbrook Primary
For September 2026 entry, 16 families put Sharnbrook Primary as their first choice and 25 named it as one of their preferences, for 16 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Sharnbrook Primary are Pinchmill Primary School (1.1 miles, Good, 43% reading, 43% maths); Milton Ernest CofE Primary School (2.6 miles, Good, 64% reading, 82% maths); Harrold Primary Academy (3.4 miles, Good, 88% reading, 94% maths); and Thurleigh Primary School (3.5 miles, Good, 70% reading, 80% maths).
Sharnbrook Primary's 2025 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.
Pinchmill Primary SchoolMilton Ernest CofE Primary SchoolHarrold Primary AcademyThurleigh Primary School
Who goes there
12% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 5.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (78%) and Mixed (9%).
In 2026, 28 pupils (13%) received SEN support and 5 (2.3%) 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.
Getting there
There is no railway, tram or Underground station within about three miles of Sharnbrook Primary.
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Swan with Two Nicks, 60 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 11 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, other theft and burglary. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Bedford (136).
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Sharnbrook Primary issued 1 suspension, 0.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; 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
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils love attending school where they learn skills they successfully use in their day-to-day life. They are inquisitive. Pupils delight in exploring the rich opportunities to learn about themselves and the human experience. They do well in the academic curriculum. Pupils also thrive in the meticulously planned enrichment programme, which complements the academic curriculum exceptionally well. They develop important characteristics such as confidence, resilience and the willingness to take calculated risks. After Year 6, pupils are well prepared to make positive steps into young adulthood.
In lessons, on the playground and around the school, pupils, and children in the early years, demonstrate the highest standards of behaviour. On arrival in the morning, they warmly greet staff and each other. Pupils show great kindness when learning and playing together. When others need help, peers willingly step forward to provide any assistance they can. In the early years, children share, take turns and quickly learn how to manage their emotions and resolve disagreements.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
Since the previous inspection, the school has thoroughly redesigned the curriculum. The school now has a well-organised curriculum that enables staff to teach knowledge in a logical order. The school provides staff with clear guidance about the exact knowledge pupils must learn. Staff have been well trained, so typically plan effective learning activities. They routinely check what pupils know and understand. When staff find pupils misunderstanding or forgetting something, they provide timely support to ensure pupils do not fall behind. As a result, pupils understand and remember much of the key knowledge. However, staff sometimes miss when pupils are ready to grapple with more sophisticated ideas. When this happens, staff do not give pupils opportunities to think more deeply.
The school's new approach to the teaching of early reading is working well. Starting in Nursery, staff develop children's communication and literacy skills with lots of high-quality discussions. In Reception, children learn the basics of reading and start learning the knowledge they need to understand what they read. By the end of key stage 1, nearly all pupils read fluently. Staff support those that find reading difficult effectively. These pupils become fluent readers. Across the school, most pupils enjoy reading. In the school's book clubs many pupils suggest books for their peers to read.
From Ofsted's June 2024 inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its June 2024 inspection.
Rated Outstanding for
Behaviour & attitudes, Personal development.
Rated Good for
Quality of education, Leadership & management, Early years.
At a Glance
12.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 97% to 90% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 90% to 80% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 87% to 83% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
22.8
Avg class size
25.0
Infant (KS1)
29.5
KS2
9
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Sharnbrook Primary
Term dates
Sharnbrook Primary is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Bedford's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Sharnbrook Primary from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Sharnbrook Primary is in Bedford; for families living there:
Apply to Bedford for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 2
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 2 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 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 Bedford is 6 (the median across 85 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
Your chances of a place at Sharnbrook Primary
Will you get a place at Sharnbrook Primary? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Sharnbrook Primary's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Sharnbrook Primary:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Sharnbrook Primary.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Bedford, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Sharnbrook Primary for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Bedford 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
94%
Near capacity
198 pupils
210 places
12 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Bedford
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bedford
Across Bedford council
Places available
2,655
Applications
1,990
Got 1st preference
93.4%
Got preferred school
98.6%
All primary applications across Bedford council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
28
SEN Support
5
EHC Plans
15.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
216
Total Pupils
114
Boys
102
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
12
Teachers
18.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£42,440
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,052
Per pupil
£1107k
Total funding
£38k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.7%
Overall absence
8.3%
Persistent absence
181
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Sharnbrook Primary
Questions parents ask about Sharnbrook Primary
What are SATs results like at Sharnbrook Primary?
Of the pupils at Sharnbrook Primary who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 90% reached the expected standard in reading and 80% did so in maths.
What is Sharnbrook Primary's Ofsted rating?
Sharnbrook Primary was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in June 2024. At its previous graded inspection in 2008 it was rated Outstanding.
What is the catchment area for Sharnbrook Primary?
No fixed boundary. When Sharnbrook Primary is oversubscribed, Bedford allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Sharnbrook Primary?
Sharnbrook Primary was not full in 2025: it ran at 94% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at Sharnbrook Primary?
Classes at Sharnbrook Primary average 22.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Sharnbrook Primary?
Sharnbrook Primary has around 216 pupils on roll. 12% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Sharnbrook Primary?
4.7% of sessions were missed at Sharnbrook Primary in 2024/25. 8.3% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Sharnbrook Primary?
Apply through Bedford's coordinated admissions process, naming Sharnbrook Primary on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Sharnbrook Primary?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 2 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 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 Bedford is 6 (the median across 85 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Sharnbrook Primary?
Sharnbrook Primary is at High Street, Sharnbrook, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 1PF.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)