School Chooser

Edward Peake CofE VC School

Secondary · ages 11-16MixedChurch of England359 pupilsBiggleswadeCentral Bedfordshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredThere isn't enough published data yet. To get a score, a school needs results or an inspection plus at least one other figure.
OfstedReport cardOfsted report card, February 2026
Reached the expected level at 114%England 63%
Attendance93.0%England 91.4%
Pupils from low-income families28%About the same as most schools in England
Parents would recommend89%36 Parent View responses
Places541 spare359 pupils, 900 places

Edward Peake CofE VC School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Biggleswade for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 359 pupils and room for 900. About 28 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. Ofsted visited in February 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Potton Road, Biggleswade, SG18 0EJ01767 314562edwardpeake.beds.sch.ukMiss Z J Linington federation headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 24 February 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
8 January 2025Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1Not judged

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

0 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

118 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 114%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score103.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score100.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 36%36%20172018: 43%43%20182019: 27%27%20192023: 48%48%20232024: 42%42%20242025: 4%4%2025
Since 2017: -32%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017Central BedfordshireEngland
Pupils tested118116157129123139
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths4%42%48%27%43%36%53%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%1%1%1%0%3%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score103.0102.0103.0100.0101.0101.0104.4105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score100.099.0101.0100.0100.0100.0102.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score101.099.0102.099.0101.0101.0103.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard64%59%64%55%52%61%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard53%49%55%54%50%63%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)4%56%62%35%68%43%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.8-3.8-3.1-1.8
Maths progressMaths progress score-3.5-4.4-2.6-3.1
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%13%31%7%24%17%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged6%52%53%33%49%41%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 3 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
0%6%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
4%5%
Gap 1 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
9%4%
Gap 5 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places399 pupils for 750 places, 2024/25
53% full

351 places were empty (47% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have fallen by 30% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Central Bedfordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

What parents say

Would recommend the school89%England 77%
My child is happy here83%agree or strongly agree
My child feels safe86%
Positive overall77%
My child is happy at this school
83%England 75%
My child feels safe at this school
86%England 79%
Pupils are well behavedThe school makes sure its pupils are well behaved
72%England 71%
Has your child been bullied here?Parents answering yes
31% yesEngland 26%
Bullying was dealt with quickly and effectivelyOnly parents whose child was bullied
64%England 48%
My child gets the right support to learn well
78%England 71%
Does your child have SEND?Parents answering yes
33% yesEngland 31%
The school gives them the support they needOnly parents of children with SEND
58%England 58%
The school communicates well with me
72%England 71%
My concerns have been dealt with properlyWhen I have raised concerns
70%England 58%
Decisions put the child's best interests first
72%England 67%
I would recommend this school
89%England 77%
Overall view of the school is positive
77%England 67%
Strongly agreeAgreeDon't knowDisagreeStrongly disagreeEngland, agree or yes

From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 36 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for secondary schools with enough answers to publish.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll359Census January 2026
Places90040% full
Pupils from low-income families28%28% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English8%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support17%62 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%17 pupils with a plan
Average class size22.416 classes, January 2026; England 22.8
Classes with more than 30 pupils6%share of one-teacher classes; England 12%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)28%£111,100 extra funding in 2026/27; England 30%
Boys and girls199 / 160
White British pupils76%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (32), Specific learning difficulty (14), Autistic spectrum disorder (13), language and communications needs (6), Moderate learning difficulty (5), Physical disability (5).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll359410526548570546
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals28%26%25%23%22%19%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language8%9%7%4%3%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support25%18%21%20%17%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%4%3%3%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.

Attendance93.0%
England 91.4%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school19.0%
England 23.9%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils17.82024/25, 1 permanent exclusion
Missed without permission2.0%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence7.0%6.8%7.7%8.2%4.8%5.2%8.6%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence5.0%4.9%5.7%6.1%3.8%3.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.0%1.9%2.0%2.1%1.0%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence19.0%18.7%24.1%24.2%14.0%11.9%23.9%
SuspensionsSuspension rate17.820.510.02.12.8
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions11100

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers29.0full-time equivalent, 31 people
Pupils per teacher12.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants6.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,802
Teachers who left in the year12%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher6.02024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£9,648England £8,524. Total £4.0m
Income per pupil£8,812England £8,454. Total £3.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£5,169England £4,610
Money in reserve-1%In the red: -£51k, -£124 per pupil. England 5%
Money in against money out-£343kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£9,648spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m12812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate54 per 1,000 people41% lower than the England average
Typical house price£365,000Central Bedfordshire
Nearest bus stop50 mEdward Peake School, 10 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Stratton SchoolAcademy0.7 miles917No overall grade 202523Compare
Sandy Secondary SchoolFoundation3.3 miles1,259No overall grade 202541Compare
Henlow Church of England AcademyAcademy4.6 miles599No overall grade 202521Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Edward Peake CofE VC School a good school?

Edward Peake CofE VC School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from February 2026 rated its teaching as .

What is Edward Peake CofE VC School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 24 February 2026 it rated .

How good are Edward Peake CofE VC School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 4% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Edward Peake CofE VC School have?

359 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 900 places, so it is 40% full.

Is Edward Peake CofE VC School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 351 places were empty in 2024/25 (47% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Edward Peake CofE VC School?

Pupils were in school 93.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 19% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

What do parents say about Edward Peake CofE VC School?

89% of the 36 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 83% say their child is happy there. Across England, 77% of parents would recommend their child's school.

How big are the classes at Edward Peake CofE VC School?

The average class had 22.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 6% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Edward Peake CofE VC School have a sixth form?

No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Potton Road, Biggleswade, SG18 0EJ
Telephone
01767 314562
Website
www.edwardpeake.beds.sch.uk
Federation Headteacher
Miss Z J Linington
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Secondary school, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of St Albans
Local authority
Central Bedfordshire
Ward
Biggleswade East
Constituency
North Bedfordshire
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
109694 · LAESTAB 8234502 · UKPRN 10018536

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from