School Chooser

Pix Brook Academy

Middle · ages 9-16MixedFree school1,011 pupilsCentral Bedfordshire
School Chooser Score · secondary phase
56
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 35 to 74
Out of 100. Better than 27% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
Primary phase: 30, below similar schools
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, January 2024
Reached the expected level at 1160%England 63%
Attendance94.3%England 91.4%
Pupils from low-income families13%Far fewer than most schools
Places249 spare1,011 pupils, 1,260 places
Pupils per teacher23.3School workforce census

Pix Brook Academy is a free school in Stotfold for boys and girls aged 9 to 16. It has 1,011 pupils and room for 1,260. About 13 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 56 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 27% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Arlesey Road, Stotfold, SG5 4HB01462 416243pixbrookacademy.co.ukMrs Charlotte Linehan headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 January 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Outstanding
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

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

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

Reached the expected level at 1160%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level6%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score103.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2023 to 2025
2023: 66%66%20232024: 71%71%20242025: 60%60%2025
Since 2023: -6%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023Central BedfordshireEngland
Pupils tested181143181
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths60%71%66%53%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths6%10%6%3%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0107.0105.0104.4105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score103.0106.0104.0102.9104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score104.0106.0105.0103.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard77%86%76%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard68%78%75%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)77%85%82%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.3
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.4
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged27%40%32%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged66%75%70%

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. 2 of the 3 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
27%66%
Gap 39 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
58%61%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
4%6%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 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

Open to all. There is no entrance test.

Plenty of spare places865 pupils for 1,260 places, 2024/25
69% full

395 places were empty (31% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 107% since 2021/22.

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.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll1,011Census January 2026
Places1,26080% full
Pupils from low-income families13%13% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support10%97 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%56 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.641 classes, January 2026; England 22.8
Classes with more than 30 pupils15%share of one-teacher classes; England 12%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)13%£163,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 30%
Boys and girls525 / 486
White British pupils83%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (45), emotional and mental health (37), Specific learning difficulty (36), Moderate learning difficulty (14), language and communications needs (12), Hearing impairment (5).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll1,011865721561407213
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals13%13%12%10%11%9%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%3%3%3%3%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support10%19%9%13%11%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%4%4%3%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.

Attendance94.3%
England 91.4%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.0%
England 23.9%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils3.42024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.7%5.9%5.6%6.4%3.2%8.6%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.4%4.8%4.4%5.5%2.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.1%1.3%0.9%0.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.0%14.8%14.6%17.3%5.3%23.9%
SuspensionsSuspension rate3.41.00.40.30.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00110

Staff and money

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

Teachers43.5full-time equivalent, 46 people
Pupils per teacher23.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers94%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants14.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,011
Teachers who left in the year17%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher6.62024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£7,035England £7,965. Total £6.1m
Income per pupil£7,625England £8,423. Total £6.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,999England £4,444
Money in reserve21%A lot put by: £1.4m, £1,590 per pupil. England 10%
Money in against money out+£511kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,035spent 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 m18012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate47 per 1,000 people48% lower than the England average
Typical house price£365,000Central Bedfordshire
Nearest bus stop160 mLarksfield Surgery, 11 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
St Mary's CofE Academy StotfoldAcademy720 m297Not inspectedCompare
Roecroft Lower SchoolCouncil830 m359No overall grade 202570Compare
Etonbury AcademyAcademy900 m1,158Good 202064Compare
Gothic Mede AcademyAcademy1.3 miles249Good 202330Compare
Fairfield Park Lower SchoolCouncil1.5 miles479Good 202451Compare
The Grange AcademyAcademy1.6 miles165Good 202243Compare
Stonehill SchoolCouncil1.6 miles220Good 202331Compare
Northfields Infants and Nursery SchoolCouncil1.7 miles138Requires improvement 20240Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Pix Brook Academy with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats27%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 56 is 10 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 3 · middle 66 · highest 96100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Pix Brook Academy, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Robert Bloomfield AcademyAcademy4.8 miles962No overall grade 202593Compare
Freman CollegeAcademy9.9 miles1,049Good 202478Compare
Katherine Warington SchoolFree school14.2 miles1,113Good 202468Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 56 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 56% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 35 to 74. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.04
Ofsted grade, 2.6 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.22
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.25
2024/25; 884 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
What pupils do next0%no data
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Pix Brook Academy a good school?

It is about average. Pix Brook Academy scores 56 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 27% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 35 to 74, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Pix Brook Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Pix Brook Academy good at its last full inspection on 24 January 2024.

How good are Pix Brook Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 60% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 6% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Pix Brook Academy have?

1,011 pupils aged 9 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,260 places, so it is 80% full.

Is Pix Brook Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 395 places were empty in 2024/25 (31% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Pix Brook Academy?

Pupils were in school 94.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 14% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Pix Brook Academy?

The average class had 24.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 15% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Pix Brook Academy 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
Arlesey Road, Stotfold, SG5 4HB
Telephone
01462 416243
Website
www.pixbrookacademy.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Charlotte Linehan
Type of school
Free school (Free schools, free schools)
Phase
Middle school, ages 9-16
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Bedfordshire Schools Trust Limited (11 schools)
Local authority
Central Bedfordshire
Ward
Stotfold
Constituency
Hitchin
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
2 September 2019 (new provision)
URN
147081 · LAESTAB 8234012 · UKPRN 10083764

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from