Secondary
Mark Rutherford School
Wentworth Drive, Bedford, MK41 8PX
Key facts
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 1150 of 1243 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.0
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Sixth form
- Yes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Trust
- MARK RUTHERFORD SCHOOL TRUST
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 78.7
- All staff (FTE)
- 120.3
- Pupils per adult
- 10.5
- Pupils
- 1,259
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected November 2025
- AchievementExpected standard
- Attendance and behaviourStrong standard
- Curriculum and teachingExpected standard
- InclusionStrong standard
- Leadership and governanceExpected standard
- Sixth formNeeds attention
- Personal development and wellbeingExpected standard
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)Earlier inspections2
June 2023
Previous framework
Requires improvement
Safeguarding: met
- Behaviour and attitudesRequires improvement
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentRequires improvement
- Quality of educationRequires improvement
- Sixth formGood
March 2020
Ungraded inspection
Good
Read the report (opens in a new tab)
GCSE results
40%
4 points below the Bedford average (44% across 13 schools)
41.5
3.7 below the Bedford average (45.2 across 13 schools)
17th of 18 by our score, among the secondary schools in Bedford we can score - see them all. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 41.5 |
| EBacc average point score | 3.52 |
| Entered the EBacc | 15% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% |
| A level average points per entry | 28.29 |
| A level students | 78 |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time4 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 39% |
| 22/23 | 39% |
| 23/24 | 44% |
| 24/25 | 40% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 36.1 |
| 22/23 | 29.8 |
| 23/24 | 26.8 |
| 24/25 | 28.3 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | -0.39 |
| 22/23 | +0.03 |
| 23/24 | -0.05 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 42.7 |
| 22/23 | 41.9 |
| 23/24 | 45.4 |
| 24/25 | 41.5 |
Wentworth Drive, Bedford, MK41 8PX
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 31 October, the year before starting.
Bedford admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Headteacher
- Kelli Foster
- Address
- Wentworth Drive, Bedford, MK41 8PX
- Telephone
- 01234290200