Secondary
Houstone School
Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 5PX
Key facts
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 765 of 900 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.6
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Trust
- ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 31.2
- All staff (FTE)
- 42.0
- Pupils per adult
- 12.3
- Pupils
- 517
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 May 2025
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Quality of educationGood
Inspected under the previous framework, which used its own four-point scale. Ofsted now publishes a report card grading several areas separately, so these grades are not directly comparable with a recent inspection’s.
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)GCSE results
56%
15 points above the Dunstable average (41% across 4 schools)
46.1
3.4 above the Dunstable average (42.7 across 4 schools)
1st of 5 by our score, among the secondary schools in Dunstable 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 | 46.1 |
| EBacc average point score | 4.16 |
| Entered the EBacc | 27% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 56% |
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 time2 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 23/24 | 27% |
| 24/25 | 56% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 23/24 | 32.7 |
| 24/25 | 46.1 |
Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 5PX
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.
Central Bedfordshire 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
- Elizabeth English
- Address
- Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 5PX
- Telephone
- 01582377771