The grades students get in their A Levels can play a big part in their opportunities after secondary school, which is why it’s so important their sixth form supports them to do their best.
The Government released its latest performance figures for state-funded sixth form colleges and secondary schools in February, meaning England’s top A Level performers can finally be named. We’ve also used this new data to compare how those across the Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton council areas did, to create a league table of the county’s stand-out sixth forms for A Levels in the 2023/24 school year.
We chose to rank them by their A Level performance point scores, a unique measurement derived from exam results that gives them a score out of 60. You’ll also see the overall ‘average grades’ each school’s students achieved across their A Level entries - and we’ve only included those with a point score of at least 30 (considered a mid-to-high C average).
We also checked that each school included had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was recently dropped, or, if they’ve been inspected more recently, had at least ‘good’ grades across the board. This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management and student safeguarding were all found to meet or exceed government standards last time the school was inspected.
Here were the 8 state sixth forms from across Bedfordshire that made the cut:
1. Redborne Upper School and Community College
At the top of the list is Redborne, an upper academy in Ampthill, Central Bedfordshire, which takes students from the age of 13. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 34.95 - giving it an average grade of C+. | Google
2. Cedars Upper School
Cedars is an upper academy in Leighton Buzzard, which also takes students from the age of 13. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 34.69 - giving it an average grade of C+. | Google
3. Cardinal Newman Catholic School
Cardinal Newman is a Catholic secondary academy and sixth form in Luton. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 33.65 - giving it an average grade of C+. | Google
4. Samuel Whitbread Academy
Samuel Whitbread is another upper academy, in Shefford, Central Bedfordshire, which again takes pupils from the age of 13. It was formerly rated ‘good’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 33.51 - giving it an average grade of C+. | Google