After offer day in Bedford
The dates we hold for replies, appeals and waiting lists in Bedford, for Reception and Year 7, and what happened at each school last year.
Refused a place? Find the school
What happened there last year, your council's dates, and what to do next.
Don't miss a date
A free account emails you before your reply, appeal and waiting-list dates, or puts them in your calendar. Set your council and your children once, in your plan.
Rules checked 19 October 2026 against the current codes on gov.uk
The dates
From the council: Bedford's school admissions page.
Reception, September 2026 entry
| Date | What | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2026 | Reception: waiting lists kept until | Waiting lists for this intake are kept until at least this date. Keep in touch with the council if you are on one. | School Admissions Code 2.15 |
Reception, September 2027 entry
| Date | What | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 February 2027 | Reception: late applications cut-off | The last day the council takes a late application before offer day, usually only with a good reason. | Bedford council |
| 16 April 2027 | Primary offer day | Offers arrive by email from your home council. Check which school you were offered. | Bedford council |
| 4 May 2027 | Reception: reply to your offer | Accept or decline the place you were offered, and ask to stay on the waiting list for schools you ranked higher. | Bedford council |
| 17 May 2027 | Reception: appeal deadline (earliest) | If you want to appeal for a school you were refused, lodge the appeal with the school's admission authority by this date. | School Admission Appeals Code: at least 20 school days after offers |
| 31 December 2027 | Reception: waiting lists kept until | Waiting lists for this intake are kept until at least this date. Keep in touch with the council if you are on one. | School Admissions Code 2.15 |
Year 7, September 2026 entry
| Date | What | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2026 | Year 7: waiting lists kept until | Waiting lists for this intake are kept until at least this date. Keep in touch with the council if you are on one. | School Admissions Code 2.15 |
Year 7, September 2027 entry
| Date | What | What to do | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2026 | Year 7: late applications cut-off | The last day the council takes a late application before offer day, usually only with a good reason. | Bedford council |
| 1 March 2027 | Secondary offer day | Offers arrive by email from your home council. Check which school you were offered. | Bedford council |
| 15 March 2027 | Year 7: reply to your offer | Accept or decline the place you were offered, and ask to stay on the waiting list for schools you ranked higher. | Bedford council |
| 31 March 2027 | Year 7: appeal deadline (earliest) | If you want to appeal for a school you were refused, lodge the appeal with the school's admission authority by this date. | School Admission Appeals Code: at least 20 school days after offers |
| 31 December 2027 | Year 7: waiting lists kept until | Waiting lists for this intake are kept until at least this date. Keep in touch with the council if you are on one. | School Admissions Code 2.15 |
How each step works, and the national rules: After offer day.
What happened at each school last year
The published figures from last year's offers. They describe what happened then, school by school. They are not a forecast, and they say nothing about any one family's case. Waiting lists are kept in the order of each school's admission criteria (School Admissions Code 2021, 2.15).
Reception, September 2026 entry
- DfE's figures cover 53 schools for September 2026 entry. At 37 of them, every family who put the school first was offered a place there. At 16, some families who put the school first were not offered it.
- Bedford's own offer-day table, held for 48 schools, shows 48 that refused nobody who applied and 0 that refused at least one applicant.
Every school (54)
Year 7, September 2026 entry
- DfE's figures cover 12 schools for September 2026 entry. At 6 of them, every family who put the school first was offered a place there. At 6, some families who put the school first were not offered it.
- Bedford's own offer-day table, held for 8 schools, shows 8 that refused nobody who applied and 0 that refused at least one applicant.
Every school (13)
| School | Places offered | Put it first | Put it first, not offered it | Applicants refused |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Academy | 293 | 285 | 15 | not held |
| Bedford Free School | 109 | 168 | 60 | not held |
| Biddenham International School and Sports College | 252 | 267 | 22 | not held |
| Daubeney Academy | 111 | 95 | 1 | nobody |
| Goldington Academy | 182 | 272 | 90 | not held |
| Kempston Academy | 118 | 105 | 0 | nobody |
| Lincroft Academy | 164 | 154 | 0 | nobody |
| Mark Rutherford School | 186 | 154 | 0 | nobody |
| Marston Vale Middle School | unknown | unknown | unknown | nobody (2025) |
| Sharnbrook Academy | 246 | 235 | 2 | nobody |
| St Thomas More Catholic School | 108 | 92 | 0 | nobody |
| Wixams Academy | 167 | 154 | 0 | nobody |
| Wootton Academy | 201 | 192 | 0 | not held |
Places offered and first preferences: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school level, Open Government Licence). "Put it first, not offered it" is DfE's number of first preferences less its number of first-preference offers. Applicants refused: Bedford's own offer-day tables (http://web.archive.org/web/20250413140625id_/https://www.bedford.gov.uk/files/starting-school-2025-booklet.pdf/download; https://www.bedford.gov.uk/files/school-transfer-booklet-2026.pdf/download; https://www.bedford.gov.uk/files/school-transfer-booklet-2027.pdf/download?inline; https://www.bedford.gov.uk/files/starting-school-2027-booklet-web.pdf/download?inline), where we hold them; "not held" means we do not have the figure, not that it was nought.
Moving to Bedford mid-year
Apply to the council, for any school. The council processes in-year applications for all Bedford Borough schools except Willow Grove Primary School (apply to the school). Up to three preferences.
- Decision: "normally 10-15 school days"; longer at peak times and school holidays.
- Proof of address: Not stated on the in-year page.
From Bedford's own in-year admissions page (not named; form dated July 2026): read it there before you apply, as arrangements change each year.
How in-year applications work everywhere: Moving mid-year.
Also: All Bedford admission dates · Moving mid-year
Sources
The rules on this page are from these, checked on gov.uk on 19 October 2026. Where a paragraph number is given, it is the paragraph of that code.
- School Admissions Code 2021: in force since 1 September 2021; the current version.
- School Admission Appeals Code 2022: for appeals lodged from 1 October 2022; the current version.
- gov.uk: School admissions: the government's guide for parents, updated 8 January 2025.
- Fair Access Protocols: guidance (DfE, August 2021): published with the School Admissions Code; the current version.
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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources are named beside each figure. How we know · All sources.