Guest, Sign inJoin
WoburnSands01Photo: Cnyborg · CC BY-SA 3.0
C−School Grade
Schools in Woburn Sands · DfE, Ofsted

Woburn Sands’s state schools get lower results than 79% of towns in England

In reading, writing and maths together, 52% of Woburn Sands’s eleven-year-olds met the expected standard, below both Buckinghamshire’s towns (63%) and towns in England (62%). 2 state-funded schools are located in Woburn Sands’s built-up area. Woburn Sands grades C− for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #36 of 39 in Buckinghamshire. Ofsted is shown, not graded.

State schools
2
1 primary, 1 secondary
Reading, writing & maths
52%
meet the expected standard at 11 · 2023–25
England’s schools: 62%
Attainment 8
44.2
GCSE average across 8 subjects · 2025/26
England’s schools: 47.3
Grade 5+ English & maths
43%
a strong pass in both · 2025/26
England’s schools: 47%

Town figures are pupil-weighted across the schools the grade uses; England’s are the average school.

School Grade

Woburn Sands grades C− for schools

Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.

Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (52% meet the standard)Better than 12% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (44.2 and 43%)Better than 40% of towns in England

The secondary figure lifts Woburn Sands; the primary figure holds it back.

The primary figure: 2 primaries in the town, 283 pupils in results over three years. Woburn Sands has 1 secondary of its own with GCSE results, too few to judge on, so the secondary figure uses the 3 graded secondaries in and within 3 km of the town (730 pupils in results). Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.

Map

Where Woburn Sands’s 2 state schools are

Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Woburn Sands’s built-up area.

PrimarySecondary (named)Special, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter

Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.

Getting a place

How school places work in Woburn Sands

Central Bedfordshire Council handles applications for every state school in Woburn Sands, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.

Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.

When a school is full

Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.

Useful: Apply for a primary place (GOV.UK) · Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK) · How admissions criteria work

How full each school is

Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 1 school is at or over it.

Swallowfield incl. nursery127%
Fulbrook79%

DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.

The schools

2 state schools in Woburn Sands

Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.

Letters of Woburn Sands’s schoolsA 0B 0C 2D 0

Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.

Ofsted

Ofsted report cards

Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.

Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 1 of Woburn Sands’s 2 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.

SchoolSafeguardingAchievementCurriculum and teachingInclusionAttendance and behaviourPersonal development and well-beingLeadership and governance
Fulbrook SchoolJanuary 2026MetExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standardExpected standard
After 16

Where Woburn Sands’s teenagers go at 16

In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.

The state secondary in Woburn Sands teaches 11 to 16. The nearest college is Milton Keynes College, a further-education college 4.3 miles away.

Secondaries with a sixth form
0 of 1
state schools in Woburn Sands
Colleges within 12 miles
2
nearest: Milton Keynes College
Grammar schools in Central Bedfordshire
0
no selective state secondaries
CollegeDistance
Milton Keynes CollegeFurther-education college · MK6 5LP4.3 mi
Bedford CollegeFurther-education college · MK42 9AH11.3 mi
Towns its size

483rd of 626 English towns of 3,000 to 6,000

Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns either side of Woburn Sands, and the top and bottom of the group.

#TownSchoolsKS2Attainment 8Grade 5+ E&M
1Gnosall StaffordshireA+83%——
…
479Istead Rise KentC−60%40.134%
480Whitehill HampshireC−50%44.246%
481Knebworth HertfordshireC−60%38.733%
482Barnt Green WorcestershireC−61%39.429%
483Woburn Sands BuckinghamshireC−52%44.243%
484Headley Down and Headley HampshireC−49%44.246%
485Barlby North YorkshireC−59%41.435%
486Porthleven CornwallC−57%——
487Willington County DurhamC−56%4240%
…
626Watchet SomersetD−29%——
Neighbours

Woburn Sands and the places around it

Coloured by School Grade.

Aspley Guise: CBletchley: CCranfield: D−Lidlington: no School GradeMilton Keynes: BHeath and Reach: CStoke Hammond: C+Aspley GuiseBletchleyCranfieldLidlingtonMilton KeynesHeath and ReachStoke HammondWoburn Sands
TownSchoolsKS2Att. 8
Woburn Sands
2 schools
C−52%44.2
Aspley Guise
0 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 0.7 mi
C56%43.9
Bletchley
18 schools · 4.1 mi
C61%41.2
Cranfield
2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 4.3 mi
D−46%—
Lidlington
1 school · 4.3 mi
———
Milton Keynes
75 schools · 4.8 mi
B64%45.1
Heath and Reach
1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 4.9 mi
C50%47.6
Stoke Hammond
0 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 5 mi
C+61%42.6

Milton Keynes has the best-graded schools nearby (B). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.

How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
  • Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Woburn Sands: 0% (England’s average school: 8%).
  • Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
  • Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
  • Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
  • Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
  • Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
  • Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.

Questions about schools in Woburn Sands

Are schools in Woburn Sands good?

Woburn Sands’s state schools earn a C− against schools across England: primary results beat 12% of towns in England; secondary results beat 40% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Milton Keynes council.

Do Woburn Sands secondary schools have sixth forms?

No. The state secondary teaches 11–16; students move at 16 to a college, a sixth form elsewhere or an apprenticeship.

How do I apply for a school place in Woburn Sands?

Through Central Bedfordshire Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).

How many schools in Woburn Sands are full?

1 of 2 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.

How many state schools are in Woburn Sands?

2 open state-funded schools are located in Woburn Sands’s built-up area: 1 primary, 1 secondary and 0 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.

Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.