Brooklands Middle School

Brooklands Middle School is performing well overall, maintaining a good rating in all inspected areas, including the quality of education, behavior, personal development, and leadership. The school provides a safe and enjoyable environment where pupils feel supported and valued. Significant emphasis is placed on inclusivity, with students celebrating differences and feeling part of a strong community. Leaders have established an ambitious and well-structured curriculum that prepares students effectively for their next educational steps. However, improvements are needed in teaching consistency, particularly in subject-specific approaches and assessment practices.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and enjoy coming to school.
• Strong relationships among pupils and staff create a safe learning environment.
• The curriculum is ambitious, broad, and designed to support student progression.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Leaders prioritize reading and have implemented successful phonics training.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent assessment practices lead to unclear understanding of pupil progress.
• Generic training for teachers does not adequately support subject-specific needs.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Brooklands Middle School attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 14.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 2.8% of pupils at Brooklands Middle School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Brooklands Middle School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 2.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 9.7% of pupils at Brooklands Middle School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 12.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2023–24 Brooklands Middle School received £6,336 and spent £6,895 for each of its 601 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,490,000 (£2,479 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of The Pyramid Schools Trust, income was £6,763 and spending £6,518 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Leighton Buzzard · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

Brooklands Middle School is part of The Pyramid Schools Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Beecroft Academy Dunstable
• Parkfields Middle School Dunstable
• Sundon Lower School Luton
• Harlington Lower School Dunstable
• Harlington Upper School Dunstable
• Westoning Lower School Bedford
• Redborne Upper School and Community College Bedford
• Arnold Academy Bedford
• Ramsey Manor Lower School Bedford

What is Brooklands Middle School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brooklands Middle School is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was Brooklands Middle School last inspected by Ofsted?

Brooklands Middle School was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does Brooklands Middle School have?

Brooklands Middle School has 598 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brooklands Middle School cover?

Brooklands Middle School for pupils aged 9 to 13.

What are Brooklands Middle School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 48% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Brooklands Middle School?

Brooklands Middle School is at Brooklands Drive, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, LU7 3PF.