Houstone School

Houstone School is a calm, safe and well-run secondary school where pupils behave well, lessons proceed without interruption and pupils are supported to meet high expectations. This was the school’s first inspection since opening in September 2022, and inspectors recognised the complex context of starting a school from scratch, absorbing pupils from a closed local provider and moving into a new building. Some pupils arrived with significant gaps in knowledge, and published outcomes do not yet reflect the quality of the current curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well and lessons proceed without interruption.
• The school provides a calm, safe environment with high expectations.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully sequenced.
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and effective classroom practice.
• Support for pupils with SEND is working well and helps pupils catch up.
• Behaviour routines are clear and serious incidents are handled effectively.
• Suspensions and exclusions have reduced.
• Pupils benefit from a longer school day and a well-planned tutor programme.
• The electives programme offers a wide range of clubs, trips and experiences.
• Careers provision prepares pupils well for their next steps.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders, including trust leaders, have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for refinement.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not identify quickly enough when pupils need further help, guidance or support, so those pupils do not learn as well as they could.

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 Houstone School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.0% 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, 14.0% of pupils at Houstone School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Houstone School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.4% 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, 12.8% of pupils at Houstone School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.8% 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 2024–25 Houstone School received £8,386 and spent £8,020 for each of its 658 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £631,000 (£958 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Advantage Schools, income was £7,950 and spending £7,863 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 Dunstable · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

Houstone School is part of Advantage Schools, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• The Chalk Hills Academy Luton
• The Vale Academy Dunstable
• The Stockwood Park Academy Luton
• The Linden Academy Luton
• The Rushmere Park Academy Leighton Buzzard
• Elstow School Bedford
• Bedford Free School Bedford
• Queen's Park Academy Bedford
• Laburnum Primary School Sandy

What is Houstone School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Houstone School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Houstone School last inspected by Ofsted?

Houstone School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Houstone School have?

Houstone School has 765 pupils on roll.

What age range does Houstone School cover?

Houstone School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Houstone School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.7, and 57% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Houstone School?

Houstone School is at Parkside Drive, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, LU5 5PX.