Advantage Schools

Formed in April 2017, we run Elstow School, Bedford Free School and Queen’s Park Academy. We are opening a brand new secondary school, Houstone School, in September 2022. We believe very strongly in our values, which guide everything we do. We exist to serve our communities – the pupils and families of Bedford and Central Bedfordshire – in order to offer a real choice of education. We specialise in an academic education that offers excellent outcomes, a great learning environment with routines and structures that ensure excellent behaviour, and phenomenal extra-curricular opportunities. Our schools are genuinely comprehensive, and we believe that every child can go on to achieve extraordinary things. We ensure that our curriculum is rich in knowledge, expect hard work and do not make excuses. We believe in working together with families to support our high expectations that meet young peoples’ aspirations. Every pupil should have the option to go to university at 18, and for the vast majority this should be the choice of highly-selective universities. We hence craft our curriculum around the core knowledge contained in traditional academic subjects. We believe all of our pupils have a right to the assumed knowledge that educated people take for granted, and aspire to ensure that all of our pupils join the community of educated citizens. We are outward-facing, sharing all of what we do with other trusts, professionals and anyone who is interested.