Houstone School Review 2026: A new free school with a longer day and clear routines

Houstone School is still in its early chapters, and that matters for families weighing it up. The school opened in September 2022 and moved into a purpose-built, three-storey building in September 2023, designed to expand to a capacity of 900 pupils.

The tone is purposeful. A longer school day and a structured tutor programme are used to strengthen literacy, numeracy, homework habits, and personal development, and the culture centres on calm learning routines rather than constant sanctions.

For parents, the key take-away is that this is a school built to stabilise and raise expectations after a disruptive local context, including absorbing pupils from closed providers and supporting students who arrived with gaps in prior learning. That context helps explain why published outcomes can lag behind the school’s current curriculum model in the early years of a new intake profile.

This is a newer secondary serving Houghton Regis and surrounding growth areas, and the physical environment reflects that. Central Bedfordshire’s published overview describes a main teaching block, a separate sports block, an all-weather pitch, outdoor pitches, and a new car park, with multiple pedestrian access routes linked to the Kingsland Campus and nearby housing development.

Leadership is clearly identified. The principal is Elizabeth English.

The school’s story includes operational complexity from day one. In its first phase it opened while building work progressed, admitted pupils across key stages on opening, took pupils from a closed local secondary previously judged inadequate, and then moved into the current site in September 2023. Those ingredients typically produce a wide attainment spread and a strong emphasis on routines, and that emphasis is visible in how the school frames behaviour, rewards, and resets for pupils who need to “get back on track”.

There is also a deliberate effort to create belonging through responsibility. Pupils take on leadership roles and are positioned as contributors to a school that is still establishing traditions, not simply consumers of an inherited culture.

Ranked 3,715th in England and 5th in Dunstable for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data)

This places performance below England average, within the bottom 40% of secondary schools in England for GCSE outcomes.

Headline measures in the most recent dataset provided show:

• Attainment 8 score: 32.7

• EBacc average point score: 2.77

• Progress 8 score: -0.74

On Progress 8, a score of 0 is the England average for pupils with similar starting points. A score of -0.74 indicates pupils, on average, made less progress than peers nationally from their Key Stage 2 baseline across eight GCSE slots.

A crucial interpretive point for families is that the school is new enough for published outcomes to reflect a transition period. The May 2025 inspection states that published outcomes do not represent the current curriculum quality, given the school’s start-up challenges, rapid growth, and intake disruption.

Parents comparing local options may find it useful to use the FindMySchool Local Hub Comparison Tool to view these results alongside nearby schools on a like-for-like basis, particularly because early-year volatility is common in expanding schools.

The curriculum model is described as ambitious and carefully sequenced, with key knowledge broken down to build understanding over time. Subject knowledge across staff is positioned as a strength, and classroom activities are intended to be used both for introducing new content and for checking understanding with precision.

The longer day is not presented as “more of the same”. It creates space for structured tutor time and supervised study, including homework support and planned personal, social, health and economic education, with coverage that includes finance, careers, and understanding different faiths and beliefs.

The main development point is consistency in responsive teaching. Where staff do not spot quickly enough who needs extra guidance or practice, pupils do not learn as well as they could. For parents, that reads as a school with a clear instructional model that is still being embedded across a growing workforce.

Houstone School is an 11 to 16 school, so progression at 16 is a core consideration. Careers education is described as improving and is intended to prepare pupils well for next steps beyond the school.

A practical implication for families is that the quality of Year 9 to Year 11 guidance matters as much as GCSE teaching. For students who arrive mid-phase, or with gaps in learning, strong advice on post-16 routes can be the difference between a confident move into sixth form or college and a drift into the wrong course. The inspection evidence supports a school taking that responsibility seriously, including compliance with provider access expectations.

Houstone School is a state-funded academy free school, so there are no tuition fees.

For Year 7 entry, applications are coordinated through Central Bedfordshire. For September 2026 entry, the published local authority timeline sets:

• Open events typically September to October

• National closing date 31 October 2025

• National offer day 2 March 2026

• Late allocation round offer day 24 April 2026

Houstone School’s own open-event listing for the 2026 entry cycle shows an open evening held in mid-October, which aligns with the council’s standard September to October pattern. Families should expect a similar window each year and check the latest schedule before planning.

No “last distance offered” figure is available in the provided admissions dataset for this school, so families should treat proximity as one factor among others and rely on the local authority’s published admission arrangements and oversubscription criteria for the relevant year. For families who are distance-sensitive, the FindMySchool Map Search can help verify home-to-school distance calculations in the same way admissions teams apply them.

The safeguarding position is clear: The May 2025 Ofsted inspection confirmed safeguarding arrangements were effective.

Pastoral practice is framed around predictability and repair. Rewards are used to reinforce positive behaviour and the school provides structured opportunities for pupils to reset when things go wrong. Serious incidents are described as rare and dealt with appropriately, and reduced suspensions and exclusions are presented as evidence that behaviour systems are bedding in.

SEND support is described as recently strengthened, with staff given accurate information about needs and targeted intensive help used, including catch-up support in reading and numeracy. For families of pupils with additional needs, that combination of accurate profiling plus practical classroom adaptations is often more meaningful than generic “inclusive” messaging.

The most distinctive feature here is the structured enrichment model rather than a traditional “clubs list”. The school’s “electives” programme is described as a key part of life, giving pupils regular time to do something different alongside the academic timetable. Examples given include boxing, cooking, chess, and art.

That breadth matters because it creates multiple ways for pupils to connect with school, especially in a newer setting where families may still be forming loyalties and routines. A pupil who is not immediately confident academically may still find traction through an elective, then bring that motivation back into lessons. The school also references trips and other experiences as an expanding part of provision, which is typical for a school moving from start-up to maturity.

Facilities are also relevant to extracurricular depth. The council’s description of a dedicated sports block and all-weather pitch supports the idea that sport and physical activity are designed into the site, rather than treated as an add-on.

Houstone School operates as an 11 to 16 secondary academy free school with a longer day model.

Specific start and finish times, and any before-school or after-school supervision, should be checked against the school’s latest published information because timetables can shift in expanding schools. If you are planning transport around fixed pick-up windows, verify details close to the start of term.

For travel planning, the site is accessed from Parkside Drive, with a car park and additional pedestrian access routes described via the Kingsland Campus connections.

• A newer school profile. Opened in September 2022 and moved into a new building in September 2023, the school is still establishing consistency and cohorts are still settling into stable patterns.

• Results still catching up to the current model. Published outcomes have not yet fully reflected the school’s current curriculum approach, which is an important context when comparing data to longer-established neighbours.

• Variation in classroom responsiveness. The main improvement point is ensuring all staff identify quickly when pupils need extra support, so families should ask how intervention works in practice, especially for pupils with gaps in learning.

• Post-16 transition planning is central. With education ending at 16 on-site, the quality of guidance into sixth form, college, apprenticeships, or training should be a key part of any family’s due diligence.

Houstone School is a purpose-built, expanding state secondary designed to meet local demand and to rebuild stability after a period of disrupted provision in the area. The school day structure, tutor programme, and electives model signal an emphasis on routines, supervised study habits, and broad engagement, not just classroom delivery.

It suits families who value a calm culture, clear expectations, and a school that is still improving and refining its practice as cohorts grow. The main consideration is that published outcomes are still in an early-phase pattern for a new school, so families should weigh the inspection evidence, the school’s trajectory, and how support is delivered day-to-day, particularly for pupils who need catch-up.