Cardinal Newman Catholic School A Specialist Science College
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,655 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.0
Free schools
Chiltern Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,203of 1,200 places
- Free school meals
- 38.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 231
- Ofsted
- Good, 2 February 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Chiltern Academy has no sixth form. Of the 207 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 45% moved to a sixth form college and 25% to a further education college.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 45% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
French is unusually popular at GCSE: 65% of the year group took it, against 18% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 49.5 against 46.1 across England and 45.0 in Luton, with 48% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Luton and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Chiltern Academy | Luton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 207 | 3,003 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 92% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 91% | 89% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 20% | 13% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 45% | 47% | 13% |
| — further education college | 25% | 27% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | — | 1% | 3% |
| Employment | — | 1% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Chiltern Academy | Luton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 49.5 | 45.0 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 68% | 49% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.78 | 4.05 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 37% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 42.5 | 38.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 53.6 | 48.1 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 49% | 49% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 231 | 100% | 89% | 23% | 20% | 74% |
| Mathematics | 231 | 100% | 88% | 20% | 22% | 74% |
| English Literature | 231 | 100% | 86% | 22% | 21% | 73% |
| Combined Science | 205 | 89% | 65% | 18% | 9% | 69% |
| French | 149 | 65% | 18% | 28% | 29% | 89% |
| Geography | 138 | 60% | 41% | 22% | 25% | 72% |
| Business Studies | 84 | 36% | 18% | 29% | 20% | 79% |
| History | 76 | 33% | 41% | 26% | 26% | 66% |
| Citizenship Studies | 69 | 30% | 3% | 13% | 19% | 68% |
| Psychology | 52 | 23% | 3% | 40% | 22% | 83% |
| Biology | 26 | 11% | 23% | 92% | 45% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 26 | 11% | 23% | 100% | 47% | 100% |
| Physics | 26 | 11% | 23% | 96% | 46% | 100% |
| Religious Studies | 24 | 10% | 31% | 50% | 32% | 96% |
| Applied Engineering | 23 | 10% | 0% | 39% | 18% | 100% |
| Computer Science | 23 | 10% | 13% | 13% | 30% | 91% |
| Fine Art | 23 | 10% | 9% | 17% | 28% | 61% |
| Physical Education | 19 | 8% | 11% | 0% | 24% | 42% |
| Polish | 19 | 8% | 1% | 79% | 84% | 100% |
| Modern Greek | 4 | 2% | 0% | — | 33% | — |
| Italian | 3 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Urdu | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
| Arabic | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Spanish | 1 | 0% | 19% | — | 27% | — |
| Bengali | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 35% | — |
| Punjabi | 1 | 0% | 0% | — | 48% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Studies | 32 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 22 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 19 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 19 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 10 | — | — |
| Additional Mathematics FSMQ | 8 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 5 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Luton
Challney High School for Boys
Academy converter · 1,197 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.7
Challney High School for Girls
Academy converter · 1,062 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.1
Denbigh High School
Academy converter · 1,130 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.6
Icknield High School
Academy converter · 1,452 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.4
Lealands High School
Foundation school · 1,025 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.3
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.