OFSTED: Vandyke remains a ‘good’ school Vandyke Upper School was inspected by OFSTED on 23/24 January.  This was an ungraded Section 8 inspection.  The report has now been published – you can read it in full here. Headteacher Tim Carroll said, ‘Inspections are always memorable moments in the life of a school!  The inspection team […]

Vandyke Alumni inspire current students   It is always wonderful when ex-students return to update us on what exciting paths they have taken after Vandyke. We created our Alumni programme in 2020 to capture these stories and offer our current students a valuable insight into post-18 opportunities. We have looked far and wide – from […]

Public Services visit to Bedford Police HQ The Public Services and UPS class recently visited Bedford Police Headquarters. We had a general talk about policing and then a couple of officers spoke to us about their roles. We listened to a talk from SOCO, a child protection officer and forensics’ staff – then had a […]

  Y10 visit the Cambridge Botanical Gardens Year 10 students recently visited the Cambridge Botanical Gardens to enhance their primary photography skills. Art and photography students are currently working on a natural forms project, which involves researching various artists and photographers to develop their GCSE project further. They are producing observational studies and editing their […]

Vandyke hosts successful careers event On Thursday 1st February 2024 we held The Big Picture Careers Fayre here at Vandyke. The event was a resounding success, with the venue at capacity. Many students from all year groups attended, including students from other local upper schools and our local feeder middle schools.  It was superb to welcome visitors and […]

Tim Carroll – Education Matters Please click the link below to read Mr Carroll’s latest opinion piece in the Education Matters segment of the Leighton Buzzard Observer. Education Matters, Tuesday 20th February 2024 – Just a snapshot of a moment in time

Public Services students visit Aylesbury College Our Y10 Public Services students recently paid a visit to Aylesbury College. The key aim of the trip was to study the importance of the National Health Service (The NHS) within the UK, and to practice elements of first aid. The day started with pupils getting into small groups […]

Cheque presented to Smile Malawi We were delighted to welcome Elspeth Baecke, founder of the Smile Malawi charity, to school on Monday.  We were even more delighted to present her with a cheque for £3,095 at a special assembly! Elspeth happily received the cheque from the Y13 Senior Student Team before telling our Y12 students […]

Showjumping success for Vandyke team In the recent NSEA County Showjumping Competition, the Vandyke Equestrian Team qualified for the national finals, to be held at Hickstead in May. The team comprising of Taija P, Amelie B, Joanne S and Harriet T competed in both the 80 and 90cm events, with the best three scores counting […]

The Big Picture Careers Fayre   We’re delighted to announce details of our whole school Careers Fayre ‘The Big Picture’ on Thursday 1 February from 3.15pm-6.15pm. All students and parents/carers will have the opportunity to meet representatives from universities, colleges, training and apprenticeship providers and local as well as international employers to discuss college applications, […]