Manshead CE Academy is a mixed

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

secondary academy and

sixth form In the education systems of Barbados, England, Jamaica, Northern Ireland, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales, and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepa ...

located on the outskirts of both

Caddington Caddington is a village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The western border of the parish is Watling Street, to the west of which is Kensworth. The northern and eastern border are generally for ...

and

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north. Dunstable is the fou ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England. The academy (surrounded by countryside and hills) is a member of the Diocese of St Albans Multi-Academy Trust. The academy is the modern successor to Dunstable Grammar School, which existed from 1881 to 1971 when Bedfordshire adopted the comprehensive education system. From this time, it was an

upper school Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority ...

educating pupils aged 13–18, with Ashton Middle School in particular acting as a feeder school to Manshead. However, in September 2014, Manshead became a full secondary school accepting pupils at age 11. In May 2017, the school converted to a sponsored academy with the Diocese of St Albans Multi-Academy Trust. The academy is named after the ancient Manshead

Hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

which covered an area in the south-west of Bedfordshire and included Dunstable.

2025 knife incident

In the afternoon on Friday, 2nd May 2025 police were called to the school after reports of a teenager with a knife, two individuals associated with the school were taken to the hospital with only minor injuries. The school was placed into lockdown while the teenager was detained at the school and another man was taken into custody elswhere. A 16 year old boy was later charged with false imprisonment, Grievous Bodily Harm with intent and three counts of Threatening a person with a bladed article on school premises.

Notable former pupils

Kevin McCloud Kevin McCloud, (born 8 May 1959) is a British designer, writer, and a television presenter. He has presented the Channel 4 series ''Grand Designs'' since its debut in April 1999. Early life Born in Bedfordshire, McCloud and his two brothers, ...

– designer, writer and television presenter * Tim Robinson – former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er and current cricket

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

Other secondary schools in the area

* All Saints Academy * Queensbury Academy * Priory Academy

References

External links

Manshead School website
Educational institutions established in 1881 1881 establishments in England Church of England secondary schools in the Diocese of St Albans Voluntary aided schools in England Secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire District {{Bedfordshire-school-stub