Priory Academy
All-through school · Academy converter · ages 9 to 16 · Mixed
Priory Academy, Britain Street, Dunstable, LU5 4JA
- Pupils830
- Ages9 to 16
- Latest Ofsted20 Apr 2023
- FundingState-funded
Ofsted inspections
Shown exactly as Ofsted published them, each with its own date.
Ungraded inspection · 20 Apr 2023
Outcome: School remains Good. An ungraded inspection checks whether a school is still at the standard of its last graded inspection; it doesn’t give new grades.
Ungraded inspection · report published 14 Jun 2023
Read the full reports on Ofsted’s website (opens in a new tab) — they explain the reasons behind each grade.
Source: Ofsted, state-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (latest inspections as at 30 September 2026). Newer inspections may be on Ofsted’s website. How Ofsted inspections work.
Results
Primary results (end of Year 6, key stage 2)
2024/25 · 123 pupils. What these mean
Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Pupils who scored 100 or more in both the reading and maths tests and were assessed by teachers as working at the expected standard (or greater depth) in writing.
2024/25
Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
A high score (110 or more) in the reading and maths tests and working at greater depth in writing.
2024/25
Average scaled score in reading
Test scores are scaled from 80 to 120; 100 or more means the expected standard. Pupils who didn’t sit the test are left out.
2024/25
Average scaled score in maths
Scaled from 80 to 120; 100 or more means the expected standard.
2024/25
Each subject separately
Expected standard in reading
2024/25
Expected standard in writing (teacher assessment)
2024/25
Expected standard in maths
2024/25
Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling
2024/25
Average scaled score in grammar, punctuation and spelling
2024/25
Expected standard in science (teacher assessment)
2024/25
No progress scores for 2024/25: the DfE couldn’t calculate them because there was no key stage 1 data for these pupils (COVID-19 disruption). They return with the 2025/26 results.
GCSE results (end of Year 11, key stage 4)
Latest: 2025/26 (provisional) · 109 pupils. Each figure shows its year. What these mean
2025/26 results are provisional: the DfE will revise them (next update due February 2027). The provisional data has no EBacc figures, so EBacc is from an earlier year.
Attainment 8 score
Each pupil’s results across 8 qualifications (maths counts double, and English usually does too), averaged across the school. It partly reflects pupils’ starting points.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “strong pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Grade 4 or above in English and maths GCSEs
Often called a “standard pass” in both subjects.
2025/26 (provisional)
Progress 8 score
Compares pupils’ Attainment 8 results with pupils across England who had similar results at the end of primary school. 0 means about the same; above 0 means more progress, below 0 less. How to read Progress 8.
2023/24 — the latest year with Progress 8
−0.21
The DfE gives a range of −0.50 to +0.07 (95% confidence interval). The range includes 0, so we can’t say it differs from the national average.
DfE banding: Average
Central Bedfordshire, same year: −0.24
England (state-funded schools), same year: −0.03
The Department for Education says Progress 8 can’t be calculated for 2024/25 or 2025/26, because those pupils had no key stage 2 test results (the tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19). Progress 8 is a relative, in-year measure, so it can’t be compared directly year on year.
Entered for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
Pupils entered for all 5 EBacc “pillars”: English, maths, science, history or geography, and a language.
2024/25
EBacc average point score
Pupils’ point scores across the 5 EBacc pillars.
2024/25
Earlier years
| Year | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ English & maths | Grade 4+ English & maths | Progress 8 | EBacc entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 42 | 45% | 58.7% | Not available | – |
| 2024/25 | 46.2 | 49.5% | 69.9% | Not available | 30.1% |
| 2023/24 | 41.7 | 41.9% | 62.4% | −0.21 | 66.7% |
Results describe a different group of pupils each year. Progress 8 is a relative measure and can’t be compared year on year.
Results describe one group of pupils in one year, so they can change a lot — especially in small schools. The DfE says “conclusions should not be drawn on a single piece of data alone.” This school on the DfE’s performance tables (opens in a new tab).
Source: Department for Education, school performance tables and Explore education statistics (key stage 4, 2025/26 provisional). England and local authority figures are the DfE’s own, for the same year.
Pupils and attendance
- Pupils
- 830 (capacity 700)
394 girls, 436 boys - Eligible for free school meals
- 14.8% (currently eligible, census of January 2026)
Pupils with SEN support
Special educational needs, without an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
2024/25
Pupils with an EHC plan
An education, health and care plan sets out the support a child must get.
2024/25
Eligible for free school meals at any time in the last 6 years
2024/25
First language not English
This is not a measure of how well pupils speak English.
2024/25
Attendance
Overall absence
The share of possible mornings and afternoons missed, for any reason (authorised or not).
2024/25
Persistent absence
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions.
2024/25
Sources: Get Information about Schools; DfE school census and absence statistics via the performance tables. What these figures mean.
About the school
- Type
- Academy converter (Academies)
- Phase
- All-through
- Trust
- SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
- Sponsor
- Scholars' Education Trust
- Boys, girls or mixed
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Does not apply
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Opened
- 1 June 2012
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Parliamentary constituency
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
- URN
- 138181 (the DfE’s reference number for the school)
Source: Get Information about Schools (Department for Education). See the full record (opens in a new tab).
Admissions
For a place at the usual starting age you apply through your home council (where you live), even if the school is in another area — not to the school. You can usually name several schools in order of preference.
Apply for a primary place (GOV.UK) Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK)
How school admissions work: deadlines, oversubscription and appeals.