Priory Primary School
Greyfriars, Bedford, MK40 1JD
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- The Leap Community Trust
- Headteacher
- Mrs Juliet Fraser
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 206
- Pupils on roll
- 214
- URN
- 109436
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01234261768
About this school
Priory Primary School is a foundation primary school in Bedford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 214 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Priory Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 26 | 24 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 35% | 46% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 46% | 58% | 58% |
| Expected standard in maths | 54% | 71% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 71% | 63% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 103.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Priory Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bedford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 35% | 50.7% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 46% | 53.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 202 |
| 2023/24 | 205 |
| 2024/25 | 202 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Priory Primary School compares
Priory Primary School ranked 35th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 6.1% | 25.1% | 214 | — |
| Livingstone Primary School | 49% | 5.1% | 35.5% | 457 | 0.4 miles |
| Queen's Park Academy | 61% | 5.5% | 36.8% | 446 | 0.7 miles |
| Edith Cavell Primary School | 58% | 5.2% | 30.8% | 292 | 0.7 miles |
| Westfield Primary School | 48% | 5.8% | 23% | 298 | 0.8 miles |
| St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School | 44% | 5.6% | 31.4% | 271 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.14%
- English as an additional language
- 79.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.09%
- Persistent absence
- 20%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Livingstone Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Queen's Park Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Edith Cavell Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
Westfield Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Bedford
-
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary and Pre-School0.8 miles
Primary · Bedford
Other schools in Bedford
Priory Primary School ranks 35th of the 53 ranked primary schools in Bedford.
- Balliol Primary School Primary
- Bedford Road Primary Academy Primary
- Brickhill Primary School Primary
- Broadmead Lower School Primary
- Bromham CofE Primary School Primary
- Camestone School Primary
- Carlton CofE Primary School Primary
- Castle Newnham School Primary
- Cauldwell School Primary
- Cotton End Forest School Primary
- Cranfield Church of England Academy Primary
- Edith Cavell Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Priory Primary School teach?
- Priory Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bedford.
- Who is the headteacher of Priory Primary School?
- The headteacher of Priory Primary School is Mrs Juliet Fraser, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Priory Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Priory Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Priory Primary School?
- Priory Primary School has 214 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Priory Primary School full?
- Priory Primary School has capacity for 206 pupils and 214 on roll (104%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Priory Primary School a faith school?
- No. Priory Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Priory Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Priory Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Priory Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Priory Primary School is part of The Leap Community Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Priory Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 35% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Priory Primary School compare with other schools in Bedford?
- Priory Primary School ranked 35th of 51 primary schools in Bedford for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Priory Primary School's absence rate?
- Priory Primary School's overall absence rate is 6.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Priory Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Priory Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.