Priory Academy
Priory Academy, Britain Street, Dunstable, LU5 4JA
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Bailey
- Sponsor
- Scholars' Education Trust
- Constituency
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 700
- Pupils on roll
- 830
- URN
- 138181
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582661158
About this school
Priory Academy is an all-through academy in Dunstable. It teaches children aged 9 to 16 and has 830 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Priory Academy, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 20 April 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 119 | 119 | 123 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 67% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 3% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 81% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 79% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 76% | 63% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 104.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.10 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 96 | 93 | 103 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.1 | 41.7 | 46.2 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.23 -0.05 to +0.52 | -0.21 -0.50 to +0.07 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 52% | 41.9% | 49.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 62.4% | 69.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 70% | 66.7% | 30.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 3.9 | 4.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Priory Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 69% | 47.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 67% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Central Bedfordshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.1 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.7 | 38.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.2 | 42.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 770 |
| 2023/24 | 791 |
| 2024/25 | 808 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Priory Academy compares
Priory Academy ranked 6th of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.2 | 7.3% | 13.7% | 830 | — |
| Glebe Farm School | — | 5.9% | 24.2% | 1,188 | 12.0 miles |
| Kents Hill Park all-through school | 50.2 | 8% | 30.7% | 1,056 | 13.0 miles |
| Samuel Ryder Academy | 56.5 | 6.9% | 19% | 1,577 | 13.3 miles |
| Watling Lower School | — | — | — | 190 | 0.3 miles |
| Dunstable Icknield Lower School | — | 6% | 16.2% | 295 | 0.4 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)
- 13.74%
- English as an additional language
- 16.7%
- Overall absence
- 7.33%
- Persistent absence
- 17.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Glebe Farm School12.0 miles
All-through · Milton Keynes
-
Kents Hill Park all-through school13.0 miles
All-through · Milton Keynes
-
Samuel Ryder Academy13.3 miles
All-through · St Albans
-
Watling Lower School0.3 miles
Primary · Dunstable
-
Dunstable Icknield Lower School0.4 miles
Primary · Dunstable
Other schools in Dunstable
Priory Academy ranks 6th of the 20 ranked primary schools in Dunstable, and Priory Academy ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Dunstable.
- Westfield Nursery School Nursery
- Willow Nursery School Nursery
- Ardley Hill Academy Primary
- Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School Primary
- Beecroft Academy Primary
- Dunstable Icknield Lower School Primary
- Eaton Bray Academy Primary
- Edlesborough Primary Academy Primary
- Hadrian Academy Primary
- Harlington Lower School Primary
- Houghton Regis Primary School Primary
- Kensworth Church of England Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Priory Academy teach?
- Priory Academy teaches children aged 9 to 16. It is an all-through school in Dunstable.
- Who is the headteacher of Priory Academy?
- The headteacher of Priory Academy is Mr Ian Bailey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Priory Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Priory Academy, 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 Academy?
- Priory Academy has 830 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 16.
- Is Priory Academy full?
- Priory Academy has capacity for 700 pupils and 830 on roll (119%), 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 Academy a faith school?
- No. Priory Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Priory Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Priory Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Priory Academy part of an academy trust?
- Priory Academy is part of SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Priory Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% in 2022/23 and 65% 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 Academy compare with other schools in Central Bedfordshire?
- Priory Academy ranked 6th of 14 secondary schools in Central Bedfordshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 62% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 22% 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 Academy's absence rate?
- Priory Academy's overall absence rate is 7.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Priory Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Priory Academy'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 1 July 2026.