The Vale Academy
Wilbury Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4QP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS
- Principal
- Mr Jordan Campbell
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Advantage Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 563
- Pupils on roll
- 601
- URN
- 138714
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01582211150
About this school
The Vale Academy is a primary academy in Dunstable. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 601 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 76 | 80 | 55 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 63% | 75% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 76% | 89% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 82% | 88% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 89% | 82% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 106.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.70 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.60 | - | - |
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 The Vale 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 | 63% | 47.8% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 617 |
| 2023/24 | 624 |
| 2024/25 | 602 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Vale Academy compares
The Vale Academy ranked 7th of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 5% | 12.1% | 601 | — |
| Hadrian Academy | 56% | 4.6% | 12.3% | 394 | 0.2 miles |
| St Christophers Academy | 33% | 5.3% | 9.9% | 388 | 0.5 miles |
| Chantry Primary Academy | 79% | 4.9% | 34.2% | 631 | 0.6 miles |
| Southfield Primary Academy | 72% | 4.4% | 33.2% | 405 | 0.8 miles |
| St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary School | 66% | 3.8% | 15.2% | 377 | 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)
- 12.09%
- English as an additional language
- 27.7%
- Overall absence
- 5%
- Persistent absence
- 13.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hadrian Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Dunstable
-
St Christophers Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Dunstable
-
Chantry Primary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Luton
-
Southfield Primary Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Luton
-
St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Luton
Other schools in Dunstable
The Vale Academy ranks 3rd of the 20 ranked primary schools in Dunstable.
- 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
- Lancot School Primary
- Lark Rise Academy Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Vale Academy teach?
- The Vale Academy teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Dunstable.
- Who is the principal of The Vale Academy?
- The principal of The Vale Academy is Mr Jordan Campbell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Vale Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Vale 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 big is The Vale Academy?
- The Vale Academy has 601 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is The Vale Academy full?
- The Vale Academy has capacity for 563 pupils and 601 on roll (107%), 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 The Vale Academy a faith school?
- No. The Vale Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does The Vale Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Vale Academy as having nursery classes.
- Who runs The Vale Academy?
- The Vale Academy is part of ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Vale Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 63% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Vale Academy rank locally?
- The Vale Academy ranked 7th of 48 primary schools in Central Bedfordshire for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Vale Academy's absence rate?
- The Vale Academy's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Vale Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Vale 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.