Dovery Academy
Heath Road, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 3AG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- KNOWLEDGE SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Cavender
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Knowledge Schools Trust
- Constituency
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 150
- Pupils on roll
- 191
- URN
- 149324
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01525377233
About this school
Dovery Academy is a primary academy in Leighton Buzzard. It teaches children aged 3 to 9 and has 191 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Dovery 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
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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Dovery 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 165 |
| 2023/24 | 165 |
| 2024/25 | 167 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dovery Academy compares
Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.2% | 5% | 191 | — |
| Heathwood Lower School | — | 3.3% | 6.5% | 195 | 0.2 miles |
| The Rushmere Park Academy | — | 6.1% | 29.8% | 207 | 0.7 miles |
| St Leonards CE Academy | — | — | — | 117 | 1.0 miles |
| The Mary Bassett Lower School | — | 6.1% | 17.4% | 378 | 1.0 miles |
| Beaudesert Lower School | — | 5% | 13.4% | 278 | 1.2 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)
- 5.04%
- English as an additional language
- 6.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.17%
- Persistent absence
- 5.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Heathwood Lower School0.2 miles
Primary · Leighton Buzzard
-
The Rushmere Park Academy0.7 miles
Primary · Leighton Buzzard
-
St Leonards CE Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Leighton Buzzard
-
The Mary Bassett Lower School1.0 miles
Primary · Leighton Buzzard
-
Beaudesert Lower School1.2 miles
Primary · Leighton Buzzard
Other schools in Leighton Buzzard
- Beaudesert Lower School Primary
- Brookmead School Primary
- Clipstone Brook Lower School Primary
- Greenleas School Primary
- Heathwood Lower School Primary
- Hockliffe Lower School Primary
- Leedon Lower School Primary
- Linslade Lower School Primary
- Pulford CofE VA Lower School Primary
- Southcott Lower School Primary
- St Leonards CE Academy Primary
- St Michael's Church of England Combined School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Dovery Academy teach?
- Dovery Academy teaches children aged 3 to 9. It is a primary school in Leighton Buzzard.
- Who is the headteacher of Dovery Academy?
- The headteacher of Dovery Academy is Mrs Sarah Cavender, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Dovery Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dovery 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 Dovery Academy?
- Dovery Academy has 191 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 9.
- Is Dovery Academy full?
- Dovery Academy has capacity for 150 pupils and 191 on roll (127%), 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 Dovery Academy a faith school?
- No. Dovery Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Dovery Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Dovery Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Dovery Academy part of an academy trust?
- Dovery Academy is part of KNOWLEDGE SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What is Dovery Academy's absence rate?
- Dovery Academy's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Dovery Academy publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Dovery Academy. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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 10 July 2026.