SchoolFacts.uk

Lark Rise Academy

Primary · Dunstable · LU6 3PT

Data updated

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Outstanding

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: OutstandingBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 11 March 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

351 pupils · 98% of 360 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
7.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
15.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
7.2% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.larkrise.com
URN
136345

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 69 families named it first for 45 Reception places, 1.53 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 1412.97 m (≈0.88 mi); distance decided places in 4 of the 4 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2022 to 2026. At its inspection on 11 March 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Outstanding. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.53 first-choice applications per place

45 places offered · 69 first-choice applications · heavily oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 1412.97 m (≈0.88 mi) for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 1412.97 m (≈0.88 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Would you have got in? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed: your postcode against this school's cutoff history. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools you would be inside, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

40 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
88%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
10%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
109
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
110
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school88%
Median of its 12 closest peers76%
Central Bedfordshire average54.8%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Willows Primary SchoolAltrincham · 130 miles awayGood80%
Binfield Church of England Primary SchoolBracknell · 33 miles awayGood69%
Markland Hill Primary SchoolBolton · 144 miles awayOutstanding77%
Grappenhall Heys Community Primary SchoolWarrington · 133 miles awayOutstanding87%
Butlers Court SchoolBeaconsfield · 19 miles awayGood75%
Wheatfields Junior Mixed SchoolSt Albans · 12 miles awayGood87%
Trinity Anglican-Methodist Primary SchoolBristol · 99 miles awayNo current grade64%
Hamilton Primary SchoolColchester · 60 miles awayGood79%
Uplands Primary SchoolFareham · 76 miles awayGood75%
Warfield Church of England Primary SchoolBracknell · 32 miles awayGood73%
Abbey Junior SchoolDarlington · 188 miles awayGood77%
Brookhurst Primary SchoolLeamington Spa · 52 miles awayGood68%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 61% (Central Bedfordshire 70%, England 60%) · Any other White background 16% (Central Bedfordshire 8%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 3% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 4%) · Black African 3% (Central Bedfordshire 3%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 3% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 3% (Central Bedfordshire 3%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Central Bedfordshire 2%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 3% (Central Bedfordshire 1%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Central Bedfordshire 3%, England 3%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Central Bedfordshire 0%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Central Bedfordshire 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.7%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
5.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.28 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Central Bedfordshire: 3.50 suspensions and 0.05 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
20.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

85% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 11% moved to another state school · 4% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

50% of teachers took sickness absence, 1.6 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,280; 15% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£5,890
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 77% (77%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (8%) · supplies and services 14% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 3% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£71,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher27%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications16.2%18.1%
In managerial or professional work37.1%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways9.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health45.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier93.5%62.3%
Social housing1.5%17.1%
Privately rented5%20.5%
Detached houses8.8%22.9%
Flats0%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms25.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van9.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01017625 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£402,000239 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£340,000–£465,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (54)£506,000
Semi-detached (124)£407,500
Terraced (45)£321,000
Flat (16)£162,500

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (1.41 km, 2026 entry): 535 sales, median £345,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
1an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
2an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools