Primary
The Vale Academy
Wilbury Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4QP
Key facts
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 601 of 563 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 21.0
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Nursery
- Yes
- Trust
- ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 28.4
- All staff (FTE)
- 36.0
- Pupils per adult
- 16.6
- Pupils
- 597
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected June 2025
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Early yearsGood
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentOutstanding
- Quality of educationGood
Inspected under the previous framework, which used its own four-point scale. Ofsted now publishes a report card grading several areas separately, so these grades are not directly comparable with a recent inspection’s.
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)Earlier inspections1
May 2023
Previous framework
Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Quality of educationRequires improvement
SATs results
73%
21 points above the Dunstable average (52% across 18 schools)
106.0
1.9 above the Dunstable average (104.1 across 18 schools)
4th of 18 by our score, among the primary schools in Dunstable we can score - 22 in total, the rest without enough published data. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Average maths score | 107 |
| Average reading score | 106 |
| Reading, writing and maths | 73% |
| Working at a higher standard | 0% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time3 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 63% |
| 23/24 | 75% |
| 24/25 | 73% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 104.0 |
| 23/24 | 106.0 |
| 24/25 | 106.0 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 22/23 | 106.0 |
| 23/24 | 105.0 |
| 24/25 | 107.0 |
Wilbury Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4QP
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 15 January, the year before starting.
Central Bedfordshire admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Principal
- Jordan Campbell
- Address
- Wilbury Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4QP
- Telephone
- 01582211150