Etonbury Academy
Academy converter in Arlesey, SG15 6XS, taking ages 9 to 19, 1,158 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 5 miles Central Bedfordshire published for 2026/27, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
Sign up and the homes you open are kept in My properties, so this list is here on any phone or computer.
Will an address get in?
In 2026/27, the furthest child offered a place lived 5 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
How this compares: every Central Bedfordshire school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 5 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2026/27.
Etonbury Academy: 5 miles, 2026/27 Northfields Infants and Nursery School: 0.34 miles, published by Hertfordshire
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Etonbury Academy is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
One published year so far: 2026/27, from Central Bedfordshire. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.
Source: Central Bedfordshire, published admission distances, 2026/27
Where Etonbury Academy and Northfields Infants and Nursery School are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. Northfields Infants and Nursery School admitted from 0.34 miles in the latest published year, published by Hertfordshire. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
No postcode district has its centre inside both distances. The two schools admit from 5 and 0.34 miles, and the ground those circles share holds no district centre, which is a fact about where the centres fall rather than about any one address. The map above shows both, and the postcode checker answers for both.
Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.
Drop Northfields Infants and Nursery School and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Central Bedfordshire, 37 of 121 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (30.6%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Etonbury Academy that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raynsford Church of England Academy Both in reach | Primary | 0.86 mi 2026/27 | 1.8 mi |
| Stonehill School Both in reach | Primary | 0.46 mi | 1.8 mi |
| Northfields Infants and Nursery School Both in reach | Primary | 0.34 mi | 2.0 mi |
| Derwent Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 1.35 mi 2026/27 | 2.3 mi |
| Clifton All Saints Academy Both in reach | Primary | 0.29 mi 2026/27 | 2.7 mi |
| Icknield Infant and Nursery School Both in reach | Primary | 1.72 mi | 2.7 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Has a sixth form |
| How full | 1,158 pupils in 1,270 places (91% full) |
| Trust | BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOLS TRUST LIMITED |
| Local authority | Central Bedfordshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 18 May 2025. Ungraded inspection, May 2025: standards maintained |
| Attainment 8 | 45.5 (2024/25) |
| Meeting the expected standard | 67.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | +0.10 |
| 2022/23 | +0.31 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Etonbury Academy
| Girls and boys | 53.6% girls, 46.4% boys |
| English as an additional language | 2.7% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 14.3% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where Etonbury Academy's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 53.1% |
| Sixth-form college | 3.9% |
| Further education college | 34.4% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.1% |
| Employment | 0.8% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 1.6% |
DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.
What it costs to live within reach of Etonbury Academy
Cheapest district inside the 5 miles: SG18, median £292,000. Dearest: SG5, £660,000.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| SG18 | Central Bedfordshire | 4.4 mi | £292,000 137 sales |
| SG15 | Central Bedfordshire | 0.9 mi | £322,500 94 sales |
| SG16 | Central Bedfordshire | 2.3 mi | £323,000 89 sales |
| SG17 | Central Bedfordshire | 3.9 mi | £370,000 172 sales |
| SG6 | North Hertfordshire | 3.0 mi | £415,000 37 sales |
| SG5 | North Hertfordshire | 3.6 mi | £660,000 76 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 5 miles the school admitted from in 2026/27, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.
Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide
Getting to Etonbury Academy by bus
Best-served stop: Etonbury Academy, 0.1 mi away, with 0.6 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 08:09, last 18:39.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etonbury Academy | 140 yd | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 97 |
| Etonbury Academy | 0.1 mi | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 96, 97 |
| Etonbury Academy | 0.2 mi | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 96A, 97 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Etonbury Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around SG15: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at SG15 6XS, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Etonbury Academy?
Etonbury Academy does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2026/27 lived 5 miles away, per Central Bedfordshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Etonbury Academy?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 5 miles was enough in 2026/27. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Etonbury Academy guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every Central Bedfordshire school's distance
All Central Bedfordshire schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put Etonbury Academy's figure on your own site
A small badge with the published distance that links back here, for a school website, parents' group or forum.
Show the badge and its code
Admission distance published by Central Bedfordshire. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.