Priory Academy
Academy converter in Dunstable, LU5 4JA, taking ages 9 to 16, 830 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 0.26 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.
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Will an address get in?
In 2026/27, the furthest child offered a place lived 0.26 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 0.26 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2026/27.
Priory Academy: 0.26 miles, 2026/27 Lark Rise Academy: 0.88 miles, 2026/27, published by Central Bedfordshire
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Priory 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 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 Priory Academy and Lark Rise Academy are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. Lark Rise Academy admitted from 0.88 miles in 2026/27, published by Central Bedfordshire. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
No postcode district has its centre inside both distances. The two schools admit from 0.26 and 0.88 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 Lark Rise Academy 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 Priory Academy that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Watling Lower School Both in reach | Primary | 0.6 mi 2026/27 | 0.3 mi |
| Lark Rise Academy Both in reach | Primary | 0.88 mi 2026/27 | 0.8 mi |
| Beecroft Academy Both in reach | Primary | 3.21 mi 2026/27 | 1.0 mi |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 2.22 mi 2026/27 | 1.1 mi |
| Houghton Regis Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 1.06 mi 2026/27 | 1.4 mi |
| St Vincent's Catholic Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.82 mi 2026/27 | 1.6 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 830 pupils in 700 places (119% full, over capacity) |
| Trust | SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST |
| Local authority | Central Bedfordshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 14 June 2023. Ungraded inspection, June 2023: school remains Good |
| Attainment 8 | 46.2 (2024/25) |
| Meeting the expected standard | 65.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | -0.21 |
| 2022/23 | +0.23 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Priory Academy
| Girls and boys | 47.5% girls, 52.5% boys |
| English as an additional language | 16.1% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 14.9% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where Priory Academy's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 44.8% |
| Sixth-form college | 3.1% |
| Further education college | 44.8% |
| Apprenticeship | 3.1% |
| Employment | 2.1% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 2.1% |
DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.
Getting to Priory Academy by bus
Best-served stop: Priory View, 0.2 mi away, with 4.1 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 05:31, last 00:16 after midnight.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lover's Walk | 0.1 mi | 2.0 | 1.8 | 1.9 | B |
| Lover's Walk | 0.1 mi | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.8 | B |
| Friars Walk | 0.1 mi | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.8 | B |
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 Priory Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around LU5: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at LU5 4JA, 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 Priory Academy?
Priory 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 0.26 miles away, per Central Bedfordshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Priory Academy?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 0.26 miles was enough in 2026/27, and at 119% full the school has little slack. 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 Priory 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 Priory Academy's figure on your own site
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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.