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Ash Croft Primary Academy

Academy converter in Derby, DE24 3HF, taking ages 2 to 11, 208 on roll.

Good Ofsted, Oct 2022
0.77 mi Admitted from, 2026/27
74% Full
41.0% Met the expected standard, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In 2026/27, the furthest child offered a place lived 0.77 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.

The circle is 0.77 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2026/27.

Ash Croft Primary Academy: 0.77 miles, 2026/27 Cottons Farm Primary Academy: 2.07 miles, 2026/27, published by Derby

This is not a catchment area. 0.77 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Ash Croft Primary 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 Derby. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.

Source: Derby, published admission distances, 2026/27

Where Ash Croft Primary Academy and Cottons Farm Primary Academy are both in reach

Both distances are drawn on the map above. Cottons Farm Primary Academy admitted from 2.07 miles in 2026/27, published by Derby. Its own page has the rest of its figures.

No postcode district has its centre inside both distances. The two schools admit from 0.77 and 2.07 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 Cottons Farm Primary Academy and go back to one school.

If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Derby, 65 of 309 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (21.0%; 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 Ash Croft Primary Academy that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
City of Derby Academy Both in reach Secondary 2.88 mi 2026/27 0.2 mi
Redwood Primary School Both in reach Primary 2.59 mi 2026/27 0.5 mi
Grampian Primary Academy Both in reach Primary 2.5 mi 2026/27 0.7 mi
Cottons Farm Primary Academy Both in reach Primary 2.07 mi 2026/27 0.9 mi
Akaal Primary School Both in reach Primary 1.38 mi 2026/27 1.6 mi
St George's Catholic Voluntary Academy Both in reach Primary 1.44 mi 2026/27 1.6 mi

The distance as a picture

Ash Croft Primary Academy catchment area map: the 0.77 mile admission distance, 2026/27
Drawn to scale from the published figure. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 208 pupils in 280 places (74% full)
TrustTHE HARMONY TRUST LTD
Local authorityDerby

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Good, inspected 17 October 2022
Meeting the expected standard 41.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25)
YearMeeting the expected standard
2024/25 41.0%
2023/24 42.0%
2022/23 51.0%

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Ash Croft Primary Academy

Girls and boys49.5% girls, 50.5% boys
English as an additional language61.5% of pupils
Free school meals38.5% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Getting to Ash Croft Primary Academy by bus

Best-served stop: Osprey Close, 67 yd away, with 4.8 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 05:47, last 23:33.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Osprey Close67 yd4.82.02.038
Lomond Avenue0.1 mi4.82.02.038
Falcon Way0.1 mi4.82.02.038

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 Ash Croft Primary Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around DE24: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at DE24 3HF, 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 Ash Croft Primary Academy?

Ash Croft Primary 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 0.77 miles away, per Derby.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Ash Croft Primary Academy?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 0.77 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 Ash Croft Primary 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 Derby school's distance

All Derby schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Put Ash Croft Primary 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.

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Admission distance published by Derby. 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.