Watling Lower School
Academy converter in Dunstable, LU6 3BJ, taking ages 2 to 9, 190 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 0.6 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 0.6 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.
How this compares: every Central Bedfordshire school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 0.6 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2026/27.
Watling Lower School: 0.6 miles, 2026/27 St Mary's Catholic Primary School: 2.22 miles, 2026/27, published by Central Bedfordshire
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Watling Lower School 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 Watling Lower School and St Mary's Catholic Primary School are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. St Mary's Catholic Primary School admitted from 2.22 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 0.6 and 2.22 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 St Mary's Catholic Primary 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 Watling Lower School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priory Academy Both in reach | Secondary | 0.26 mi 2026/27 | 0.3 mi |
| Lark Rise Academy Both in reach | Primary | 0.88 mi 2026/27 | 0.5 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 | 1.0 mi |
| Houghton Regis Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 1.06 mi 2026/27 | 1.7 mi |
| St Vincent's Catholic Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.82 mi 2026/27 | 1.9 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 | 190 pupils in 150 places (127% full, over capacity) |
| Trust | SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST |
| Local authority | Central Bedfordshire |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Ungraded inspection, January 2025: some aspects not as strong |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Watling Lower School
| Girls and boys | 52.1% girls, 47.9% boys |
| English as an additional language | 12.1% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 7.4% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Getting to Watling Lower School by bus
Best-served stop: Lover's Walk, 0.2 mi away, with 2.0 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 05:50, last 21:49.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Langdale Road Shops | 0.2 mi | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 34 |
| Langdale Road Shops | 0.2 mi | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 34 |
| Queensbury Academy | 0.2 mi | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 34 |
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 Watling Lower School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around LU6: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at LU6 3BJ, 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 Watling Lower School?
Watling Lower School 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 0.6 miles away, per Central Bedfordshire.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Watling Lower School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 0.6 miles was enough in 2026/27, and at 127% 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 Watling Lower School 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 Watling Lower School'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.