The Vale Academy
Wilbury Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4QP
601 pupils · 107% of 563 capacity
- Phase
- Primary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Does not apply
- Trust
- ADVANTAGE SCHOOLS
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Free school meals
- 12.7%
Ofsted
No overall grade (2025) — Inspected 2024–2025 — no overall grade under the interim framework
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 3 June 2025, published 13 July 2025. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 73% |
| Reaching the higher standard | 0% |
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Usually has places available — 0.91 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 56 | 51 | 129 | 55 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 61 | 58 | 88 | 60 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 75 | 70 | 129 | 75 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 77 | 70 | 123 | 77 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 75 | 74 | 117 | 75 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 60 | 58 | 102 | 60 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 74 | 71 | 122 | 74 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 66 | 63 | 108 | 66 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- Hadrian Academy 0.2 km · Good — confirmed 2023 · previous system
- St Christophers Academy 0.8 km · No overall grade (2025)
- Chantry Primary Academy 0.9 km · Good — confirmed 2023 · previous system
- Southfield Primary Academy 1.2 km · Good (2023) · previous system
- St Martin De Porres Catholic Primary School 1.3 km · Good — confirmed 2024 · previous system
- St Vincent's Catholic Primary School 1.6 km · Good — confirmed 2022 · previous system
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.