John Donne Church of England Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school · Mixed · Central Bedfordshire
High Street, Bedford, MK44 3NL
42
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Requires improvement
Graded 28/11/2023
Application demand
100%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
94.5%
14.1% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
119
Capacity used
Has space57%
208 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
100%
1st preference success rate
11 of 11 families who put it first got an offer
11
Places offered
17
Total applications
1.5
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 11 | 11 | ● 100% |
| 2nd preference | 3 | 0 | ● 0% |
| 3rd preference | 3 | 0 | ● 0% |
| Total | 17 | 11 | 65% |
1st preference success by year
Central Bedfordshire lets families list 3 preferences. 4 applications came from outside the council area (1 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Age range
- 3–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Anita Whitehurst
- Address
- High Street, Blunham, Bedford, MK44 3NL
- Phone
- 01767640346
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Sandy · North Bedfordshire
- Area
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 109615
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 17% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 3% | — | — |
| SEN support | 29% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 2 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
119 pupils · 208 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
28 November 2023
Full graded inspection
Requires improvement overall effectivenessEarly years Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Quality of education Requires improvement Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement - 22
09 February 2022
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 85 pupils
Attendance
94.5%
Share of sessions attended · England 94.5%
Overall absence
5.5%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 5.5%
Persistent absence
14.1%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 14.6%
Severe absence
0.0%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.7%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
Primary results (Key Stage 2)
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expected standard in reading, writing & maths | 42% | — | — |
| Higher standard | 0% | — | — |
| Reading progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Writing progress | — | — | 0.0 |
| Maths progress | — | — | 0.0 |
Primary results by subject (SATs)
Year 6 pupils meeting each standard, against England
Reading, writing & maths combined
Reading
Writing
Maths
Grammar, punctuation & spelling
Science
England average · Scaled scores run 80–120 (100 = expected standard).
Primary results over time
Expected standard (RWM) by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Expected standard (RWM) | 29% | 61% |
| Higher standard | 6% | 8% |
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Central Bedfordshire council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Reception (primary) | 15 January | 16 April (or next working day) |
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.