The Firs Lower School
Primary · Academy converter · Mixed · Central Bedfordshire
Station Road, Bedford, MK45 2QR
–
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
School remains Good
No graded inspection
Application demand
93%
1st preference success · Not oversubscribed
Attendance
96.0%
7.0% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
350
Capacity used
Over capacity101%
348 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Primary entry · official council applications and offers
93%
1st preference success rate
51 of 55 families who put it first got an offer
60
Places offered
132
Total applications
2.2
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 55 | 51 | ● 93% |
| 2nd preference | 59 | 8 | ● 14% |
| 3rd preference | 18 | 1 | ● 6% |
| Total | 132 | 60 | 45% |
1st preference success by year
Central Bedfordshire lets families list 3 preferences. 16 applications came from outside the council area (6 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
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Age range
- 2–9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Has Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Adam Campbell
- Address
- Station Road, Ampthill, Bedford, MK45 2QR
- Phone
- 01525402735
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Ward / constituency
- Ampthill · Mid Bedfordshire
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 137756
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 5% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 4% | — | — |
| SEN support | 13% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 1 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE FIRS LOWER SCHOOL
350 pupils · 348 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
09 March 2023
Ungraded inspection
School remains Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 230 pupils
Attendance
96.0%
Share of sessions attended · England 94.5%
Overall absence
4.0%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 5.5%
Persistent absence
7.0%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 14.6%
Severe absence
1.7%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
0.8%
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.
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.