A town in Central Bedfordshire
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, fewer than across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Dunstable at a glance
How Dunstable's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
8 mainstream schools in Dunstable, best first
Results well above the England average.
69 first choices, 45 offers made
Met the standard at 1188%
England 62%
Results well below the England average.
31 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1145%
England 62%
Results above the England average.
Met the standard at 1165%
England 62%
2 mainstream schools in Dunstable, best first
Results above the England average.
Met the standard at 1165%
England 62%
Results below the England average.
173 first choices, 190 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1641.4
England 46.2
Results well below the England average.
59 first choices, 85 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1635.7
England 46.2
6 in Dunstable, highest Ofsted grade first
Dunstable, LU6 3QF · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Dunstable, LU5 4AS · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Dunstable, LU6 1SE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
3 in Dunstable, by the school's Eduscope score
Results below the England average.
173 first choices, 190 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1641.4
England 46.2
Results well below the England average.
59 first choices, 85 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1635.7
England 46.2
Dunstable, LU6 1AF · Academy · All-through · Ages 7 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
1 in Dunstable. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Dunstable, LU6 1AF · Academy · All-through · Ages 7 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every Dunstable school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 5 inspected are Good or better.
6nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
86% Good or better. 59% met the standard at 11.
10schools
Ages 11 to 16
The one inspected is Good or better. 35% got grade 5 in English and maths.
4schools
About 9 pupils per teacher.
1school
Here's how Dunstable's schools break down by type, faith and more.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
DunstableEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 7 primaries with one.
86%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
1 of the 1 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
59%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
35%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
16%
Latest graded inspection for the 8 schools that have one.
88%
Good or Outstanding
Dunstable in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Dunstable has 18 schools and nurseries.
There are 2% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
16% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Dunstable's state schools each January.
Up 2% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Dunstable16%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Dunstable has 18 schools, including 10 primary schools, 4 secondary schools, 6 nurseries, 1 special school. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Dunstable on Eduscope are Lark Rise Academy, Ashton St Peter's VA C of E School, Priory Academy. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
88% of inspected schools in Dunstable hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 0 schools rated Outstanding and 7 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Dunstable, 59% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Dunstable is 19.2:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Dunstable is 17.6%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 5,207 pupils enrolled across schools in Dunstable, with 2,476 in primary and 2,609 in secondary. 17.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 18 schools in Dunstable by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
