Primary school in Dunstable, Central Bedfordshire
Watling Lower School
Bull Pond Lane, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU6 3BJ
Ofsted
Some aspects judged not as strong as at the last graded inspection, on 18 December 2024.
Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 190
- Places
- 150
- How full
- Full — 190 pupils against 150 places
- Girls / boys
- 99 / 91
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Central Bedfordshire 031A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 31%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 16%
- Households owning their home
- 57%
- Households in social housing
- 9%
- Households with no car
- 20%
- Adults economically inactive
- 31%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 2–9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Yes
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- SCHOLARS' EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Robert Cook
- Local authority
- Central Bedfordshire
- Ward
- Dunstable West
- Constituency
- Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard
- URN
- 151796
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ardley Hill AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 60% | 0.3 mi |
| Dunstable Icknield Lower SchoolAcademy converter | Requires improvement 2023 | — | 0.4 mi |
| Lark Rise AcademyAcademy converter | No grade | 88% | 0.5 mi |
| Ashton St Peter's VA C of E SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 45% | 0.6 mi |
| St. Augustine's AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 32% | 0.7 mi |
| Beecroft AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 39% | 1 mi |
| St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2022 | 62% | 1 mi |
| Lancot SchoolAcademy sponsor led | Good 2024 | 64% | 1 mi |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.