School Chooser

Avenue Centre for Education

Pupil referral unit / alternative provision · ages 11-16MixedPupil referral unit51 pupilsLuton
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, February 2024
Pupils from low-income families37%Far more than most schools
Pupils per teacher6.9School workforce census
Pupils on roll51Census January 2026

Avenue Centre for Education is a pupil referral unit in Luton for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 51 pupils. About 37 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Cutenhoe Road, Luton, LU1 3NJ01582 359370avenuecentre.co.ukMr Jeremy Dodd headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 6 February 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
13 October 2022UngradedSchool remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Luton council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll51Census January 2026
Pupils from low-income families37%37% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English24%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support77%39 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan14%7 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)47%£26,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls40 / 11
White British pupils24%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (31), emotional and mental health (10), language and communications needs (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll517769604853
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals37%43%45%48%54%32%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language24%20%23%13%10%17%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support30%71%97%85%94%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%3%3%6%0%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 24 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training50%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 42%, compared with – for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers
Still in education, work or training50%43%68%
Education42%38%68%
Apprenticeship0%0%0%
Work8%5%0%
Not in education, work or training17%19%29%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers12.5full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher6.9Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers85%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants14.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£55,508
Teachers who left in the year33%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher13.12024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£40,043England £7,738. Total £3.8m
Income per pupil£41,845England £7,697. Total £4.0m
Spent on teachers per pupil£15,120England £3,480
Money in reserve25%A lot put by: £990k, £10k per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£171kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£40,043spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m14712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate156 per 1,000 people71% higher than the England average
Typical house price£310,000Luton
Nearest bus stop150 mBarnfield South Academy, 11 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Cutenhoe Hill Primary SchoolCouncil50 m360No overall grade 202573Compare
The Linden AcademyFree school470 m427Good 202449Compare
Oakwood Primary SchoolIndependent600 m149Not inspectedCompare
Chiltern AcademyFree school620 m1,203Good 202365Compare
Tennyson Road Primary SchoolAcademy670 m724Outstanding 202495Compare
University of BedfordshireHigher education institutions0.7 milesNot inspectedCompare
Chapel Street Nursery SchoolLocal authority nursery school0.7 miles130Good 2023Compare
Hillborough Infant and Nursery SchoolCouncil0.8 miles296Good 202358Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Avenue Centre for Education a good school?

Avenue Centre for Education doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in February 2024.

What is Avenue Centre for Education's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Avenue Centre for Education good at its last full inspection on 6 February 2024.

How many pupils does Avenue Centre for Education have?

51 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Cutenhoe Road, Luton, LU1 3NJ
Telephone
01582 359370
Website
www.avenuecentre.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr Jeremy Dodd
Type of school
Pupil referral unit (Pupil referral unit, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Luton
Ward
South
Constituency
Luton South and South Bedfordshire
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 January 2004 (new provision)
URN
134525 · LAESTAB 8211102 · UKPRN 10025480
Formerly
Orchard Centre

Where these figures come from