Polam School
Polam School is an independent school in Bedford for boys and girls aged 1 to 9. It has 99 pupils and room for 207.
45 Lansdowne Road, Bedford, MK40 2BU01234 261864polamschool.co.ukMr Darren O'Neil head teacherAll details
Inspection
This private school is inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, not Ofsted. Its reports are at isi.net.
Results
The government does not publish comparable results for most independent schools (IGCSEs are left out of its measures), so none are shown here.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
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 Bedford council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 99 | 96 | 109 | 112 | 101 | 89 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 10% | 21% | 15% | 11% | 14% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The area around the school
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Livingstone Primary School | Foundation | 310 m | 457 | Good 2023 | 40 | Compare |
| Priory Primary School | Foundation | 340 m | 214 | No overall grade 2024 | 27 | Compare |
| Edith Cavell Primary School | Foundation | 790 m | 292 | Good 2024 | 38 | Compare |
| Bedford Modern School | Independent (grammar) | 870 m | 1,219 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Bedford School | Independent | 930 m | 994 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Bedford College | Further education | 0.6 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Great Ouse Primary Academy | Free school | 0.6 miles | 455 | Report card 2026 | 64 | Compare |
| Queen's Park Academy | Academy | 0.7 miles | 446 | Good 2022 | 67 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Polam School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Polam School yet.
How many pupils does Polam School have?
99 pupils aged 1 to 9 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 207 places, so it is 48% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- 45 Lansdowne Road, Bedford, MK40 2BU
- Telephone
- 01234 261864
- Website
- www.polamschool.co.uk
- Head Teacher
- Mr Darren O'Neil
- Type of school
- Independent school (Other independent school, independent schools)
- Phase
- Independent school, ages 1-9, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Ward
- Harpur
- Constituency
- Bedford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 1923
- URN
- 109720 · LAESTAB 8226000 · UKPRN 10080763
- Formerly
- The Acorn School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.