Willow Grove Primary School
Willow Grove Primary School is a free school in Wixams for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 104 pupils and room for 840. About 14 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England.
Fisherswood Road, Wixams, MK45 3TE0734 217 0222Mrs Lisa Kennedy headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2024: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.
Results
No published results yet for this school.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
783 places were empty (93% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in.
The last child to get a place lived 3.8 miles away in 2026. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 3.8 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.
| Entry | Places | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Primary | 30 | 68 | 60 | 3.8 miles | LA |
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 26.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 25.0 (England 27.3).
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (8), Moderate learning difficulty (7), emotional and mental health (5), Specific learning difficulty (3), language and communications needs (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 104 | 53 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 14% | 13% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 20% | 13% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 28% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 0% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 3.6% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 2.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.0% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 7.4% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 28.3 | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | – |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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 primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wixams Tree Primary Academy | Free school | 710 m | 559 | Good 2024 | 25 | Compare |
| Lakeview School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 436 | Good 2022 | – | Compare |
| Wilstead Primary School | Academy | 1.4 miles | – | Good 2023 | – | Compare |
| Houghton Conquest Primary School | Council | 1.7 miles | 139 | Good 2024 | 40 | Compare |
| Springfield Primary School | Academy | 1.8 miles | 365 | Good 2022 | 15 | Compare |
| Elstow School | Academy | 1.9 miles | 413 | Not inspected | 78 | Compare |
| Marston Vale Middle School | Academy | 1.9 miles | 563 | No overall grade 2024 | 47 | Compare |
| Balliol Primary School | Council | 2.1 miles | 355 | Good 2022 | 17 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Willow Grove Primary School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Willow Grove Primary School yet.
How many pupils does Willow Grove Primary School have?
104 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 840 places, so it is 12% full.
Is Willow Grove Primary School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 3.8 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at Willow Grove Primary School?
Pupils were in school 96.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 7% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at Willow Grove Primary School?
The average class had 26.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Fisherswood Road, Wixams, MK45 3TE
- Telephone
- 0734 217 0222
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Kennedy
- Type of school
- Free school (Free schools, free schools)
- Phase
- Primary school, ages 4-11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Kingsbridge Educational Trust (7 schools)
- Local authority
- Bedford
- Ward
- Wixams & Wilstead
- Constituency
- Mid Bedfordshire
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2024 (academy free school)
- URN
- 150796 · LAESTAB 8222016 · UKPRN 10095894
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.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Bedford council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 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.