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Northill CofE Academy

Primary Ages 4-11 66 pupils Biggleswade
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Biggleswade

Northill CofE Academy is an academy converter in Biggleswade for pupils aged 4 to 11. It has a Church of England religious character. It has 66 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for Northill CofE Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2018 of its predecessor, Northill CofE VA Lower School.

Ofsted inspection: December 2024.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 4-11
Religion Church of England
Address Bedford Road
Northill
Biggleswade
Bedfordshire
SG18 9AH
Phone 01767627215
Reference Number 148411

General Makeup

Number of pupils 66
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 56.06%
Girls: 43.94%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 21.2%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 1.5%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 16.5
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 17
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 16

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 9 6 15
2 8 7 15
3 5 7 12
4 1 4 5
5 5 2 7
6 8 Unknown 8

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 95.5%
White, Other 1.5%
Mixed, Other 1.5%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, Northill CofE VA Lower School, inspected in July 2018.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 19 Nov 2024 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
19 Nov 2024 School inspection
09 Sep 2021 Academy conversion letter
05 Jul 2018 Short inspection
Previously as Northill CofE VA Lower School
13 Nov 2014 Full inspection:
15 Jan 2013 Interim assessment
25 Feb 2010 Full inspection:
30 Nov 2006 Full inspection:
30 Apr 2001 Full inspection

Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 8 2
Third Preference 6 0
From another Local Authority 1 0

Previous years

Sample

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 Northill CofE Academy had 62 pupils for 75 places. 13 places (17.3%) were unfilled. The local authority plans to add 30 places by 2027–28.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Biggleswade Primary” planning area

Central Bedfordshire counted 287 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 294 in 2029–30, up 2%.

2022202320242025
Places 75757575
Pupils 50504562
Unfilled 33.3%33.3%40.0%17.3%

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Northill CofE Academy attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

2022202320242025
Authorised absence 5.8%5.2%3.4%2.6%
Unauthorised absence 1.6%1.4%2.0%1.4%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Northill CofE Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 31.413.20.00.0
Permanent exclusions 0100

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Northill CofE Academy had 13.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 7.49.97.89.79.7
Teachers who left state teaching 44.4%66.7%40.0%25.5%–
Teachers who took any sick leave –66.7%62.5%50.0%–
Sick days per teacher –7.88.60.8–

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 27.3% of pupils at Northill CofE Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Autistic spectrum disorder 4 2
Social, emotional and mental health 6 0
Specific learning difficulty 6 0
Moderate learning difficulty 1 0
Physical disability 1 0

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Northill CofE Academy received £9,832 and spent £9,446 for each of its 60 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £25,000 (£416 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of Diocese of St Albans Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,648 and spending £7,542 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2022202320242025
Revenue reserve £30,000£31,000£17,000£25,000
per pupil £596£593£325£416
In-year balance -£16,000-£79,000-£52,000£23,000
per pupil -£314-£1,482-£1,001£386

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

Name Distance
Caldecote Church of England Academy
Manor Place, Upper Caldecote, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 9DA
1.29 miles
Moggerhanger Primary School
Blunham Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 3RD
1.8 miles
Laburnum Primary School
Laburnum Road, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1HQ
2.07 miles
St Swithun's Church of England VC Primary School
Ivel Road, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1AX
2.17 miles
Robert Peel Primary School
Dapifer Drive, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1QJ
2.39 miles
St Andrew's CofE VC Primary School
Brunts Lane, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 0LY
2.69 miles
Maple Tree Primary School
Hawk Drive, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2WA
2.76 miles
Southill Lower School
School Lane, Southill, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 9JA
2.8 miles
John Donne Church of England Primary School
High Street, Blunham, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 3NL
2.93 miles
Sheerhatch Primary School
Willington Road, Cople, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 3TH
3.02 miles
Lawnside Academy
Lawnside, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 0LX
3.1 miles
Biggleswade Academy
Mead End, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 8JU
3.48 miles
Great Barford Church of England Primary Academy
Silver Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 3HZ
3.59 miles
Langford Village Academy
Church Street, Langford, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 9QA
3.9 miles
Haynes Lower School
Foresters Close, Haynes, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK45 3PR
3.98 miles
Cotton End Forest School
High Road, Cotton End, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK45 3AG
4.09 miles
Everton Heath Primary School
33 Potton Road, Everton, Nr Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2LE
4.45 miles
Shortstown Primary School
Beauvais Square, Shortstown, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK42 0GS
4.55 miles
Sutton CofE VA Primary School
High Street, Sutton, Bedfordshire, SG19 2NE
4.61 miles
Potton Primary School
Mill Lane, Potton, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2PG
4.74 miles
Name Distance
Sandy Secondary School
Engayne Avenue, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1BL
2.64 miles
Edward Peake CofE VC School
Potton Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 0EJ
3.2 miles
Ivel Valley School & College
Hitchmead Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 0NL
3.35 miles
Stratton School
Eagle Farm Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 8JB
3.41 miles
OneSchool Global UK - Biggleswade Campus
The Oaks, Potton Road, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 0EP
3.72 miles
Samuel Whitbread Academy
Shefford Road, Clifton, Shefford, Bedfordshire, SG17 5QS
4.78 miles

All schools in Biggleswade · Central Bedfordshire local authority: places and applications

Northill CofE Academy is part of Diocese of St Albans Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

What is Northill CofE Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Northill CofE Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2018 of its predecessor, Northill CofE VA Lower School.

When was Northill CofE Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Northill CofE Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Northill CofE Academy have?

Northill CofE Academy has 66 pupils on roll.

What age range does Northill CofE Academy cover?

Northill CofE Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Northill CofE Academy?

Northill CofE Academy is at Bedford Road, Northill, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 9AH.

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