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Schools in Luton

Bedfordshire · Luton · 86 schools

New inspection results and open days, weekly by email.

Reception applications for September 2027 close in 75 days

Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Luton (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.

Year 7 offers for September 2027: Monday 1 March 2027

Applications closed on 31 October. Late applications are still accepted but considered after on-time ones.

Add to calendarHow to apply in Luton →

Schools in Luton (86)

Showing 20 of 86 schools

By type:Primary schools in Luton (52)Secondary schools in Luton (14)Nursery schools in Luton (6)Special schools in Luton (5)All-through schools in Luton (3)Prep schools in Luton (2)Senior schools in Luton (1)PRU schools in Luton (1)Post-16 schools in Luton (1)

Total Schools

86

52 primary · 14 secondary

Total Pupils

42,795

94% capacity used

Ofsted Rated

23

6 outstanding · 17 good

Capacity

45,675

2,880 spare places

Ofsted Ratings

17
63
Outstanding: 6
Good: 17
Not inspected: 63

Best Schools in Luton

View the full league table - ranked by Ofsted, Progress 8, KS2 results and more

Best Schools in Bedfordshire

Compare all schools across the county

Area Performance (2026)

Attainment 8

45.8

GCSE Eng+Maths

47.2%

School Capacity & Demand

Primary Schools

MEDIUM pressure
22,844 pupils24,834 capacity

92% occupied · 1990 spare places

Secondary Schools

HIGH pressure
17,324 pupils17,966 capacity

96% occupied · 642 spare places

Future school places: DfE estimates

Luton's primary schools are in 8 DfE planning areas; DfE does not publish a figure for the town itself.

  • 11 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the South Primary planning area (Luton) will have 157 spare primary places in 2027/28. In the year groups that are short, it estimates 37 additional places needed.
  • 9 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the East Primary planning area (Luton) will have 252 spare primary places in 2027/28. In the year groups that are short, it estimates 6 additional places needed.
  • 9 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the West Primary planning area (Luton) will have 451 spare primary places in 2027/28.
  • 8 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the Central Primary planning area (Luton) will have 467 spare primary places in 2027/28. In the year groups that are short, it estimates 17 additional places needed.
  • 7 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the North Primary planning area (Luton) will have 416 spare primary places in 2027/28.
  • 3 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the Dunstable and Houghton Regis Primary planning area (Central Bedfordshire) will have 1,054 spare primary places in 2027/28. In the year groups that are short, it estimates 52 additional places needed.
  • 2 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the Harlington Primary planning area (Central Bedfordshire) will have 231 spare primary places in 2027/28.
  • 1 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the Hitchin West Primary planning area (Hertfordshire) will have 88 spare primary places in 2027/28.

Luton's secondary schools are in 5 DfE planning areas; DfE does not publish a figure for the town itself.

  • 4 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the Central High Planning Area planning area (Luton) will have 11 spare secondary places in 2027/28. In the year groups that are short, it estimates 33 additional places needed.
  • 4 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the North West High Planning Area planning area (Luton) will have 303 spare secondary places in 2027/28.
  • 3 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the East High Planning Area planning area (Luton) will have 92 spare secondary places in 2027/28. In the year groups that are short, it estimates 35 additional places needed.
  • 2 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the South High Planning Area planning area (Luton) will have 172 spare secondary places in 2027/28.
  • 1 of Luton's schools: DfE estimates the Dunstable and Houghton Regis Secondary planning area (Central Bedfordshire) will have 780 spare secondary places in 2027/28.

Source: Department for Education, School capacity: Academic year 2024/25 (published 19 March 2026), estimates of future school place demand by planning area. Council pupil forecasts against reported places, counting places councils and DfE plan to add or remove; rounded to whole places. Explore Education Statistics

Questions parents ask about schools in Luton

How many schools are there in Luton?

Luton has 86 open schools: 52 state primary, 14 state secondary or all-through, 6 independent, 5 special and 9 others.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Luton are rated Outstanding?

12 schools in Luton were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Tennyson Road Primary School, Woodlands Secondary School, Farley Junior Academy, Denbigh High School, Hillborough Junior School and 7 more. Counting Good as well, 97% of the 75 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Tennyson Road Primary SchoolWoodlands Secondary SchoolFarley Junior AcademyDenbigh High SchoolHillborough Junior School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Luton get the best GCSE results?

Of the 14 schools in Luton with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at Denbigh High School, with an Attainment 8 score of 54.3 and 60% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Chiltern Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 52.4 and 63% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Challney High School for Girls, with an Attainment 8 score of 51.5 and 56% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

Denbigh High SchoolChiltern AcademyChallney High School for Girls

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Luton have the best SATs results?

Of the 41 primary schools in Luton with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Hillborough Junior School (95% in reading, 95% in maths); Leagrave Primary School (95% in reading, 95% in maths); and Slip End Village School (100% in reading, 83% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Hillborough Junior SchoolLeagrave Primary SchoolSlip End Village School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Luton?

No. None of the state secondary schools in Luton selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Luton have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Luton have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Luton?

Apply to your council - Luton, Central Bedfordshire or Hertfordshire, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.

Nearby Towns

Houghton Regis

2 schools · 5.3km away

Bedfordshire

Dunstable

33 schools · 6.0km away

Bedfordshire

Harpenden

19 schools · 10.0km away

Hertfordshire

Mayfield

5 schools · 10.1km away

East Sussex

Hitchin

33 schools · 12.5km away

Hertfordshire

St. Albans

4 schools · 13.9km away

Hertfordshire