Thomas Johnson Lower School

Community school·First school Central Bedfordshire·MK43 0SB

School type

First school

Ages 3–9

Key Stage 2 performance

Thomas Johnson Lower School is a first school for pupils aged 3–9. Pupils move on to a separate junior or middle school before Year 6, so the school does not enter pupils for the Key Stage 2 SATs and has no KS2 results to publish.

This applies to every first school in England — it does not mean data is missing. Ofsted judgements and school information are shown below.

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first

65%

23 first choices, 15 places

First choices per place

1.53

more first choices than places

Applications naming the school

any preference, for 15 places

Applications from another council area

First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.59

00.511.52

1 per place

0.8820221.0020230.7520240.9420251.532026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Central Bedfordshire does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Reception place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for Thomas Johnson Lower School. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness

Good

Quality of education

Good

Behaviour and attitudes

Good

Personal development

Good

Leadership and management

Good

Safeguarding effective?

Yes

Early years provision

Good

School profile

Age range: 3–9
Pupils on roll: 91
Gender: Mixed
Religious character: None

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6

8.6%

Typical primary: 21.5%

% EAL

0.0%

Typical primary: 9.6%

Special educational needs

% SEN support

11.0%

Typical primary: 14.3%

% with an EHC plan

1.1%

Typical primary: 3.0%

Attendance

Overall absence

3.9%

Typical primary: 5.3%

Persistently absent

5.8%

Typical primary: 13.3%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher

13.4

Typical primary: 20.7

Spend per pupil

£8,436

Typical primary: £6,960

“Typical” = the median primary school in England. What this means

Nearby primary schools

Holywell School Bedford · 2.8 mi 18.7 Alameda Middle School Bedford · 2.8 mi 36.6 Woodland Middle School Academy Bedford · 3.6 mi 26.5 Fulbrook School Milton Keynes · 4.0 mi 28.3 Swallowfield Primary Milton Keynes · 4.1 mi 37.1 Parkfields Middle School Dunstable · 6.3 mi 36.0

Location

Official sources

Latest Ofsted report reports.ofsted.gov.uk DfE Compare School Performance compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk GIAS school details get-information-schools.service.gov.uk

School overview

Thomas Johnson Lower School is a primary school serving Central Bedfordshire, classified by the DfE as a community school. It has 91 pupils aged 3 to 9 on roll. At its most recent graded inspection, Ofsted rated Thomas Johnson Lower School 'Good'.

Competition for places is real here - 65% of first-choice applicants were offered a Reception place for September 2026 (23 first choices for 15 places). Overall pupil absence was 3.9%. There are about 13.4 pupils per teacher. Its intake is relatively advantaged, with around 9% of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years versus about 24% nationally. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.