Admissions

We would be delighted to welcome you and your child to Harrold Primary Academy. If you are considering enrolling your child in our school, please contact us and we will be very happy to show you around the school and answer any queries you may have.

Starting school

Children are entitled to a full-time school place in the September following their fourth birthday. Applications for Reception places must be made through the Local Authority by 15 January in the academic year before your child is due to start school. Offers will be sent on 16 April (or the next working day).

If you wish to apply for a place in Harrold Primary Academy for September 2026 you will be required to make an application to the Local Authority where you live. If you have not applied for a place but would like to send your child to Harrold Primary Academy, please contact us and we will be happy to help and advise you.

Deferring or Delaying Entry

We understand that some parents feel their children may not be ready to start school full-time in September.

Parents and carers have the following options:

Deferred Start: You may request to defer your child’s start date until later in the same academic year (but not beyond the start of the term after their fifth birthday). For example:

Children born 1 September – 31 December can start in January.
Children born 1 January – 31 March can start in April.

Part-Time Attendance: You may request that your child attends school on a part-time basis until they reach compulsory school age.

Summer-Born Children (1 April – 31 August): Parents can request that their child starts school in Reception a year later, rather than moving straight into Year 1. This is called delayed entry. Such requests will be considered individually, taking into account the best interests of the child. Please note that agreement to delay does not guarantee a place at the same school the following year; you will need to reapply.

How to Request Deferral or Delay

You must still apply for a Reception place during the normal admissions round.
After receiving your offer, please contact the school and the Local Authority in writing to confirm your preferred start date or to request a delay.
For delayed entry (summer-born children), you will need to provide reasons and supporting information. The decision will be made by the admission authority in line with the School Admissions Code.

For Bedford Borough Council, click here.

For Northamptonshire County Council, click here.

For Milton Keynes Council, click here.

If you are unsure of the Local Authority that you need to apply through, you can find out here.

Starting school is a major milestone. We hold annual open days for prospective parents of children starting school. This year, are open days take place on Thursday 2nd October and Thursday 9th October between 11.00am and 12 noon.

October

In-Year Applications

We currently have spaces in other year groups. If you would like your child to join us midway through the school year or from another school, you will need to apply through Bedford Borough Council.

Harrold Primary Academy Determined Admissions Policy September 2026
pdf
Term Dates
Admissions
Class Pages
Contact Us
Curriculum
Welcome to Harrold Primary Academy

I am thrilled to welcome you to Harrold Primary Academy.

Having joined the school in September 2024, I can say without doubt that Harrold Primary Academy is a happy, caring and supportive school, of which children and staff are rightly proud.

The Academy was formed on the site of Harrold Lower School and Harrold Priory Middle School, opening its doors to the pupils aged 4 - 11 years in September 2017. We are a small, one-form entry primary school, serving children from Reception to Year 6.

A benefit of being on the site of a former Middle School is that we have access to facilities most primary schools cannot offer. We are fortunate to have spacious school grounds with a large field and playground, library, science lab, food technology room and a team of dedicated staff who work hard to deliver exciting, engaging and enjoyable lessons for children at Harrold.

Our vision is that every child has the right to a high quality of learning, where they are treated with respect in a safe and stimulating learning environment. Children actively participate in learning by demonstrating a sense of readiness, where they take responsibility for themselves and the school environment. We help to build resilience in all our children by ensuring that the learning that they experience is a stepped approach with appropriate scaffolding and modelling in place to secure and build improved independent learning.

When children leave Harrold, they are well-equipped to continue achieving throughout secondary school and beyond.
We believe that close cooperation between home and school is essential, and we aim to keep parents as informed as possible about the progress being made by their children and ways in which they can support their children’s learning.

We look forward to welcoming you and your family to Harrold Primary Academy.

To find out more about the school, please read through our website and do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to visit the school.

Callum Brown

Headteacher

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