Watling Academy
Secondary · Free schools · Mixed · Milton Keynes
Barrosa Way, Milton Keynes, MK8 1EP
–
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Outstanding
Graded 16/05/2023
Application demand
79%
1st preference success · Oversubscribed
Attendance
92.1%
22.3% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
1,767
Capacity used
Has space79%
2,250 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Application demand
Secondary entry · official council applications and offers
79%
1st preference success rate
298 of 375 families who put it first got an offer
356
Places offered
1093
Total applications
3.1
Applications per place
| Preference (Sept 2025 entry) | Applications | Offers | Success |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st preference | 375 | 298 | ● 79% |
| 2nd preference | 297 | 25 | ● 8% |
| 3rd preference | 230 | 18 | ● 8% |
| 4th preference | 191 | 15 | ● 8% |
| Total | 1093 | 356 | 33% |
1st preference success by year
Milton Keynes lets families list 4 preferences. 52 applications came from outside the council area (4 offered). Source: Department for Education, school-level applications and offers. Offers are made on each school's admissions criteria (e.g. siblings, distance, faith), so check the school's policy.
Details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- Emma Anderson
- Address
- Barrosa Way, Milton Keynes, MK8 1EP
- Phone
- 01908794094
- Local authority
- Milton Keynes
- Ward / constituency
- Stony Stratford · Milton Keynes North
- Area
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 147860
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 24% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 24% | — | — |
| SEN support | 9% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 3 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: THE ALLIANCE SCHOOLS TRUST
1,767 pupils · 2,250 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 23
16 May 2023
Full graded inspection
Outstanding overall effectivenessPersonal development Outstanding Quality of education Outstanding Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,545 pupils
Attendance
92.1%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
7.9%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
22.3%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
3.2%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
1.8%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 50.4 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 55.2% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 77.9% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 72.4% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.74 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 181 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 181 | 31% | 63% | 85% | |
| English Language | 181 | 14% | 52% | 72% | |
| English Literature | 179 | 18% | 60% | 82% | |
| Combined Science | 127 | 14% | 50% | 65% | |
| Geography | 123 | 23% | 54% | 70% | |
| Spanish | 113 | 10% | 32% | 45% | |
| History | 58 | 19% | 36% | 52% | |
| Computer Science | 55 | 24% | 62% | 73% | |
| Biology | 52 | 38% | 71% | 85% | |
| Physics | 51 | 45% | 82% | 92% | |
| Chemistry | 51 | 51% | 78% | 88% | |
| Social Studies | 45 | 24% | 67% | 71% |
Oxbridge
No Cambridge applications recorded for this school in 2020–2025.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Milton Keynes council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.