Secondary school in Milton Keynes
Watling Academy
Barrosa Way, Milton Keynes, MK8 1EP
Ofsted
Graded Outstanding at its last graded inspection, on 16 May 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 3 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.
GCSE results 2024/25
Attainment 8 score
The average grade across eight GCSEs, doubling English and maths. 50 is roughly a grade 5 average.
Grade 5+ in English & maths
Grade 4+ in English & maths
EBacc average point score
Entered the EBacc
On Attainment 8 this school is in the upper half of state-funded secondaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is middle, which is where this one sits, it is in the top quarter.
Progress 8 2023/24
No Progress 8 score published for this school.
Progress 8 measures how far pupils moved between the end of primary and their GCSEs, which makes it far fairer than raw attainment. It is shown for 2023/24 because it could not be calculated for 2024/25: that year group would have sat their key stage 2 tests in summer 2020, when the tests were cancelled, so there is no starting point to measure from. Every school in England is affected, not just this one.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 1767
- Places
- 2250
- How full
- 79% full — 1767 of 2250 places taken, so places are likely to be available
- Girls / boys
- 864 / 903
- Overall absence
- 8%
- Persistently absent
- 22%
secondary schools average 8.6%
secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 24%
- English as an additional language
- 25%
- With an EHC plan
- 3%
- On SEN support
- 10%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Milton Keynes 036C, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 54%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 6%
- Households owning their home
- 67%
- Households in social housing
- 7%
- Households with no car
- 7%
- Adults economically inactive
- 15%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Free schools
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- Ages 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- THE ALLIANCE SCHOOLS TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Emma Anderson
- Local authority
- Milton Keynes
- Ward
- Stony Stratford
- Constituency
- Milton Keynes North
- URN
- 147860
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest secondary schools
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hazeley AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 45.4 | 1.1 mi |
| Denbigh SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 54.3 | 1.5 mi |
| The Radcliffe SchoolFoundation school | No grade | 38.2 | 1.8 mi |
| Shenley Brook End SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2024 | 45.4 | 2.3 mi |
| Stantonbury SchoolAcademy sponsor led | Requires improvement 2024 | 32.8 | 2.9 mi |
| St Paul's Catholic SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | 44.9 | 3 mi |
| The Milton Keynes AcademyAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 40.8 | 3.1 mi |
| The Webber Independent SchoolOther independent school | No grade | — | 3.1 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded secondary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Woodbridge High SchoolCommunity school | Outstanding 2023 | 52.2 |
| Gillingham SchoolVoluntary controlled school | Good 2023 | 42.7 |
| Christopher Whitehead Language CollegeAcademy converter | Good 2023 | 43.8 |
| The Academy, SelseyAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 38 |
| Horsforth SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2023 | 57.3 |
| Neston High SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2022 | 43.4 |
| Mark Rutherford SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 41.5 |
| The Catholic High School, ChesterAcademy converter | No grade | 46.7 |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.