Denbigh School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,778 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.3
Free schools
Watling Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,767of 2,250 places
- Free school meals
- 24.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 181
- Ofsted
- Outstanding, 16 May 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
The Department for Education has not published where Watling Academy’s Year 11 leavers went next, so this page relies on the school’s results and subjects.
Sociology is unusually popular at GCSE: 24% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 50.4 against 46.1 across England and 44.2 in Milton Keynes, with 55% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Milton Keynes and England.
The Department for Education has not published destination figures for this school (new school, small cohort or not a state-funded school).
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Watling Academy | Milton Keynes | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 50.4 | 44.2 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 55% | 44% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 72% | 40% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.74 | 3.94 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 23% | 27% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 43.1 | 33.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 52.5 | 48.4 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 24% | 25% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 181 | 100% | 89% | 14% | 20% | 72% |
| Mathematics | 181 | 100% | 88% | 31% | 22% | 85% |
| English Literature | 179 | 99% | 86% | 18% | 21% | 82% |
| Combined Science | 127 | 70% | 65% | 14% | 9% | 65% |
| Geography | 123 | 68% | 41% | 23% | 25% | 70% |
| Spanish | 113 | 62% | 19% | 10% | 27% | 45% |
| History | 58 | 32% | 41% | 19% | 26% | 52% |
| Computer Science | 55 | 30% | 13% | 24% | 30% | 73% |
| Biology | 52 | 29% | 23% | 38% | 45% | 85% |
| Chemistry | 51 | 28% | 23% | 51% | 47% | 88% |
| Physics | 51 | 28% | 23% | 45% | 46% | 92% |
| Sociology | 44 | 24% | 4% | 25% | 21% | 73% |
| Fine Art | 42 | 23% | 9% | 14% | 28% | 86% |
| Religious Studies | 24 | 13% | 31% | 46% | 32% | 88% |
| Physical Education | 23 | 13% | 11% | 9% | 24% | 70% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 22 | 12% | 8% | 14% | 21% | 45% |
| Design and Technology | 21 | 12% | 11% | 19% | 23% | 57% |
| Chinese | 16 | 9% | 1% | 31% | 75% | 69% |
| Music | 13 | 7% | 5% | 8% | 33% | 38% |
| Drama | 13 | 7% | 7% | 15% | 27% | 62% |
| Arabic | 5 | 3% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Portuguese | 4 | 2% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Polish | 4 | 2% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Turkish | 3 | 2% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| Urdu | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
| Persian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
| Citizenship Studies | 1 | 1% | 3% | — | 19% | — |
| Business Studies | 1 | 1% | 18% | — | 20% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering Studies | 41 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 21 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 14 | — | — |
| Tourism | 13 | — | — |
Where Watling Academy is
Other secondary schools in Milton Keynes are shown for comparison; darker blue means more Year 11 leavers stayed in education. The last distance at which this school offered places is not yet on file — it comes from Milton Keynes’s allocation statistics.
Other secondary schools in Milton Keynes
E-Act Ousedale School
Academy converter · sixth form · 2,239 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 49.4
Kents Hill Park all-through school
Free schools · 1,056 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.2
Lift Sir Herbert Leon
Academy sponsor led · 589 pupils
63% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.7
Lord Grey Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,446 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.4
Oakgrove School
Academy converter · sixth form · 2,527 pupils
93% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.7
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.