Secondary schools in Milton Keynes

[Aj981]

Hello Everyone!

Hope you all are doing well. Thanks for reading my post question.

We will be moving in Milton Keynes (returning from overseas) in mid June. My daughter is in year 8 at the moment.

My daughter is an average student, with slight inclination towards academics. Plays tennis & is keen on continuing her French language studies.

I have found these secondary schools to be good in MK, not in that order of preference yet -
Denbigh School
Oakgrove School
Shenley Brook End school
Ousdale - Newport Pagnell campus
Milton Keynes Academy

In my network, I am able to find feedback from parents whose child goes to the first 4 schools in above list.

Is anyone here whose child/children goes to Milton Keynes Academy? What is your review of the school?

Appreciate your responses. It will be great if you can also share your experience with other 4 schools. This will help me decide on an order of preference.

Thanks a lot in advance. Have a good day!

The OP's issue is that most MK schools don't have places for her Year 8 child. Which is why the discussion about schools in Buckinghamshire started ...

@SergeiL
Are those secondary schools?

There are not 90 parents in this area of MK rich enough to afford private schools. Or there would be one. There’s none in the west of MK that I can think of. If MK was so good, it would not have people avoiding Leon. That serves a less well to do area anyway. Always did. It’s on the Lakes Estate where I would bet not a single person could afford a private school. Leon was an old secondary modern in the days when Bletchley was a grammar area.

Yes, the schools I refer to are state secondaries and my point is, to give OP the best chance to get a place, choose an area where they are in the catchment for several.

Not sure why discussion about Leon is relevant. Not the same area.

Also, not sure why talking about grammar is relevant, when they are really hard to get in to from MK in the first place, let alone in year.

Finally, not all parents ‘rich enough’ choose private. I certainly don’t.

@Sergeil you have listed areas of Milton Keynes, not schools?
The schools for which those areas are in catchment are Oakgrove and Walton High (Brooklands). I'm not sure what 3 on OP's list you are referring to?

Milton Keynes has defined catchment areas and, as a result of this, there are very few areas that are in catchment for multiple schools. if OP is trying to get a place from a waiting list she needs to live in catchment and as close to her preferred school as possible.

If you read my post, you will see I said that those areas have children going to 3 schools that have been mentioned on this post as good schools, not necessarily on the OPs original list. The two you have mentioned and Kent’s Hill Park. I think maybe also the other Walton campus as well. My point was that if they researched those three and liked the look of them, then it might be worth looking at those particular areas as a chance of getting in one of those good schools. Just trying to be helpful. Not sure why you are being so hostile.

Reading back, I can see my post wording may have been deceptive but even still, just trying to be helpful.

Anyway, I believe that some of those estates are in catchment for more than one school and they were worth researching.

All of the above is why I mentioned looking at the neighbouring Bedfordshire Upper Schools which - for the meantime- still do year 9 entry.

@Sergeil not being hostile- just trying to correct the misinformation you were giving.

If OP looks at the secondary admissions information on the council website she will find the catchment areas for each school (helpfully also written the other way too, so you know which schools any given area puts you into catchment for). This information also explains that the majority of areas are in 1 school catchment only; a few are in 2. And none of the areas you mention are in catchment for Kents Hill Park or the other Walton High campus (not that that matters as you apply to the school, not the campus).

Getting a place mid year is entirely different to applying for a place in the normal round of admissions. It's much harder to get a place at any particular desired school, so OP should maximise her chances of doing so by living in catchment (the actual catchment, not a location where you might have got a place for Year 7 admissions that's outside the defined catchment) and as close to the school as possible.