Good Private/state schools in MK

[Archana2906]

Hi, we are planning to move to MK, can someone please guide which place is good to move in MK considering good secondary private/independent schools, new built homes, good locality for kids and family, ease of daily living and connectivity to London. Would be great if someone share their experience. We hardly know anything about this place.

Friends of mine sent their children to Bedford school.

There are school buses morning and evening

There aren't any private secondary schools in MK. People wanting private generally go to Bedford or Northampton.

In terms of state schools, MK is a genuinely comprehensive area and the vast majority go to their catchment school. So schools (particularly results) are largely influenced by their intake. MK is also a new town so everything is pretty new :) If you live in a brand new area, you will typically be looking at new(ish) unproven schools.

Do you have other criteria for which bit of MK you want to live in? Otherwise you have lots of options.

Thanks for this information, since MK doesn't have any Grammar schools in catchment so which area does parents prefer to live in first secondary education?

There isn't any one area. There are some areas that people avoid (estates with straight roads is a good rule of thumb).

The schools that are generally less popular are Milton Keynes Academy, Leon and Lord Grey (but even then I know people who like these schools). Stantonbury is known to be very marmite.

It really depends on what you are looking for.

In the instances of completeness I will say that there are some areas of MK that "may" be in catchment for Bucks grammars but these are vanishingly smaller every year and it's a long trip out to Aylesbury or Buckingham.

Stowe?

Pupils can take the 11+ and go to Buckingham or Aylesbury on the bus.
Denbeigh is a good secondary school.
Catchment would be Shenley ,Great Holm , Two Mile Ash.
Are you moving due to work ?

Station is central , quick and slow trains.

Pupils can take the 11+ and go to Buckingham or Aylesbury on the bus.

They have to both achieve the standardised score of 121 and be ranked high enough against the actual oversubscription criteria for the individual grammar school(s) applied for. Bucks publishes its allocation statistics each year, including data for the initial round of allocations and for the subsequent formal rounds. If the stats show consistently that applicants from as far away as Milton Keynes are offered places, then there is a chance that someone will get in in the next academic round. But as they will be ranked under a low, if not the lowest, criterion, it wouldn't take much change in one or more of the higher categories (more siblings? an influx of families with appropriately aged DC into a new-build estate within the catchment area?) for their chance of a place to wither away.

Swanbourne House is pretty close and has buses from MK.

Sorry, just re read and saw you are after secondary/senior schools. Akeley Wood or Thornton if you have daughters.

DS attended Aylesbury grammar school and has a couple of friends who travelled in from MK . However there have been a lot of new houses built in Aylesbury/ Buckingham since they began 7 years ago so I'd be concerned that MK students would be less likely to be in catchment.

I have a friend whose children attended Bedford school and have thrived there and attained very well.

Thanks for reply, I am looking for private options for secondary schools in MK. So keen to know about the good ones. Considering MK doesn't have grammar schools so definitely parents would be sending kids to state or private schools. I am not considering grammar schools as of now as my son is in year 8 and we are looking to move for better house and education if that's a good move.

Bedford School! Do go visit. If your son is in year 8 he will enter senior school in year 9 , perfect entry point, but you really need to contact admissions asap.

If your son is in Year 8, you would be better off finding out what state schools have places (and then potentially asking for opinions of them). A lot of schools will be full.

I am more interested in private/independent schools so looking forward for those options.

I (and others) have already given you options. There aren't any private secondary schools in MK. You have to travel out of MK if you want private.

Thank you so much dear. It's really surprising what parents do in Mk. Do they stick to state schools then.

I assume the state schools are doing good job for secondary kids.

There is one independent out Stantonbury way, think it's called the Webber. No idea what it's like.

My friend raved about Thornton (catholic girls school towards Buckingham) but hasn't liked Akeley Wood much for her son.

All the state schools are large academy crap.

Ousedale generally has the best reputation, Olney is nice.

FAO @shepherdsangeldelight www.webberindependentschool.com

ok, You're correct. In my defence, it's such a small school that it's easy to over look it :)

State secondaries in MK come in two types: good and wildly over subscribed, or shit.

If your kids are already secondary age I honestly wouldn’t rely on them getting in to one of the good schools. Try the Mum to mum - Milton Keynes Facebook group for info. Always school discussions in there.

Apart from the Webber (which I know nothing about), there aren’t any private secondaries in MK itself. But it’s surrounded by private schools - Bedford (Harpur Trust), Stowe, Akeley Wood, Thornton college. A lot of these will have transport running - certainly the Bedford schools have buses from all over MK.

If you did want to be in the grammar system, it’s easy to live very close to MK but over the border in Bucks and therefore in grammar catchment. A lot of the villages are nicer than half the city anyway.

Plz don't get me wrong, i wanted to mention if a parent wants to send kids to private school, he us hardly left with any good schools. And unfortunately grammar options are not in MK