Why you should send your child to the new Academy

Principals welcome

The Milton Keynes Academy is the first choice for parents wanting the very best for their children.

There are many extremely good reasons why your son or daughter will thrive at the new Academy, which opened in September 2009.

For a start, there is a huge emphasis on high academic and personal achievement, with extra support for talented and gifted students, and those needing extra help.

Your child is able to work in an inspiring specially designed state-of-the-art environment, and will have the advantage of learning in many totally different ways – not done anywhere else in Milton Keynes. This includes having more hours of study, having different term times, taking exams earlier and benefiting from other exciting new approaches to teaching. More details about all these things are included further on this website.

The Academy also has a special emphasis on enterprise, which means your child will learn essential skills for future life such as team work, problem solving and creative thinking.

Working closely with the Academy’s sponsor, Edge, I am certain that we can create a brilliant place to study, develop and have fun. I guarantee that your child will be given all the skills and encouragement they will need to succeed in work and life.


Lorna Caldicott
Principal of The Milton Keynes Academy

Latest Blog

Looking back on our first exciting year

Posted on 26th July 2010

I have a very vivid memory of the first day the Academy opened, when students rushed through the doors in a whirlwind of excitement in their smart new uniforms. Everyone wanted to explore the wonderful, inspiring new building, and staff worked hard to make sure we all settled in quickly to the new routines and ways of working. That was last September, and so much has happened since then to create an amazing, successful school - one of which we can all be proud. 

To begin with, I want to congratulate all those students who have worked hard to make the most of their time here. This includes the Year 13 students in Studio 6 who will be leaving us this summer. I'm pleased that nine out of the 11 students plan to go on to university, although several are having a gap year first.

Studio 6 has been a big success story, with 78 students in Year 12 now working really well and eagerly anticipating their AS and other exam results in August. In September, another 122 students will join Studio 6, increasing numbers to 200.

Looking back to last September, demand for Year 7 places was huge, and we had so many applications that children had to be turned away. The same thing has happened this year, and the Academy is so popular that once again we are oversubscribed for September 2010. 

Of course, there are lots of reasons why parents want to send their children to the Academy, with its happy atmosphere, commitment to doing things differently and excellent facilities usually mentioned. Whenever I wander around the school I am generally impressed with the way students are making the most of our specialist resources in the Learning Villages. Talent is being nurtured and new skills are blossoming.  

Students are also doing well with new courses and subjects introduced during the year including BTEC science and the Diploma.  I'm pleased to report that there will be more exciting new curriculum additions from September.

Many children are learning and having fun in our 40-plus after-school clubs, and I have been delighted by the incredible progress made by students working to improve their reading and writing in special lessons with our Upgrade Team.

During the year every student has been able to enjoy a wide range of enterprise and cultural experiences. There have been more than 50 trips ranging from visits to art galleries and theatres to a ski trip to Austria.  I know that many children will have had happy and interesting experiences that they will remember for a very long time.

Our spectacular building has created a lot of interest and we've been visited by thousands of people during the year including the Prime Minister, a Duke, a Lord, MPs, business people and building experts and academics from around the world. We receive lots of comments from visitors about the lively and happy atmosphere in the school.   

Positive and constructive comments also came from the recent parent questionnaire, and many parents are very supportive of the Academy. Just recently many parents took the time and trouble to come along to help out at a recent open evening for prospective students and their families.  Of course, we're always looking at new ways to make communication between the school and parents even better, and our website blog is an example of this.

I know that a lot of year 7 and 8 students enjoyed ice-skating in the school earlier this summer, and this was their reward for good attendance. We will continue to look at ways to improve attendance levels as although this is acceptable, it could be better.

In September we welcomed 20 newly qualified teachers, and all but one will remain with us for our second year. Because of the Academy's good reputation we are able to recruit high-calibre staff, and in September we will welcome another 15 new teachers.

Students will notice something very different the minute they step through their entrance in September as we will be installing our final piece of artwork during the summer holidays. This is to be a huge Venetian glass mosaic of part of a brain, symbolising intelligence and communication.  It will be awesome!

Next year we will focus on working with students to make sure that they are ready to learn and go on to get good exam results. From September 2010 teachers will also be stricter on standards of behaviour. The message is simple:  Do as you are told the first time and be nice to people.

The Academy is a great place to learn. It's up to you to make the most of it and achieve your best. Let's make our second year even better.

I wish you a great summer holiday.

Previous Blogs
Vivo miles reward programme introduced
Posted on 25th June 2010

As part of our drive to recognise our students' achievements, the Academy has just introduced a new on-line reward system, Vivo Miles.

Every student has been issued with their own Vivo card and Academy staff award Vivo points to students. Points will be awarded for excellent attendance; working hard in lessons; producing quality work at school and at home; taking part in after school activities and for a smart uniform.

Students can exchange their Vivo points for items from the on-line Argos catalogue which has a selection of age appropriate gifts. Every student can access their on-line personal rewards page. The page gives their up to date account of how many Vivos they have earned and what for. Parents, too, can see when and for what their sons/daughters have been awarded. Parents can also choose to receive a text message every time their child gains a Vivo reward.

I am delighted that I was able to award my first Vivo points this week to four students from Explore Learning Village who demonstrated good citizenship by safely handing in a valuable item they had found outside the Academy.  

Springtime events at the Academy
Posted on 23rd April 2010

This is a busy, lively time of year around the Academy. Lots of student events have taken place in the last few weeks such as hosting the Milton Keynes Young Enterprise finals, participating in the nationwide BBC News Report initiative, holding a fascinating diversity event, success at a dance competition in London event and even business speed-dating with potential employers!

For the last two evenings we have held an inspiring Dance Showcase with dozens of students showing off their Performing Arts talents to their families.

We've been sporty too, with our girls recently winning two dodgeball trophies and staff and students cycling to raise money for Sport Relief.

Next week we have three of the local parliamentary candidates coming along to meet students and to participate in a Question Time style debate. Students will be holding a mock election to coincide with the national election.

It's really exciting that so many enterprising events are taking place. Thanks to all the staff and students for their boundless energy.

Have a look at the News section of this website to see pictures of our busy life at the Academy.

An enterprising day
Posted on 12th March 2010

Yesterday was a very busy day here, with lots of enterprising activities.

Congratulations to everyone who made the day's many activities such a success: The Community Breakfast in the Hub where many local partners came to acknowledge their work in the school and who were entertained by Performing Arts students (thanks Debbie, Jess and Sean and Emma, Tony and Laura); followed by Claire and Christine's languages activity for Year 8 (the students really enjoyed the activities and learning about the importance of languages in the world of work) ; this was followed by a presentation to 23 Year 9s and their parents of the BBC School Report they have made with the support of Teresa and Darren (and Peter and Dan who star in the news report) and lastly the day ended with an afternoon tea for students doing and attending well in Year 8 (thanks to Anne, Ian, Rachel and Jane). The children were thrilled to have their photo taken with their certificates. This was all in one day! The day could not have run so smoothly without the help of the day cleaning team Ray and Francis and, of course, the Catering and Hospitality Team.

Thank you.

Why regular attendance is so important
Posted on 9th February 2010

Coming to school every day is really important for students. If a student is not in school then they can't learn along with their friends. Research shows that children with attendance of over 93% do better at school than those who attend less.

No one would want a child to attend the Academy if they are genuinely too ill to do so. However, it is often difficult to judge when a young person can attend school. If they have a headache or a cold without a fever, I believe they should come in.

For example, with our Year 11 students:

  • Every day we go over GCSE material with them.
  • Every day we coach them in examination technique.
  • Every day we are improving coursework.
  • Every day we do back examination papers.
  • Every day we diagnose difficulties and remedy them.
  • Every day they are given vital examination information.
  • Every day we encourage and help them grow in examination confidence.

Qualifications mean much better life chances: a chance for university, college or a better job.

Regular attendance is about being on time for school, and being there every day.

Hello and a Happy New Year
Posted on 6th January 2010

I hope that all our students and their families had a relaxing break over the Christmas and New Year period.

I want all students, no matter which year group they are in, to concentrate hard on their studies in the new term and to make good progress. It's important for students to know the answer to two questions when they are in class:

1.     What am I learning?

2.     What do I need to do to improve?

Keep these two questions in the back of your mind and if you're not sure of the answer in any class, then ask your teacher.

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