Orchard Academy
Springfield Boulevard, Springfield, Milton Keynes, MK6 3HW
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EAST MIDLANDS ACADEMY TRUST
- Head of School
- Mrs Zoe McIntyre
- Sponsor
- East Midlands Academy Trust (EMAT)
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Milton Keynes Central
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 360
- Pupils on roll
- 294
- URN
- 138605
- Local authority
- Milton Keynes
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01908735882
About this school
Orchard Academy is a primary academy in Milton Keynes. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 294 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 4 July 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good, but had some concerns; a full inspection will follow. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 90 | 85 | 88 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 42% | 41% | 52% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 0% | 1% |
| Expected standard in reading | 60% | 59% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 54% | 53% | 60% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 56% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 100.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | -4.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Orchard Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Milton Keynes average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42% | 55.2% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 41% | 56.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 52% | 61.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 357 |
| 2023/24 | 358 |
| 2024/25 | 333 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Orchard Academy compares
Orchard Academy ranked 54th of 60 primary schools in Milton Keynes for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52% | 4.6% | 46% | 294 | — |
| The Willows School and Early Years Centre | — | 5.9% | 31% | 174 | 0.2 miles |
| Shepherdswell Academy | — | 4.7% | 21.5% | 108 | 0.2 miles |
| Falconhurst School | 64% | 5.3% | 50% | 268 | 0.5 miles |
| Jubilee Wood Primary School | 65% | 3.6% | 39.2% | 508 | 0.6 miles |
| Oldbrook First School and Nursery | — | 5.9% | 33.1% | 181 | 1.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 45.95%
- English as an additional language
- 44.4%
- Overall absence
- 4.61%
- Persistent absence
- 11.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Willows School and Early Years Centre0.2 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
-
Shepherdswell Academy0.2 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
-
Falconhurst School0.5 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
-
Jubilee Wood Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
-
Oldbrook First School and Nursery1.0 miles
Primary · Milton Keynes
Other schools in Milton Keynes
Orchard Academy ranks 54th of the 58 ranked primary schools in Milton Keynes.
- Abbeys Primary School Primary
- Ashbrook School Primary
- Barleyhurst Park Primary Primary
- Bishop Parker Catholic School Primary
- Bow Brickhill CofE VA Primary School Primary
- Bradwell Village School Primary
- Brooklands Farm Primary School Primary
- Brooksward School Primary
- Broughton Fields Primary School Primary
- Bushfield School Primary
- Caroline Haslett Primary School Primary
- Castlethorpe First School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Orchard Academy teach?
- Orchard Academy teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Milton Keynes.
- Who is the head of school of Orchard Academy?
- The head of school of Orchard Academy is Mrs Zoe McIntyre, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Orchard Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Orchard Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Orchard Academy?
- Orchard Academy has 294 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Orchard Academy full?
- Orchard Academy has capacity for 360 pupils and 294 on roll (82%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Orchard Academy a faith school?
- No. Orchard Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Orchard Academy?
- Orchard Academy is part of EAST MIDLANDS ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Orchard Academy have?
- The schools register lists Orchard Academy's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Orchard Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 42% in 2022/23 and 52% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Orchard Academy rank locally?
- Orchard Academy ranked 54th of 60 primary schools in Milton Keynes for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 24% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 69% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Orchard Academy's absence rate?
- Orchard Academy's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Orchard Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Orchard Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.