The Milford Academy

About The Milford Academy

The Milford Academy, a state primary in Nottingham, performs broadly in line with the local authority average on the headline Key Stage 2 measure, but with a slightly stronger result. In the 2023/24 academic year, 62% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Nottingham LA average of 60%. That places the school 31st out of 72 primary schools in the city, putting it in the bottom half of the local league table. However, the gap is narrow, and the school’s ranking is very close to the median — it sits at the 43rd percentile nationally. Where the school really stands out is in its improvement journey. Its most recent graded Ofsted inspection, in 2012, rated it Good overall, with Good leadership and management. That was a significant step up from its previous inspection in 2008, when it was judged to Require Improvement. An ungraded inspection in 2021 confirmed the school remains Good, suggesting stability since that earlier turnaround.

Digging into the KS2 results, the picture is mixed. In maths, 75% of pupils reached the expected standard, and the average score was 102 — both solid. Reading was slightly lower, with 68% at expected and an average score of 103. Writing saw 72% at expected, but only 5% reached the higher standard, which is notably low. Reading’s higher standard figure was 20%, and maths was 12%. The combined expected standard of 62% is just above the LA average, but the school’s ranking score of 62 places it in the bottom 50% nationally. There is no Progress 8 data available for this primary, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The Ofsted breakdown from 2012 gave no individual grades for quality of education, behaviour or personal development, so the only concrete judgement is that leadership and management were Good. The school has a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 35.2%, which is well above the national average, so context matters when interpreting these raw attainment figures.

The Milford Academy is a three-to-11 mixed primary with nursery provision, and it is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, there were 75 applications for 43 places, with 43 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.74. The school offers a broad range of facilities including a gymnasium, music rooms, an ICT suite, art studios, a sensory room, a sports hall and even a chapel. Sports on offer include cross country, swimming, rounders, football, cricket and tennis, while clubs range from film and chess to drama, choir, eco club and coding. SEND provision is extensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language issues, hearing and visual impairments, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. For families considering this school, it’s a popular, well-equipped option in Nottingham that serves a diverse intake and has shown clear improvement under headteacher Joseph Turner. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Blessed Robert Widmerpool Catholic Primary, just 0.1 km away, so it’s worth comparing both if faith-based education is a priority.

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