Miltoncross Academy, Portsmouth
Miltoncross Academy is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Portsmouth, part of The Kemnal Academies Trust. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2023. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in May 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 7th-highest of the 9 schools in Portsmouth with published results, and 3,066th of 3,298 across England. It was 89% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2023)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Below England average
- Progress (2024)
- Well below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Portsmouth (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Miltoncross Academy in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Miltoncross Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 35.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.2 in Portsmouth and 47 across England.
27% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 36% in Portsmouth and 47% in England.
That is in line with 2025, when the score was 36.3.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.6: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 29.1, against 41.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 12.1 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 19 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and History.
Getting a place at Miltoncross Academy
For September 2026 entry, 124 families put Miltoncross Academy as their first choice and 408 named it as one of their preferences, for 200 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Miltoncross Academy are The Portsmouth Academy (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 34.5); Priory School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 43.4); St Edmund's Catholic School (1.1 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 56); and Ark Charter Academy (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 39.9).
Miltoncross Academy's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.
The Portsmouth AcademyPriory SchoolSt Edmund's Catholic SchoolArk Charter Academy
The trust
Miltoncross Academy is one of 45 schools run by The Kemnal Academies Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 38.2 in 2024/25.
What parents say
101 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Miltoncross Academy (as of April 2026): 95% would recommend the school, 94% say their child is happy there and 91% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (95%); the weakest, that pupils behave well (83%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 177 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 81% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Who goes there
46.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 212 pupils (21.6%) received SEN support and 33 (3.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Fratton Rail Station, about 1050 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St. Marys Hospital (se-bound), 120 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Miltoncross Academy issued 586 suspensions, 62.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Miltoncross Academy are Langstone Primary Academy (0.4 miles), Meon Infant School (0.5 miles), Meon Junior School (0.5 miles) and Moorings Way Infant School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Langstone Primary AcademyMeon Infant SchoolMeon Junior SchoolMoorings Way Infant School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's May 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
The school provides a welcoming, safe environment where pupils feel supported and happy. Teachers have high expectations and the school offers an ambitious curriculum including subjects like modern foreign languages at GCSE. The school does excellent work developing pupils' wider skills, personal development, and helping them make informed decisions about their futures through improved careers guidance.
Key Strengths
- Ambitious curriculum with many pupils studying GCSE subjects including modern foreign languages and the English Baccalaureate
- Effective support for pupils with significant special educational needs and those needing help with reading
- Strong focus on pupils' personal development, with good careers guidance and leadership opportunities
- Welcoming environment where most pupils feel safe and supported
- Teachers generally explain new learning well and link it to previous learning
Areas for Improvement
- Teachers do not consistently check that all pupils understand new learning, leaving some with knowledge gaps especially those with SEND
- Behaviour remains variable with some learning still disrupted despite improvements
- Pupil attendance remains well below the national average and patterns are not analysed well enough
- Exam results improved but remain below the school's expectations
- Inconsistent quality of education means pupils do not learn as much as they need across all subjects
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with a strong culture focused on pupils' interests.
Extracurricular Activities
Clubs and activities, leadership roles such as being school ambassadors, regular reading in tutor times, assemblies
Miltoncross Academy is a secondary comprehensive school that provides a welcoming environment where most pupils feel safe and happy. The school requires improvement overall, though it has made progress in recent years with better exam results and improved behaviour management.
About
Miltoncross Academy is a coeducational secondary school located in the Milton area of Portsmouth in the English county of Hampshire.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
46.7%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
101 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at April 2026 - % who strongly agree or agree
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has remained stable at around -0.60 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has declined from 36.0 to 35.8 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 22% to 27% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 35.8 | 26.5% |
| Disadvantaged(84) | - | 29.1 | 17.9% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(105) | - | 41.2 | 33.3% |
| Boys(105) | - | 34.5 | 22.9% |
| Girls(84) | - | 37.5 | 31% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(46) | - | 43.6 | 41.3% |
| Non mobile(169) | - | 36.4 | 26% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 177 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
0
Permanent exclusions
0.00%
Exclusion rate
586
Suspensions
62.54%
Suspension rate
133 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 937 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Miltoncross Academy
Term dates
Miltoncross Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Portsmouth's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Miltoncross Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Miltoncross Academy is in Portsmouth; for families living there:
- Portsmouth's school travel policy: Travel assistance policy for school age (5-16) children
- How to apply: apply for discretionary travel assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 46
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 12
- Children hurt
- 6
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 46 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 12 serious and 34 slight.
6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise.
12 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Portsmouth is 57 (the median across 67 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Miltoncross Academy
Will you get a place at Miltoncross Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Miltoncross Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Miltoncross Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Miltoncross Academy.
- Portsmouth publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Miltoncross Academy that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Miltoncross Academy for 2015 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Portsmouth got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
89%
Available places
938 pupils
1,050 places
112 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Portsmouth
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Portsmouth
Across Portsmouth council
Places available
2,178
Applications
2,140
Got 1st preference
83.4%
Got preferred school
96.1%
All secondary applications across Portsmouth council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
212
SEN Support
33
EHC Plans
24.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
983
Total Pupils
487
Boys
496
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
49
Teachers
20.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,106
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,968
Per pupil
£8148k
Total funding
£425k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.8%
Overall absence
28.8%
Persistent absence
993
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Miltoncross Academy
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Miltoncross Academy
What are GCSE results like at Miltoncross Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Miltoncross Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 35.8. 27% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Miltoncross Academy's Ofsted rating?
Miltoncross Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2023, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for Miltoncross Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Miltoncross Academy is oversubscribed, Portsmouth allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Miltoncross Academy?
Miltoncross Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 89% of its 1050 places.
How big are the classes at Miltoncross Academy?
Classes at Miltoncross Academy average 24.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Miltoncross Academy?
Miltoncross Academy has around 983 pupils on roll. 47% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at Miltoncross Academy?
11.8% of sessions were missed at Miltoncross Academy in 2024/25. 28.8% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Miltoncross Academy?
Apply through Portsmouth's coordinated admissions process, naming Miltoncross Academy on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Miltoncross Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 46 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 12 serious and 34 slight. 6 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot and 2 in a vehicle or otherwise. 12 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Portsmouth is 57 (the median across 67 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Miltoncross Academy?
Miltoncross Academy is at Milton Road, Milton, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO3 6RB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)