Junior schools start at Year 3, so children join here from an infant school.
Infant school
Downs Barn School
This school
Southwood School
Partner infant school
Nursery to Year 2 · 470 m away from Southwood School
Both schools are in Boulevard Primary Partnership, so one governing body runs them.
View schoolPartner infant school
Nursery to Year 2 · 610 m away from Southwood School
Both schools are in Boulevard Primary Partnership, so one governing body runs them.
View schoolEvery child joining in Year 3 needs a place applied for through the council where they live, by 15 January in Year 2. That includes children at Downs Barn School.
Official inspection reports and grades
Inspected 17 May 2023
Compared with the local authority and England
The share of pupils reaching the standard expected for their age, and the share going beyond it.
| Measure | School | Milton Keynes | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading, writing & maths — expected | 69% | 66% | 63% |
| Reading, writing & maths — higher | 4% | 10% | 8% |
| Grammar, punctuation & spelling — expected | 81% | 78% | 73% |
| Grammar, punctuation & spelling — higher | 54% | 37% | 30% |
A score of 100 is the expected standard; 110 or more is a higher standard.
| Subject | School | Milton Keynes | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 104 | 106 | 106 |
| Maths | 105 | 105 | 105 |
| Grammar, punctuation & spelling | 107 | 107 | 105 |
School workforce census, 2025/26.
Southwood School's last overall grade from Ofsted was Good, on 25 June 2013. Ofsted inspected it again on 17 May 2023 without giving a new overall grade.
Apply through the council where you live by 15 January for a Year 3 place starting that September. Every child joining in Year 3 needs a place applied for through the council where they live, by 15 January in Year 2. That includes children at Downs Barn School. You can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference, and offers are sent on 16 April, or the next working day.
No. Distance only counts when Southwood School has more applicants than places. Then its admission criteria, set by its governing body, decide who is offered a place first. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or a catchment area. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
Southwood School had 188 pupils aged 7 to 11 at the latest school census. Its official capacity is 256. It is a mixed school.