SchoolFacts.uk

Lift Sir Herbert Leon

Secondary · Milton Keynes · MK2 3HQ

Data updated

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Good

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 8 October 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

589 pupils · 79% of 750 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
51.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
32% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
28.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.liftsirherbertleon.org
URN
138439

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 70 families named it first for 100 Year 7 places, 0.70 first choices per place. We hold 4 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 8 October 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 11.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.70 first-choice applications per place

100 places offered · 70 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

GCSE results (2024/2025)

144 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
33.7
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
45.8%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
24.3%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
2.9
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school33.7
Median of its 12 closest peers35.4
Milton Keynes average44.8
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Dean Trust Rose BridgeWigan · 134 miles awayRequires improvement39.7
Astrea Academy WoodfieldsDoncaster · 106 miles awayGood36.8
Dixons Unity AcademyLeeds · 131 miles awayGood36
Ark Kings AcademyBirmingham · 59 miles awayGood36.5
Dean Trust WiganWigan · 135 miles awayNeeds attention33.1
Smith's Wood AcademyBirmingham · 56 miles awayNeeds attention32.2
Our Lady and St John RC High School, a Voluntary AcademyBlackburn · 141 miles awayRequires improvement37.2
E-ACT Shenley AcademyBirmingham · 61 miles awayRequires improvement31.6
Astor Secondary SchoolDover · 105 miles awayNeeds attention27.9
Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyLeeds · 129 miles awayNeeds attention35.1
Lancaster High SchoolLancaster · 167 miles awayGood35.6
Leeds East AcademyLeeds · 130 miles awayRequires improvement32.7

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 43% (Milton Keynes 43%, England 59%) · Black African 14% (Milton Keynes 13%, England 5%) · Asian Bangladeshi 9% (Milton Keynes 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 8% (Milton Keynes 4%, England 3%) · Any other White background 7% (Milton Keynes 9%, England 7%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Milton Keynes 2%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 3% (Milton Keynes 4%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Milton Keynes 5%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Milton Keynes 2%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 2% (Milton Keynes 6%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Milton Keynes 2%, England 1%) · Any other Black background 1% (Milton Keynes 2%, England 1%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Milton Keynes 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Milton Keynes 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Milton Keynes 2%, England 2%)

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
11.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
37.6%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

85.01 suspensions per 100 pupils and 1 permanent exclusion · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Milton Keynes: 22.03 suspensions and 0.02 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19.5
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

70% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 15% moved to another state school · 15% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

65.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 5.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,043; 20% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£8,787
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 68% (77%) · premises 13% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (6%) · supplies and services 10% (11%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 2% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£897,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
73%
Continuing in education
63%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
10%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher17.3%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications26.6%18.1%
In managerial or professional work13.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways30.1%18.1%
Residents in very good health49.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier34.6%62.3%
Social housing45.8%17.1%
Privately rented18.8%20.5%
Detached houses9.8%22.9%
Flats2.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms7.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van32.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01034454 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£260,000224 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£219,500–£355,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (29)£387,500
Semi-detached (52)£345,000
Terraced (101)£248,000
Flat (42)£200,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
0an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
3an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools