Newest primary school in Milton Keynes prepares to welcome its first pupils

The new Watling Primary School located near Calverton Lane in Milton Keynes is now complete and preparing to welcome children in September.

The school, which has capacity for up to 630 pupils, is the seventh school to be commissioned by Milton Keynes City Council in the last decade and the third new primary school in the Western Expansion Area of Milton Keynes, where thousands of new homes are being built.

The modern building includes a large activity hall, 18 classrooms and open plan indoor and outdoor spaces for children in Early Years and Primary. The school also has community sports facilities and provision for a 39-place full-time equivalent (FTE) nursery.

Vikki Pegg, headteacher at Watling Primary School, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be in our amazing new building. The incredible facilities, both indoors and outdoors, are even more impressive than we could have imagined. Now we embark on the next exciting part of our journey as we start to furnish and resource the learning environment. We are looking forward to opening our doors to our first families and their children in September when we will really see the Watling Primary School vision come to life.”

Cllr Zoe Nolan, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, added: “After years of careful planning, it’s incredibly rewarding to see this new school ready to welcome children from the growing local community. It’s a lovely, modern building with so many clever features that will benefit both pupils and the environment.”

Constructed by Willmott Dixon, Watling Primary has been designed to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and save the school money. Intelligent heating controls react to weather patterns, solar panels create energy, and air source heat pumps absorb energy from the outside air. The school’s layout means it will receive maximum benefit from natural daylight, reducing the need for lights to stay on all day.

MK-based Denbigh Alliance Multi Academy Trust will run the new school. The Trust also runs the nearby secondary school (Watling Academy) which opened in September 2020, along with Denbigh School, located in Shenley Church End.

Since 2014, Milton Keynes City Council has created capacity for more than 13,600 children, building seven new schools and helping 27 existing schools expand.