Gillingham School
Gillingham School is a converter academy in Gillingham for boys and girls aged 11 to 18.
Hardings Lane, Gillingham, SP8 4QP01747 822222gillingham-dorset.co.ukMr Paul Nicholson headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet. That is normal for a school that opened in 2026: new schools usually get their first inspection within three years.
Before it became this school, Gillingham School was inspected on 10 May 2023 and judged Good (report). Same building, same children, so that report is the best guide until Ofsted comes back.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
264 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England. These are the results of Gillingham School, the school this one replaced.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025† | 2024† | 2023† | 2022† | 2019† | 2018† | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 264 | 282 | 279 | 275 | 270 | 270 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 42.7 | 45.7 | 46.1 | 52.2 | 45.0 | 49.2 | 42.9 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.18 | -0.16 | +0.14 | -0.19 | -0.07 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 42% | 45% | 47% | 50% | 42% | 45% | 38% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 62% | 66% | 65% | 76% | 64% | 67% | 60% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.84 | 4.14 | 4.07 | 4.65 | 4.14 | 4.62 | 3.77 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 64% | 66% | 62% | 59% | 66% | 67% | 37% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 34.3 | 33.3 | 39.9 | 42.2 | 33.6 | 34.8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 45.2 | 48.4 | 47.5 | 54.7 | 46.9 | 51.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 32.0 | 27.5 | 32.9 | 24.8 | 24.2 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 60.3 | 61.8 | 69.8 | 59.6 | 62.8 | – | – |
† These results are for Gillingham School, the school this one replaced in September 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test.
The last child to get a place lived 7.0 miles away in 2026, 8.3 miles away in 2024, 12.0 miles away in 2022. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 7.0 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.
| Entry | Places | Put it first | Applied at all | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 270 | 294 | 381 | 270 | 7.0 miles | LA |
| 2024 Secondary | 280 | 281 | 386 | 280 | 8.3 miles | LA |
| 2022 Secondary | 280 | 278 | 359 | 280 | 12.0 miles | LA |
| 2021 Secondary | 280 | 281 | 369 | 280 | 9.0 miles | LA |
The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.5% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25† | 2023/24† | 2022/23† | 2021/22† | 2020/21† | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 9.5% | 9.5% | 8.9% | 10.6% | 4.9% | 5.8% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 6.2% | 6.2% | 6.1% | 7.9% | 3.7% | 4.2% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.3% | 3.3% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 1.2% | 1.6% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 26.1% | 26.2% | 26.1% | 37.9% | 11.0% | 12.8% | 23.9% |
† These attendance figures are for Gillingham School, the school this one replaced in September 2026. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Money
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaftesbury School | Academy | 4.3 miles | 782 | Good 2023 | 17 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Gillingham School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Gillingham School yet.
How good are Gillingham School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 42% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 42.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished a little behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Gillingham School have?
The number of pupils is not published.
Is Gillingham School oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 7.0 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at Gillingham School?
Pupils were in school 90.5% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 26% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Gillingham School have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Hardings Lane, Gillingham, SP8 4QP
- Telephone
- 01747 822222
- Website
- www.gillingham-dorset.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Nicholson
- Type of school
- Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-18, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- United Learning Trust (98 schools)
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward
- Gillingham
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 September 2026 (academy converter)
- URN
- 152446 · LAESTAB 8384503 · UKPRN 10100275
- Formerly
- Gillingham School
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Dorset council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2021, 2022, 2024, 2026.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.