Secondary schools in Dorset

There are 29 secondary schools in Dorset, teaching 22,770 pupils. Of the 28 with a score, 7 do better than similar schools elsewhere in England and 11 do worse.

Best in England Primary schools in Dorset All schools in Dorset Places within

Pupils from low-income families23%average across these schools

Doing better than similar schools7 of 28scored schools in the top two bands

New-style Ofsted report cards5inspected since November 2025

Good or outstanding (old grades)163 requires improvement or inadequate

Full or nearly full7 of 28schools with 98% or more of places taken

Average class size23.5one-teacher classes, January census

Free breakfast clubs3schools on the government programme

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored

Getting a place in Dorset

From Dorset council's allocation figures for 2026 entry: 7 secondary schools, 7 of which filled on distance. Every school's page has a postcode check.

Hardest to get into

The last place went to a child living this far away. The shorter the distance, the harder it is to get in.

St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill 3.4 miles
Cranborne Middle School 4.3 miles
St Osmund's Church of England Middle School 4.5 miles
Ferndown Upper School 5.1 miles
West Moors Middle School 5.2 miles
Lytchett Minster School 5.2 miles
Gillingham School 7.0 miles

Most first choices per place

Ferndown Upper School

1.2 per place

West Moors Middle School

1.2 per place

St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill

1.1 per place

Gillingham School

1.1 per place

St Osmund's Church of England Middle School

1.1 per place

Cranborne Middle School

1.0 per place

Lytchett Minster School

1.0 per place

Source: Dorset council (allocation statistics). Councils we hold this for.

Secondary schools (29)

Ranked by score, highest first. The likely range shows how sure we can be. If two schools' ranges overlap, don't read it as one beating the other. Click a column heading to sort, or hover a row to find it on the map.

#	School	Pupils	Low income	Ofsted	Score	Likely range
1	Lockyer's Middle SchoolAcademy · ages 9-13 · Wimborne	436	12%	Good 2022	84	72 to 92
2	St Michael's Church of England Middle School, ColehillAcademy · ages 9-13 · Wimborne	563	16%	Good 2024	76	59 to 86
3	The Purbeck SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · Wareham	1,022	23%	Not inspected	75	68 to 81
4	Emmanuel Church of England Middle SchoolAcademy · ages 9-13 · Verwood	434	17%	Good 2022	75	58 to 85
5	Allenbourn Middle SchoolAcademy · ages 9-13 · Wimborne	499	14%	No overall grade 2025	73	54 to 84
6	Ferndown Upper SchoolCouncil · ages 13-19 · Ferndown	1,134	21%	Report card 2026	68	59 to 75
7	Lytchett Minster SchoolFoundation · ages 11-19 · Poole	1,624	19%	Good 2023	66	57 to 74
8	The Woodroffe SchoolFoundation · ages 11-18 · Lyme Regis	886	17%	Good 2023	65	54 to 73
9	The Thomas Hardye SchoolAcademy · ages 13-18 · Dorchester	2,014	19%	No overall grade 2025	60	50 to 68
10	St Mary's Church of England Middle School, PuddletownAcademy · ages 9-13 · Dorchester	441	21%	Good 2019	58	36 to 75
11	Ferndown Middle SchoolAcademy · ages 9-13 · Ferndown	600	21%	Good 2023	56	35 to 74
12	Beaminster SchoolChristian · ages 11-18 · Beaminster	673	23%	Good 2023	55	44 to 66
13	St Osmund's Church of England Middle SchoolAcademy · ages 9-13 · Dorchester	714	17%	Good 2022	55	34 to 73
14	The Sir John Colfox AcademyAcademy · ages 11-18 · Bridport	756	23%	Good 2023	51	40 to 62
15	West Moors Middle SchoolCouncil · ages 9-13 · Ferndown	240	37%	Report card 2026	49	28 to 69
16	The Gryphon SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · Sherborne	1,569	22%	Good 2023	47	37 to 58
17	The Blandford SchoolVoluntary · ages 11-18 · Blandford Forum	1,103	21%	Good 2024	43	33 to 54
18	Sturminster Newton High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · Sturminster Newton	605	30%	Report card 2026	34	24 to 45
19	Cranborne Middle SchoolCouncil · ages 9-13 · Wimborne	265	19%	Not inspected	26	15 to 43
20	Wey Valley AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Weymouth	994	33%	Good 2023	26	19 to 35
21	Dorchester Middle SchoolAcademy · ages 9-13 · Dorchester	527	22%	Report card 2026	20	10 to 35
22	Shaftesbury SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · Shaftesbury	782	26%	Good 2023	17	12 to 23
23	Dorset Studio SchoolStudio schools · ages 11-16 · Dorchester	332	32%	Good 2024	17	11 to 24
24	The Swanage SchoolFree school · ages 11-16 · Swanage	349	32%	Good 2023	14	9 to 20
25	Queen Elizabeth's SchoolAcademy · ages 13-18 · Wimborne	1,375	17%	Requires improvement 2023	13	9 to 18
26	Budmouth Academy WeymouthAcademy · ages 11-18 · Weymouth	1,466	27%	Requires improvement 2024	11	8 to 15
27	All Saints' Church of England AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Weymouth	598	33%	Requires improvement 2023	7	5 to 11
28	Atlantic Academy PortlandAcademy · ages 4-16 · Portland	769	35%	Report card 2026	6	4 to 9
	Gillingham SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · Gillingham	–	–	Not inspected	–

Secondary schools by town in Dorset

Beaminster1 schools Blandford Forum1 schools Bridport1 schools Dorchester5 schools Ferndown3 schools Gillingham1 schools Poole1 schools Shaftesbury1 schools Sherborne1 schools Sturminster Newton1 schools Swanage1 schools Verwood1 schools Wareham1 schools Weymouth3 schools Wimborne5 schools

Secondary schools in nearby areas

Devon43 schools Gloucestershire41 schools Somerset36 schools Cornwall31 schools Wiltshire29 schools Bristol, City of25 schools South Gloucestershire19 schools Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole24 schools Plymouth19 schools Bath and North East Somerset14 schools Swindon14 schools North Somerset11 schools

About this list

Schools are listed by their School Chooser Score, highest first. Schools without a score (independent schools and those with too little published data) come after, in alphabetical order. The score compares each school with schools that have a similar mix of pupils, not just with each other, so a school with a lower score in a wealthier area may still have better exam results. How the score works.