A council (local authority) in the South West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, fewer than across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Dorset at a glance
How Dorset's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
119 mainstream schools in Dorset, best first
Results well above the England average.
31 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1190%
England 62%
Results well below the England average.
17 first choices, 15 offers made
Met the standard at 1153%
England 62%
Sherborne, DT9 5NQ · Academy · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Results well above the England average.
13 first choices, 13 offers made
Met the standard at 11100%
England 62%
28 mainstream schools in Dorset, best first
Results well above the England average.
Met the standard at 1176%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1645.9
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
112 first choices, 113 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.0
England 46.2
123 in Dorset, highest Ofsted grade first
Beaminster, DT8 3BY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Blandford Forum, DT11 7BU · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Dorchester, DT2 9RD · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
30 in Dorset, by the school's Eduscope score
Results close to the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1645.9
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
112 first choices, 113 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.0
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
265 first choices, 234 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.4
England 46.2
17 in Dorset. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Dt4 7qf · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Weymouth, DT3 6AA · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Sturminster Newton, DT10 1EW · Special · All-through · Ages 2 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
21 in Dorset. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Dt4 7qf · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wimborne, BH21 5RT · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Dorset, BH16 6DA · Independent · All-through · Ages 6 to 14
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Dorset is a unitary authority in the South West with 119 mainstream primary schools and 28 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Weymouth, Wimborne Minster and Dorchester. It has 10 middle schools, so some children change school at a different age. Most families get the secondary school they want: 97.9% got their first choice, against 83.6% across England. Pupil numbers have fallen 4% since 2018.
From Dorset council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk · 01305 221060
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
93.9%got their first-choice primary school in Dorset in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 64 of 151 councils. 99.0% got one of their top three.3.4% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
97.9%got their first-choice secondary school in Dorset in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 1 of 151 councils. 99.0% got one of their top three.8.8% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
6 of 27 primary appeals heard in Dorset succeeded in 2025. 22 of 58 secondary appeals heard in Dorset succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Dorset school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
15 Outstanding, 79 Good, 1 need to improve.
123nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
90% Good or better. 57% met the standard at 11.
156schools
Ages 11 to 16
19 Good, 2 need to improve. 41% got grade 5 in English and maths.
54schools
3 Outstanding, 9 Good, 2 need to improve. About 7 pupils per teacher.
17schools
Here's how Dorset's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Dorset average, 41.
Average primary score
47Dorset 41
Average primary score
98Dorset 41
Average primary score
37Dorset 41
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
DorsetEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 88 primaries with one.
90%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
19 of the 21 with a grade.
91%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
57%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
41%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
20%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
20%
Latest graded inspection for the 121 schools that have one.
89%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Dorset in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 89% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 57% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 43.3 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 20% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.5:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,730 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 92% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 37% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 22% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 6% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 20% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 838, ONS code E06000059.
Dorset has 306 schools and nurseries across 15 towns and villages, the biggest being Weymouth, Wimborne Minster, Dorchester and Sherborne.
There are 4% fewer pupils than in 2018.
20% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Dorset's state schools each January.
Down 4% since 2018.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Dorset20%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Dorset has 306 schools, including 156 primary schools, 54 secondary schools, 123 nurseries, 21 independent schools, 17 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Dorset on Eduscope are St Ives Primary & Nursery School, Thornford CofE Primary School, All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
89% of inspected schools in Dorset hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 6 schools rated Outstanding and 102 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Dorset, 57% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Dorset is 17.5:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Dorset is 19.5%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 46,354 pupils enrolled across schools in Dorset, with 20,765 in primary and 25,589 in secondary. 20.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 21 independent schools in Dorset. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Dorset on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 306 schools in Dorset by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
