- Ofsted:Good
Results well above the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1176%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 436
- Pupils per teacher
- 20.5
Secondary schools in Dorset
All 54 secondary schools in Dorset. Narrow them down, then shortlist up to four to compare.
- Ofsted:Expected standard or better
- Has a sixth form
Results close to the Dorset average, low absence.
Attainment 8 at 1645.9
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,134
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.8
- Ofsted:Good
- Has a sixth form
Results above the Dorset average.
112 first choices, 113 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.0
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- 9.9%Dorset 9.3%
- Pupils
- 886
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.7
- Ofsted:Good
- Church of England
- Has a sixth form
Results above the Dorset average, low absence.
265 first choices, 234 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.4
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,569
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.4
- Ofsted:Good
- Has a sixth form
Results above the Dorset average, low absence.
253 first choices, 257 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.9
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,624
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.3
- Ofsted:Good in every area
- Has a sixth form
Results above the Dorset average, high absence.
Attainment 8 at 1647.8
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 2,014
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.0
- Ofsted:Good
- Church of England
Results above the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1165%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 434
- Pupils per teacher
- 19.5
- Ofsted:Good
- Has a sixth form
Results close to the Dorset average.
199 first choices, 202 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.2
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- 8.7%Dorset 9.3%
- Pupils
- 1,103
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.4
- Ofsted:Good
- Has a sixth form
Results above the Dorset average, low absence.
156 first choices, 160 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.0
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,022
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.9
St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill
Wimborne, BH21 7AB · Academy · Middle · Ages 9 to 13
- Ofsted:Good
- Church of England
Results above the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1165%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 563
- Pupils per teacher
- 19.7
- Ofsted:Good or better
Results above the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1168%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 499
- Pupils per teacher
- 21.7
- Ofsted:Expected standard or better
Results well below the England average, high absence.
Met the standard at 1149%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 240
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.0
- Ofsted:Good
- Faith school
- Has a sixth form
Results close to the Dorset average.
119 first choices, 120 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.4
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- 8.4%Dorset 9.3%
- Pupils
- 673
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.9
- Ofsted:Good
- Has a sixth form
Results above the Dorset average.
284 first choices, 265 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.8
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- 9.5%Dorset 9.3%
- Pupils
- 1,684
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.6
- Ofsted:Good
- Has a sixth form
Results close to the Dorset average.
104 first choices, 104 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.9
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- 9.1%Dorset 9.3%
- Pupils
- 756
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.1
- Ofsted:Good
- Church of England
Results below the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1158%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 714
- Pupils per teacher
- 20.5
- Ofsted:Good
Results above the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1165%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 265
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.9
- Ofsted:Expected standard in every area
- Has a sixth form
Results close to the Dorset average, high absence.
89 first choices, 93 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1641.4
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 605
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.3
- Ofsted:Good
Results below the Dorset average, high absence.
182 first choices, 182 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1638.9
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 994
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.5
- Ofsted:Good
- Church of England
- Has a sixth form
Results below the Dorset average, high absence.
95 first choices, 108 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1640.1
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 782
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.4
- Ofsted:Good
Results close to the Dorset average, high absence.
61 first choices, 62 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.1
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 349
- Pupils per teacher
- 15.4
St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown
Dorchester, DT2 8SA · Academy · Middle · Ages 9 to 13
- Ofsted:Good
- Church of England
Results close to the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1161%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 441
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.5
- Ofsted:Requires improvement
- Church of England
- Has a sixth form
Results close to the Dorset average, high absence.
Attainment 8 at 1644.4
Dorset 43.3England 46.2
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 1,375
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.5
- Ofsted:Good
Results well below the England average, low absence.
Met the standard at 1145%
England 62%
- Days missed
- Pupils
- 600
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.8
- Secondary schools54including 13 special
- Attainment 8 at 1643.3England 46.2
- Good or Outstanding91%of graded schools ·
- Faith schools16 of 541 Catholic, 11 Church of England
- With a nursery class8take children from 2 or 3
- Free school meals22.0%of pupils get them
The big picture
How Dorset's secondary schools spread out
Each dot is one school. Hover over a dot to see which school it is.
Attainment 8 at 16
Average score across each pupil's best eight GCSEs.
Days missed
Share of school sessions pupils missed, for any reason. Lower is better.
Ofsted grades in Dorset
The last full grade for each school Ofsted has graded. 33 newer or converted schools don't have a grade yet.
- Outstanding: 0 of 21
- Good: 19 of 21
- Requires improvement: 2 of 21
- Inadequate: 0 of 21
Before you apply
Four things worth knowing in Dorset
Some are faith schools.
16 of the 54 secondary schools in Dorset have a religious character. When they're full, they can put families of their faith first, so check each school's rules.
Show schools with no religious characterApply by 31 October.
Apply to your council in Year 6 for a Year 7 place. Offers come out on 1 March.
Check how old the Ofsted grade is.
Some grades are many years old. Each school's page shows the date of its last inspection and what's changed since.
Show Good or OutstandingList a school you're likely to get.
Popular schools fill up from the families who live closest. Add your postcode to see which schools are nearest, and put one of them on your form.
Add my postcode
About these schools
Secondary schools in Dorset, explained
There are 54 secondary schools in Dorset, teaching 29,223 children. 7 are run by the council and 25 are academies or free schools. Among them are 13 special and 15 independent schools.
91% of the mainstream state schools Ofsted has graded are Good or Outstanding, against 94.8% across England. 0 of them are Outstanding, though some grades are several years old, so check the date on each school's page.
Pupils in Dorset scored an average Attainment 8 of 43.3 across their best eight GCSEs, against 46.2 across England.
22.0% of pupils get free school meals. Schools here spend £8,457 a year on each pupil, against £8,120 across England. 24.8% of pupils are persistently absent, missing one day in ten or more, against 18.1% across England.
Looking further afield? See secondary schools near me, or everything in Dorset.
Explore
Secondary schools near meLook closer to home
Pick an area to see its secondary schools, or browse other kinds of school in and around Dorset.
- Weymouth8 secondary schools
- Sherborne5 secondary schools
- Dorchester3 secondary schools
- Wimborne Minster3 secondary schools
- Ashley Heath2 secondary schools
- Blandford Forum2 secondary schools
- Ferndown2 secondary schools
- Corfe Mullen1 school
- Gillingham (Dorset)1 school
- Shaftesbury1 school
- Verwood1 school
- West Moors1 school
- Wool1 school
Other schools in Dorset
Secondary schools nearby
All schools in Dorset
Questions
Questions parents ask
How many secondary schools are in Dorset?
There are 54 secondary schools in Dorset, including state-funded, academies, and independent schools.
What are the best secondary schools in Dorset?
The highest-ranked secondary schools in Dorset on Eduscope are Lockyer's Middle School, Ferndown Upper School and The Woodroffe School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance.
How are secondary schools in Dorset ranked on Eduscope?
Each state school gets a rank score out of 100. We place each measure as a percentile among state schools of the same phase across England, then weight them. Primary schools: latest Ofsted inspection 30%, pupils meeting the expected standard at Key Stage 2 30%, pupils reaching the higher standard 10%, persistent absence (lower is better) 20%, average reading and maths scores 10%. Secondary schools: latest Ofsted inspection 25%, Attainment 8 25%, grade 5 or above in English and maths 15%, persistent absence (lower is better) 15%, pupils staying in education or work after GCSEs 10%, A level average points (sixth forms only) 10%. Results are averaged over up to three years, and an Ofsted grade older than five years counts for less. A school needs data for at least 60% of the weights. Special schools, pupil referral units, nurseries, independent schools and 16 to 19 schools aren't ranked, and are listed by Ofsted grade and name. Our methodology page explains more.
What is the average class size in Dorset secondary schools?
The average pupil-teacher ratio across secondary schools in Dorset is 17:1. While this is not a direct measure of class size, it indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil.
How do I choose a secondary school in Dorset?
When choosing a secondary school in Dorset, consider Ofsted ratings, GCSE results (Progress 8 and Attainment 8), sixth form provision, and the school's specialisms. You can compare all 54 secondary schools on Eduscope using filters for school type, gender, and admissions policy.
Sources: Department for Education school performance tables, school census and workforce data, Get Information About Schools and Ofsted. Distances are straight-line estimates.