A council (local authority) in the West Midlands
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Dudley at a glance
How Dudley'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.
78 mainstream schools in Dudley, best first
Results well above the England average.
30 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1193%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
36 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1188%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
47 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1187%
England 62%
19 mainstream schools in Dudley, best first
Results above the England average.
291 first choices, 199 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1651.0
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
230 first choices, 167 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.9
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
229 first choices, 245 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1648.0
England 46.2
77 in Dudley, highest Ofsted grade first
Stourbridge, DY8 3AZ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Stourbridge, DY8 5PY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Stourbridge, DY8 1AL · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
9 in Dudley, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
230 first choices, 167 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.9
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
294 first choices, 291 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1644.2
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
228 first choices, 145 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.4
England 46.2
13 in Dudley. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Kingswinford, DY6 8QN · Academy · All-through · Ages 4 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Brierley Hill, DY5 2JY · Academy · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
West Midlands, DY1 3SS · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
8 in Dudley. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
West Midlands, DY1 3SS · Independent · All-through · Ages 7 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Stourbridge, DY8 2EA · Independent · All-through · Ages 3 to 18
Independent school. Results well below the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1623.9
England 46.2
Dudley, B63 2UX · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
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.
Dudley is a metropolitan borough in the West Midlands with 78 mainstream primary schools and 19 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Halesowen, Dudley and Stourbridge. 87.1% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Dudley council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: 0300 555 2345
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
92.0%got their first-choice primary school in Dudley in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 91 of 151 councils. 98.2% got one of their top three.5.7% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
87.1%got their first-choice secondary school in Dudley in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 61 of 151 councils. 97.4% got one of their top three.13.2% 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 45 primary appeals heard in Dudley succeeded in 2025. 8 of 123 secondary appeals heard in Dudley succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Dudley school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
10 Outstanding, 53 Good, 2 need to improve.
77nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
93% Good or better. 61% met the standard at 11.
90schools
Ages 11 to 16
13 Good, 1 need to improve. 42% got grade 5 in English and maths.
34schools
2 Outstanding, 6 Good, 1 need to improve. About 7 pupils per teacher.
13schools
Here's how Dudley'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 Dudley average, 44.
Average primary score
57Dudley 44
Average primary score
37Dudley 44
Average primary score
31Dudley 44
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.
DudleyEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 53 primaries with one.
93%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
13 of the 14 with a grade.
93%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
61%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
42%
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.
26%
Latest graded inspection for the 81 schools that have one.
93%
Good or Outstanding
Dudley 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 | Dudley | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 93% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 61% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 43.0 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 20% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.4:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,840 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 62% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 20% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 13% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 28% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 332, ONS code E08000027.
Dudley has 193 schools and nurseries across 7 towns and villages, the biggest being Halesowen, Dudley, Stourbridge and Kingswinford.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
26% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Dudley's state schools each January.
Up 1% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Dudley26%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Dudley has 193 schools, including 90 primary schools, 34 secondary schools, 77 nurseries, 8 independent schools, 13 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Dudley on Eduscope are Our Lady and St Kenelm RC School, Pedmore CE Primary School, Blowers Green 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.
93% of inspected schools in Dudley hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 4 schools rated Outstanding and 71 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Dudley, 61% 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 Dudley is 18.4:1. 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 Dudley is 20.1%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 47,874 pupils enrolled across schools in Dudley, with 27,766 in primary and 19,986 in secondary. 27.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 8 independent schools in Dudley. 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 Dudley 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 193 schools in Dudley 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.
