Schools in Dorset
179 schools in the Dorset local authority.
Schools
179
Open schools
Pupils
51,332
2025–26 census
Good or better
85%
122 of 143 graded
Academic Performance
4.2
out of 10 · 153 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 5 3%
- Good
- 117 82%
- Requires improvement
- 20 14%
- Inadequate
- 1 <1%
16 inspected since 2024, no overall grade16 superseded by a report card20 not judged2 in a category of concern1 safeguarding not effective
4.2
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 153 of 179 schools that can be scored
Pupils
51,332
pupils on roll
Boys 51%49% Girls
Ethnicity
White
92%Asian
2%Black
<1%Mixed
3%Chinese
<1%Any other group
<1%Unclassified
1%Ethnicity from 158 of 179 schools (46,354 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 20.3%
- First language not English
- 5.6%
- Young carers
- 2.3%
9,427 of 46,354 pupils · 158 of 179 schools
2,575 of 46,354 pupils · 158 of 179 schools
1,047 of 46,354 pupils · 158 of 179 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 125
- Secondary
- 32
- All-through
- 4
- Special
- 7
- PRU
- 4
- Not recorded
- 7
Top primary schools in Dorset
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.St Ives Primary & Nursery SchoolDorset · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 2.Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First SchoolDorset · Primary9.4/10Outstanding
- 3.Rushcombe First SchoolDorset · Primary9.4/10Outstanding
- 4.Buckland Newton Church of England Primary SchoolDorset · Primary8.6/10Good
- 5.Trent Young's CofE Primary SchoolDorset · Primary8.6/10Good
- 6.Spetisbury CofE Primary SchoolDorset · Primary8.5/10Good
- 7.Sticklands Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolDorset · Primary8.3/10
- 8.St Mary's Catholic Primary School, SwanageDorset · Primary8.1/10Good
- 9.Lytchett Matravers Primary SchoolDorset · Primary7.9/10Good
- 10.St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary SchoolDorset · Primary7.9/10Good
- 11.Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary SchoolDorset · Primary7.5/10Good
- 12.Thornford CofE Primary SchoolDorset · Primary7.5/10
- 13.St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolDorset · Primary7.3/10
- 14.Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary SchoolDorset · Primary7.1/10Good
- 15.Thorner's Church of England School, Litton CheneyDorset · Primary6.7/10
- 16.Bere Regis Primary and PreschoolDorset · Primary6.5/10
- 17.Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary SchoolDorset · Primary6.5/10Good
- 18.Stalbridge Church of England Primary SchoolDorset · Primary6.4/10Good
- 19.Milldown CofE AcademyDorset · Primary6.2/10Good
- 20.Bridport Primary SchoolDorset · Primary6.1/10Good
Top secondary schools in Dorset
The 20 highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.The Woodroffe SchoolDorset · Secondary7.9/10Good
- 2.Lockyer's Middle SchoolDorset · Secondary7.7/10Good
- 3.The Thomas Hardye SchoolDorset · Secondary7.6/10
- 4.Sturminster Newton High SchoolDorset · Secondary6.6/10Good
- 5.The Blandford SchoolDorset · Secondary6.4/10Good
- 6.Beaminster SchoolDorset · Secondary6.3/10Good
- 7.Lytchett Minster SchoolDorset · Secondary6.2/10Good
- 8.The Gryphon SchoolDorset · Secondary6.2/10Good
- 9.Emmanuel Middle Church of England Middle SchoolDorset · Secondary6.1/10Good
- 10.St Michael's Church of England Middle School, ColehillDorset · Secondary6.0/10Good
- 11.Ferndown Upper SchoolDorset · Secondary5.6/10Good
- 12.Allenbourn Middle SchoolDorset · Secondary4.0/10
- 13.West Moors Middle SchoolDorset · Secondary3.8/10Good
- 14.Gillingham SchoolDorset · Secondary3.7/10Good
- 15.Wey Valley AcademyDorset · Secondary3.6/10Good
- 16.The Sir John Colfox AcademyDorset · Secondary3.3/10Good
- 17.The Purbeck SchoolDorset · Secondary2.9/10Good
- 18.St Osmund's Church of England Middle SchoolDorset · Secondary2.8/10Good
- 19.Ferndown Middle SchoolDorset · Secondary2.4/10Good
- 20.Shaftesbury SchoolDorset · Secondary2.0/10Good
Browse all 179 schools in Dorset — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in Dorset
- How many schools are there in Dorset?
- Dorset has 179 open schools — 125 primary, 32 secondary, 7 special, teaching 51,332 pupils in total.
- How many schools in Dorset are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 122 of the 143 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 85% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 5 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 179: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in Dorset?
- 4.2 out of 10, averaged across the 153 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some Dorset schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 36 schools in Dorset currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does Dorset local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Dorset covers 179 schools and sits in the South West region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in Dorset are eligible for free school meals?
- 20.3% — 9,427 of 46,354 pupils at the 158 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the South West region.