Does living near a school in Dorset guarantee a place?

No. Distance only matters when a school has more applicants than places, and then it offers places in the order its admission criteria set out. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or catchment area. Faith schools and grammar schools use different criteria. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.

What happens if we don't get a place at any of our choices?

The council offers a place at another school with room, which may be further from home. You can accept it and still join the waiting lists for the schools you preferred. Waiting lists are ranked by the admission criteria, not by how long a child has been on them. You can also appeal to an independent panel for any school that refused you. Appeals for Reception to Year 2 rarely succeed, because infant classes are limited to 30 pupils by law and a panel can only admit above that limit in narrow circumstances.

Primary Schools in Dorset, South West

Q: Does the order of my preferences matter?

Only when you qualify for more than one school. Each school ranks applicants against its own admission criteria without knowing where you placed it. If you qualify for several, the council offers the one you ranked highest, so putting a popular school first does not lower your chances at your second choice.

Find the best primary schools in Dorset. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and parent reviews.

School catchment areas in Dorset

Dorset has 120 primary schools, all in Dorset council's area. Most state schools here offer places by distance from home once children in care and siblings of current pupils have been admitted, so how close you live decides your chances at any school with more applicants than places. Some councils draw a fixed catchment boundary instead, and the distance at which the last place went changes every year. Of the 120, 79 are faith schools that can put children of their faith first, so distance counts for less there.

Use the distance checker to measure your home's straight-line distance to any Dorset primary school, and each school's page for its Ofsted report, results and admissions details. Check your distance to a school or try the admissions calculator.

How school catchment areas work across England

All 120 primary schools in Dorset

School	Type	Our rating
St Ives Primary & Nursery School	Mixed	4.7 / 5
Wimborne St Giles Church of England First School and Nursery	Church of England	4.7 / 5
Cheselbourne Village School	Mixed	4.7 / 5
St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester	Roman Catholic	4.7 / 5
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School	Church of England	4.7 / 5
Hillside Community First School	Mixed	4.7 / 5
Milborne St Andrew First School	Mixed	4.7 / 5
Upton Infant School

Questions about primary schools in Dorset

How many primary schools are there in Dorset?

There are 120 primary schools in Dorset. Of those, 1 is an all-through school, teaching both primary and secondary years.

When do I apply for a primary school place in Dorset?

Apply by 15 January for a Reception place starting that September. Children start Reception in the September after their fourth birthday. You apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 16 April, or the next working day.

How many faith schools are there in Dorset?

Of the 120 primary schools in Dorset, 79 have a religious character: 73 Church of England and 6 Roman Catholic. When a faith school has more applicants than places, it can give priority to children of its faith. Many ask for a supplementary form, sometimes signed by a religious leader, so read the school's admissions policy before you apply.

Which primary schools in Dorset have the highest ratings?

On our star rating, the highest rated are St Ives Primary & Nursery School (4.7), Wimborne St Giles Church of England First School and Nursery (4.7), Cheselbourne Village School (4.7), St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester (4.7) and St Andrew's Church of England Primary School (4.7). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and SATs results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. Of the 120 schools here, 116 have enough published data for a rating.