Find the best secondary schools in Dorset. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas, GCSE results and Progress 8.
Dorset has 19 secondary 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 19, 5 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 secondary 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.
| School | Type | Our rating |
|---|---|---|
| Beaminster School | Christian, sixth form | 3.7 / 5 |
| The Woodroffe School | sixth form | 3.7 / 5 |
| Gillingham School | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| Ferndown Upper School | sixth form | 3.6 / 5 |
| The Blandford School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| The Thomas Hardye School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Wey Valley Academy | Mixed | 3.5 / 5 |
| The Purbeck School | sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| The Gryphon School |
There are 19 secondary schools in Dorset. Of those, 1 is an all-through school, teaching both primary and secondary years.
Apply by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. 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 1 March, or the next working day.
No. None of the 19 secondary schools in Dorset selects pupils by ability.
Of the 19 secondary schools in Dorset, 15 have a sixth form. Students at a school that stops at 16 apply separately for sixth form, either at another school or at a college.
Of the 19 secondary schools in Dorset, 5 have a religious character: 4 Church of England and 1 Christian. 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.
On our star rating, the highest rated are Beaminster School (3.7), The Woodroffe School (3.7), Gillingham School (3.6), Ferndown Upper School (3.6) and The Blandford School (3.5). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and GCSE results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. All 19 schools here have a rating.
| Church of England, sixth form |
| 3.5 / 5 |
| Lytchett Minster School | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| Sturminster Newton High School | sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| The Swanage School | Mixed | 3.3 / 5 |
| Shaftesbury School | Church of England, sixth form | 3.2 / 5 |
| The Sir John Colfox Academy | sixth form | 3.2 / 5 |
| Budmouth Academy Weymouth | sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Dorset Studio School | Mixed | 3.0 / 5 |
| All Saints' Church of England Academy | Church of England | 2.9 / 5 |
| Queen Elizabeth's School | Church of England, sixth form | 2.9 / 5 |
| Atlantic Academy Portland | all-through, sixth form | 2.3 / 5 |
Our rating is out of 5 and combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and published results. Source: Department for Education (GIAS) and Ofsted.
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.
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.
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.