Schools in Dorset Council
158 state-funded schools, 46,354 pupils. 87.3% of those carrying an Ofsted grade are Good or Outstanding, including 5 rated Outstanding.
Ofsted Management Information, Sep 2026. Grades are the current published rating, which may pre-date the school’s most recent visit.
Ofsted grades
26 schools have been inspected under Ofsted's post-September-2024 report-card framework, which replaces the single 1–4 grade with separate judgments. Those are excluded from the percentages above rather than mapped onto the old scale, because the two scales have no clean equivalence.
Quick answers
How many schools are there in Dorset Council?
Dorset Council has 158 state-funded schools teaching 46,354 pupils. 119 primary, 29 secondary, 6 special.
What percentage of schools in Dorset Council are Good or Outstanding?
87.3% of the 158 schools carrying an Ofsted grade in Dorset Council are rated Good or Outstanding: 5 Outstanding and 133 Good. 19 require improvement and 1 are rated Inadequate.
Which schools in Dorset Council are rated Outstanding?
5 schools are currently rated Outstanding by Ofsted in Dorset Council: Rushcombe First School, St Ives Primary & Nursery School, Westfield Arts College, Yewstock School, Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First School.
Rated Outstanding
Ofsted’s highest grade. Largest first; a grade can be several years old, so the year is shown.
- Rushcombe First SchoolPrimary313Outstanding 2022
- St Ives Primary & Nursery SchoolPrimary245Outstanding 2023
- Westfield Arts CollegeSpecial233Outstanding 2023
- Yewstock SchoolSpecial167Outstanding 2023
- Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First SchoolPrimary134Outstanding 2013
By phase
| Phase | Schools | Graded | Good or better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 119 | 119 | 86.6% |
| Secondary | 29 | 29 | 86.2% |
| Special | 6 | 6 | 100% |
| Alternative provision | 4 | 4 | 100% |
Every school in Dorset Council
Showing 20 of 158 schools.
| New framework | Links | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Thomas Hardye School | Secondary | 2,014 | Good2025 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Gillingham School Grade inherited from previous URN 113882 | Secondary | 1,684 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Lytchett Minster School | Secondary | 1,624 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Gryphon School | Secondary | 1,569 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Budmouth Academy Weymouth | Secondary | 1,466 | Requires Improvement2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Queen Elizabeth's School | Secondary | 1,375 | Requires Improvement2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Ferndown Upper School | Secondary | 1,134 | Good2021 | OfstedWebsite | |
The Blandford School | Secondary | 1,103 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Purbeck School | Secondary | 1,022 | Good2014 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Wey Valley Academy | Secondary | 994 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
The Woodroffe School | Secondary | 886 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Shaftesbury School | Secondary | 782 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Atlantic Academy Portland | Secondary | 769 | Good2022 | OfstedWebsite | |
The Sir John Colfox Academy | Secondary | 756 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
St Osmund's Church of England Middle School | Secondary | 714 | Good2022 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Beaminster School | Secondary | 673 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Sturminster Newton High School | Secondary | 605 | Good2015 | OfstedWebsite | |
Ferndown Middle School | Secondary | 600 | Good2023 | — | OfstedWebsite |
All Saints' Church of England Academy | Secondary | 598 | Requires Improvement2023 | OfstedWebsite | |
St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill | Secondary | 563 | Good2024 | — | OfstedWebsite |
Schools are one input. Dorset Council’s pay, house prices, rent, council tax, crime and deprivation are on the Dorset Council profile, and the UK regions tool compares all 361 Local Authorities side by side.