Middle deemed secondary school in Dorchester, Dorset
Dorchester Middle School
Queen's Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 2HS
Ofsted
Graded Requires improvement at its last graded inspection, on 13 June 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 3 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 527
- Places
- 600
- How full
- 88% full — 527 of 600 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 267 / 260
- Overall absence
- 7%
- Persistently absent
- 20%
secondary schools average 8.6%
secondary schools average 23.9% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 24%
- English as an additional language
- 18%
- With an EHC plan
- 5%
- On SEN support
- 17%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Dorset 032A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 40%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 13%
- Households owning their home
- 78%
- Households in social housing
- 14%
- Households with no car
- 13%
- Adults economically inactive
- 45%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- Ages
- Ages 9–13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Jonathan Webb
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward
- Dorchester West
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- URN
- 138186
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest middle deemed secondary schools
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Thomas Hardye SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 49.8 | 0.2 mi |
| St Osmund's Church of England Middle SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2022 | — | 0.8 mi |
| Dorset Studio SchoolStudio schools | Good 2024 | 34.1 | 2.1 mi |
| Wey Valley AcademyAcademy converter | Good 2023 | 41 | 4.6 mi |
| St Mary's Church of England Middle School, PuddletownAcademy converter | No grade | — | 5.1 mi |
| Budmouth Academy WeymouthAcademy sponsor led | Requires improvement 2024 | 42 | 7 mi |
| All Saints' Church of England AcademyAcademy sponsor led | Requires improvement 2023 | 35.6 | 7.8 mi |
| Milton Abbey SchoolOther independent school | No grade | — | 10.5 mi |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.