Primary school in Wimborne, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Merley First School
Oakley Straight, Merley, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 1SD
Ofsted
Graded Good at its last graded inspection, on 29 November 2023.
Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 2 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
- 292
- Places
- 300
- How full
- Nearly full — 292 of 300 places taken
- Girls / boys
- 142 / 150
- Overall absence
- 3%
- Persistently absent
- 3%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 10%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- With an EHC plan
- 1%
- On SEN support
- 12%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 001B, 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
- 35%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 12%
- Households owning their home
- 77%
- Households in social housing
- 10%
- Households with no car
- 9%
- Adults economically inactive
- 44%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 5–9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- No
- Boarding
- Day school
- Trust
- INITIO LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Rebecca Baldwin
- Local authority
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Ward
- Bearwood & Merley
- Constituency
- Mid Dorset and North Poole
- URN
- 141794
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| St John's Church of England First School, WimborneAcademy converter | Good 2023 | — | 1 mi |
| Wimborne First School and NurseryAcademy converter | Good 2024 | — | 1.4 mi |
| Hayeswood First SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2023 | — | 1.7 mi |
| Broadstone First SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2023 | — | 1.8 mi |
| Colehill First SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2023 | — | 1.9 mi |
| Bearwood Primary and Nursery SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 46% | 1.9 mi |
| Pamphill Church of England First SchoolAcademy sponsor led | Good 2023 | — | 2.1 mi |
| Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | — | 2.1 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.