School admissions in Dorchester

How heavily each school was applied to for September 2026 entry, from the applications and offers every admissions authority reports to the DfE. 4 of these schools also have a published admissions cutoff distance. Sorted by first preferences per place. We don't invent rankings: the order is arithmetic on a published figure, not a view about which school is better.

Dorchester in figures

For Reception places in September 2026, families named the 16 schools in Dorchester first 389 times for 388 places: 1.00 first choices per place, against 1.00 across the Dorset authority's 118 schools. 3 of the 16 had more first choices than places. For 2026 entry, one school here gave its last places on distance: The Prince of Wales School, to 0.87 miles.

Totals for the schools listed on this page. Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE; last-offer distances as the council published them.

Reception places, September 2026

16 schools. 3 received more first preferences than they had places.

School	First preferences per place	Places	Cutoff distance
The Prince of Wales SchoolDorchester	1.28	29	0.867 miles 2026
St Mary's Catholic First School, DorchesterDorchester	1.14	29	not published
St Mary's Church of England First School, CharminsterDorchester	1.10	30	not published
Buckland Newton Church of England Primary SchoolDorchester	1.00	10	not published
Cerne Abbas CofE VC First SchoolDorchester	1.00	16	not published
Cheselbourne Village SchoolDORCHESTER	1.00	7	not published
Frome Valley CofE First SchoolDorchester	1.00	16	not published
Puddletown Church of England First SchoolDorchester	1.00	29	not published
Sticklands Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolDorchester	1.00	16	not published
Thorner's Church of England School, Litton CheneyDorchester	1.00	16	not published
Broadmayne First School and NurseryDorchester	0.95	22	not published
Manor Park Church of England First SchoolDorchester	0.95	57	not published
Maiden Newton, Greenford Church of England Primary SchoolDorchester	0.94	16	not published
Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First SchoolDorchester	0.92	12	not published
Damers First SchoolDorchester	0.91	75	not published
Piddle Valley Church of England First SchoolDorchester	0.88	8	not published

First preferences per place is the number of families naming the school first, divided by its published admission number. Above 1.00 means more first choices than places. It is not a ranking and not a measure of quality: a popular school can be easy to get into and a quiet one hard, because places are allocated by each school's own criteria, siblings and faith and banding first, with distance often the last tie-breaker. Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE.