Dorchester Middle School
Middle deemed secondary · Dorchester · DT1 2HS
Data updated
Report-card inspection (current system, from November 2025)
The headline grade shown is the Achievement area of the school's report card.
Inspected 2 June 2026 · report published 5 July 2026
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
527 pupils · 88% of 600 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 9–13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 22% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 17.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 16.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 4.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
- URN
- 138186
In figures
At its report-card inspection on 2 June 2026, under the system Ofsted introduced in November 2025, the Achievement area was judged Needs attention. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
124 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Special educational needs
Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.
- Physical Disability
Provision type: Resourced provision.
- Resourced provision
- 3 of 5 places taken nearly full
Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 78% (Dorset 87%, England 59%) · Asian Indian 7% (Dorset 1%, England 4%) · Any other White background 5% (Dorset 4%, England 7%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Dorset 1%, England 3%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Dorset 0%, England 3%) · Black African 1% (Dorset 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Dorset 0%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Dorset 1%, England 3%) · White Gypsy/Roma 1% (Dorset 0%, England 0%) · other groups together 2%
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
20.44 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Dorset: 18.66 suspensions and 0.24 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 7% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
3.14% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
59.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 4.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £50,153; 14.3% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 86% (77%) · premises 2% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 4% (6%) · supplies and services 8% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 2% (3%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £1,396,000; in-year balance +£475,000
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 2 June 2026: Needs attention
- 27 November 2024: Taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement
- 13 June 2023: Requires improvement
- 21 May 2019: Requires improvement
- 15 November 2018: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 5/10around the middle for England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 8/10less deprived than most of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 40.3% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 13.2% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 38.6% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 11.8% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 46.1% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 78.4% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 14.2% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 7.4% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 38.6% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 10.6% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 30.3% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 13% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020526 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £300,000413 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £206,000–£400,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 1an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 2an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 16an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 3an urban school averages 6.1
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted