The Purbeck School
Secondary · Wareham · BH20 4PF
Data updated
Ungraded inspection: no current grade
Ofsted's most recent visit was an ungraded inspection; its outcome was “Improved significantly”. Since September 2024 these outcomes no longer confirm a named grade. No graded inspection appears in Ofsted's records for this school since 2015 either, so SchoolFacts shows no grade rather than guessing. Any earlier grade is on the school's Ofsted report page.
Inspected 30 April 2025
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
1,022 pupils · 87% of 1,180 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 11–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Free school meals
- 22.7% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 4.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 12.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 4.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Website
- http://www.purbeck.wessex.ac
- URN
- 148737
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 156 families named it first for 160 Year 7 places, 0.97 first choices per place. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026
0.97 first-choice applications per place160 places offered · 156 first-choice applications · roughly balanced
First-choice applications per place, by entry year
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Compare admissions across the area: Dorset school admissions
GCSE results (2024/2025)
164 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025
Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
A-level results (2024/2025)
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means
Schools with a similar intake
Attainment 8, 2024/2025
On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.
They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.
| School | Ofsted | Attainment 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Sir Harry Smith Community College | 40.6 | |
| The Eastwood Academy | 51.6 | |
| Whitby School | 39.5 | |
| North Bromsgrove High School | 45.8 | |
| Felixstowe School | 38.5 | |
| Bungay High School | 41.7 | |
| Melksham Oak Community School | 41.4 | |
| Bradon Forest School | 48.1 | |
| Alec Hunter Academy | 45.7 | |
| The Elton High School | 44.3 | |
| Tavistock College | 41.6 | |
| Horndean Technology College | 47.8 |
It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works
Special educational needs
Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.
- Specific Learning Difficulty
- Visual Impairment
- Hearing Impairment
- Speech, Language and Communication Needs
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Physical Disability
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 86% (Dorset 87%, England 59%) · Any other White background 5% (Dorset 4%, England 7%) · Not recorded 2% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Dorset 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Dorset 0%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Dorset 1%, England 2%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Dorset 0%, England 3%) · 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)
8.37 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 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)
89% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 4% moved to another state school · 8% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% 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)
70.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.3 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 £55,209; 10.4% 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 77% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 10% (6%) · supplies and services 8% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 4% (3%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £1,098,000; in-year balance +£328,000
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
Where pupils go after GCSEs
Where students go after sixth form
Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.
Inspection history since 2015
- 29 April 2025: Improved significantly
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 4/10more deprived than most of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 6/10around the middle for England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 34.2% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 15.5% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 38% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 15.6% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 43.2% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 68.1% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 18.6% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 13.4% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 44.4% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 16% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 18.2% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 17.2% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020486 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £372,50066 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £242,000–£435,000the 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
- 0a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 0a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 3a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 2a rural school averages 0.9
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
Nearby schools
- Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School
- Stoborough Church of England Primary School
- Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School
- Wool Church of England Primary School
- Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School
- St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
- Harbour School Dorset
- Lytchett Minster School