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St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt

PrimaryAges 2–9AcademyChurch of England

Alderholt, SP6 3AJ · Dorset local authority

Alderholt’s School Grade B− better than 47% of towns in England

Getting in
22/22
first choices offered a place, 2026 (England: 93%)
How full
125 pupils
69% of its 180 places
Free school meals
6%
6 in 100 pupils eligible · outlined square = England’s schools (25)
The gist

What stands out about St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt

  • No letter for this school: the reason is below.
  • Room to spare: 125 pupils for 180 places
  • 6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (fewer than England’s 25%)
  • Ofsted: Good, March 2023 (shown, not graded)
  • Every family who put it first got a place for September 2026 (22 of 22)
  • Homes in its postcode sector (SP6 3) sold for a median £405,000; Alderholt’s is £390,000
Getting in

How hard is it to get a place at St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt?

Every family who put it first got a place for September 2026.

22
families put it first for September 2026
22
places offered
100%
of first choices offered a place (England’s primaries: 93%)
First choices and places, by year of entry
20192020202120222023202420252026
Families who put it firstPlaces offered

In every year shown, every family who put it first was offered a place. The council runs the coordinated admissions; each school’s rules (siblings, distance, faith) decide who gets in. DfE doesn’t publish the furthest distance offered, so check the council’s admissions booklet for that. The Heath Academy Trust sets the admissions rules. Apply through Dorset council’s coordinated admissions.

Demand for primary schools nearby, September 2026

Outline = places offered · green = families who put it first · striped = more first choices than places

1.20 per place
83% got their first choice
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
St James' CofE First School and Nursery, Alderholt
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
0.93 per place
100% got their first choice

Who goes here

DfE school census, January 2025

125 pupils. SEN support is extra help in school for a special educational need; an EHC plan is the council’s legal plan for pupils who need more.

SEN support
7.2%England 15.3%
EHC plan
0%England 3.6%
English as an additional language
1.6%England 18.8%
Free school meals in the last 6 years
16.9%England 26.2%

Girls and boys

Girls 57%Boys 43%
Its letter

No letter for St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt

A first or lower school: pupils move on before the Key Stage 2 tests at 11, so there are no results to grade.

Letters go to England’s open mainstream state schools with published Key Stage 2 or GCSE results (grammar schools included), each against the schools of its own phase.

Ofsted

Ofsted inspections

Shown, not graded: Ofsted is never part of a letter or the School Grade.

Ungraded inspection: School remains Good, March 2023.

The full reports on Ofsted ↗

Living nearby

Living near St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt

For families thinking of moving: what homes cost around the school, and the other schools close by.

Home prices in SP6 3, the school’s postcode sector

Alderholt property prices →
£405,000
median sale, 153 sales in 36 months · Alderholt £390,000

Median sale price each year, 2010 to 2025

£200K£250K£300K£350K£400K£450K£500K2010201520202025SP6 3Alderholt
SP6 3Alderholt

By type, the 36 months to August 2026

Detached
£500K
Semi-detached
£330K
Terraced
£265K
Flat
£174K
SP6 3Alderholt

Homes in SP6 3 sell for a little over Alderholt’s typical price. HM Land Registry Price Paid, standard sales. Catchments aren’t published, so the postcode sector stands in for “around the school”.

Alderholt, SP6 3AJ

Nearby

Primary schools near St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt

The nearest state schools of the same phase, as the crow flies. Catchments and admissions rules decide which one a child gets.

St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt: common questions

How hard is it to get into St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt?

For September 2026, 22 families put St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt first and all of them were offered a place; 22 places were offered in all.

What is St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt’s Ofsted rating?

Its latest inspection outcome is Good (March 2023).

How much do houses cost near St James' Church of England First School and Nursery, Alderholt?

Homes in its postcode sector, SP6 3, sold for a median £405,000 over the 36 months to August 2026 (153 sales).

Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Also: DfE Key Stage 4 performance, schools data (2023/24 and 2024/25 final, 2025/26 provisional) and Key Stage 2 performance tables 2024/25 by subject; DfE school census, January 2025; DfE school-level applications and offers, September 2019 to 2026 entry; HM Land Registry Price Paid by postcode sector, 2010 to August 2026.

A school’s letter is our own summary of its published results against England’s schools of the same phase; Alderholt’s School Grade is a separate grade, built from the results of the schools in and around the town against other towns. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.