Bournemouth’s state schools get better results than 87% of towns in England
A strong pass in English and maths, grade 5 or better, went to 64% of Bournemouth’s pupils, above both Dorset’s towns (43%) and towns in England (45%). 42 state-funded schools are located in Bournemouth’s built-up area. Bournemouth grades A for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results: #1 of 30 in Dorset. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Bournemouth’s secondary results beat 92% of English towns; its primary results beat 73%. 66% of the city’s 11-year-olds meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England and 63% across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The spread between primaries is wide: 93% at St. Walburga's Catholic Primary School, 32% at Christ The King Catholic Primary School. Every school’s result ↓
Grammar schools in town
Bournemouth School and Bournemouth School for Girls admit pupils by a test at 11. Their results count in Bournemouth’s School Grade, as they are state schools many local children attend. After 16 ↓
Written from the Department for Education and Ofsted data on this page.
School Grade
Bournemouth grades A for schools
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
Primary: reading, writing and maths at 11 (66% meet the standard)Better than 73% of towns in England
Secondary: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (53.7 and 64%)Better than 92% of towns in England
Each of Bournemouth’s 26 primaries: % meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (2023–25)
Each of Bournemouth’s 11 secondaries: Attainment 8 (2025/26)
England’s average schoolBournemouth, Christchurch and Poole’s average school
The primary figure: 26 primaries in the town, 5,858 pupils in results over three years. The secondary figure: 11 secondaries in the town, 1,811 pupils in results. Mainstream state schools only (grammar schools included); special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19 colleges are listed below but not graded. Each school’s results are compared with every school in England, then weighted by its pupils.
Map
Where Bournemouth’s 42 state schools are
Each school at its address, coloured by its own letter and sized by pupils. Open a school for its own page. The dashed shape is Bournemouth’s built-up area.
PrimarySecondarySpecial, nursery, 16–19Size: pupilsABCDNo letter
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.
Results and intake
Which schools do better than their intake suggests
Schools with more pupils on free school meals tend to get lower results. The dashed line is the typical school in England for each level of free school meals; the band holds the middle two-thirds. A dot above the band is doing better than schools like it.
Primaries: KS2 reading, writing and maths against free school meals
Secondaries: Attainment 8 against free school meals
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 4% at The Epiphany School to 70% at Heathlands Primary Academy. Against schools with the same intake, St. Walburga's Catholic Primary School does best: 93% with 9% on free school meals, where a typical school would reach 66%. 15 of 26 primaries and 6 of 11 secondaries are above the line.
Free school meals: pupils eligible now, DfE January 2026 census. The typical-school line is a straight-line fit across every graded school in England. It describes; it doesn’t grade: the School Grade uses results alone.
Getting a place
How school places work in Bournemouth
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council handles applications for every state school in Bournemouth, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
Secondary (starting at 11)Apply by 31 October of Year 6. Offers on 1 March.
Primary (starting in Reception)Apply by 15 January before the September your child starts. Offers on 16 April.
Moving mid-yearApply to the council for an in-year place; it tells you which schools have room.
When a school is full
Every school publishes its admissions rules. Children in care come first, then, at most schools, brothers and sisters of current pupils, then those who live nearest. 14 of Bournemouth’s 39 mainstream schools have a religious character; some of them give priority by church attendance, so check each school’s rules. Infant classes are limited to 30 by law. If you’re refused a place, you can appeal to an independent panel.
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%; 10 schools are at or over it.
Bournemouth120%
St Peter's119%
Avonwood109%
Malmesbury Park incl. nursery108%
Bournemouth School for Girls107%
Moordown St John's103%
Glenmoor100%
Winton100%
St. Walburga's100%
Winton100%
Show all 39 schools
Queen's Park100%
St Katharine's100%
St Mark's100%
Pokesdown99%
The Epiphany99%
Corpus Christi incl. nursery99%
Queen's Park Infant99%
St James'96%
Hill View95%
St Michael's incl. nursery95%
Avonbourne Boys'94%
The Bishop of Winchester93%
Kingsleigh incl. nursery93%
The Bourne91%
King's Park91%
St Luke's90%
Stourfield Junior89%
Muscliff84%
Christ The King incl. nursery82%
Bethany80%
Elm incl. nursery76%
Avonbourne Girls75%
Kinson75%
Jewell Academy Bournemouth73%
Heathlands incl. nursery73%
Livingstone Academy Bournemouth67%
St Clement's and St John's66%
Stourfield Infant56%
Oak54%
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
The schools
42 state schools in Bournemouth
Each school’s own letter compares its results with every state school in England of the same phase: Key Stage 2 for primaries, GCSEs for secondaries. Open a school for its results, how its letter is worked out, Ofsted and a map.
Letters of Bournemouth’s schoolsA14B11C6D56 without a letter
Key result: Attainment 8 and grade 5+ English and maths (GCSEs, 2025/26 provisional) for secondaries; the share meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (KS2, DfE’s three-year average) for primaries. Pupils: the January 2026 school census. No letter: an infant or first school (no KS2 tests), a new school, a small cohort DfE suppresses, or a special school, nursery or college. Independent schools aren’t included.
Ofsted
Ofsted report cards
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
Outstanding 5Good 11Report card 2Requires improvement 1Ungraded inspection only 23
Ofsted stopped giving one-word judgements in 2024. Until a school is re-inspected, its last overall judgement is its most recent single grade; a school judged years ago may have changed a lot since.
Since November 2025 Ofsted gives each area of a school one of five grades (exceptional, strong standard, expected standard, needs attention, urgent improvement) and says whether safeguarding is met, instead of one overall word. 2 of Bournemouth’s 42 state schools have a report card so far; the others show their last inspection under the old framework. Ofsted is never part of the School Grade.
Academies are state schools run by a trust rather than the council: the trust employs the staff and can set its own curriculum and term dates. Admissions still go through the council.
Run by
Schools
Pupils
Their letters
Authentic Education Group LimitedOak, King's Park, Queen's Park, LeAF Studio, Elm, Kinson, Tregonwell
7
2,835
DCA−B−C
United Learning TrustAvonbourne Girls, Glenmoor, Winton, Avonbourne Boys', Avonwood
5
4,266
A−AAB+A
Coastal Learning PartnershipSt Luke's, Queen's Park Infant, Bethany, St Clement's and St John's, Heathlands
5
1,353
DDD−
Aspirations Academies TrustLivingstone Academy Bournemouth, Jewell Academy Bournemouth
2
1,330
C+C+
Reach South Academy TrustMalmesbury Park, Hill View
St Peter's Catholic Voluntary Academy TrustSt Peter's
1
1,967
B+
Bournemouth SchoolBournemouth
1
1,320
A+
Bournemouth School for GirlsBournemouth School for Girls
1
1,290
A+
Bishop of Winchester Academy TrustThe Bishop of Winchester
1
1,162
B−
Bourne AcademyThe Bourne
1
958
B−
Southern Education TrustWinton
1
840
A+
Kingsleigh Primary SchoolKingsleigh
1
779
C
St Michael's Church of England Primary SchoolSt Michael's
1
599
B
Muscliff Primary SchoolMuscliff
1
528
A−
Moordown St John's Church of England Primary SchoolMoordown St John's
1
424
A
St Mark's Church of England Primary SchoolSt Mark's
1
418
A−
Pokesdown Community Primary SchoolPokesdown
1
417
B−
Epiphany SchoolThe Epiphany
1
417
B+
Diocese of Chichester Academy TrustSt James'
1
404
B+
Plymouth CASTChrist The King
1
302
D−
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole CouncilCorpus Christi, Linwood, St Katharine's, St. Walburga's
4
1,751
AAA+
After 16
Where Bournemouth’s teenagers go at 16
In England young people stay in education or training until 18: a sixth form, a college, or an apprenticeship.
7 of Bournemouth’s 11 state secondaries have sixth forms: Avonbourne Girls, Bournemouth, Bournemouth School for Girls, Livingstone Academy Bournemouth, St Peter's, The Bishop of Winchester and The Bourne. The nearest college is The Bournemouth and Poole College, a further-education college 4.5 miles away.
Secondaries with a sixth form
7 of 11
state schools in Bournemouth
Colleges within 12 miles
1
nearest: The Bournemouth and Poole College
Grammar schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
4
selective state secondaries
Special needs
Special schools and alternative provision in Bournemouth
Bournemouth has 2 special schools (Linwood and Tregonwell: 573 pupils). A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council names the school in the plan, after asking the family’s preference. These schools have no letter, because their results don’t compare with mainstream schools’. Their cards ↑
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Towns its size
12th of 42 English towns and cities of 138,000 to 265,000
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns and cities either side of Bournemouth, and the top and bottom of the group.
Merley 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5.5 mi
B
60%
51
West Moors 3 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 5.6 mi
C−
51%
45.9
Bournemouth’s schools are graded at least as well as any neighbour’s. Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
•
Expected standard at Key Stage 2. The share of 11-year-olds who reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, in tests and teacher assessment at the end of primary school. We use DfE’s three-year average (2023–2025) to steady small schools.
•
Higher standard. The share working at greater depth in all three. In Bournemouth: 13% (England’s average school: 8%).
•
Attainment 8. A pupil’s GCSE grades across eight subjects, with English and maths counted twice, added up. 50 is roughly a grade 5 in every subject.
•
Grade 5+ in English and maths. A strong pass in both. Grade 4 is a standard pass.
•
Provisional. 2025/26 GCSE figures are DfE’s first release; revised figures follow in February, usually within a point.
•
Progress 8. Not shown: there is none for 2025/26, because these pupils sat no KS2 tests in 2020 (Covid).
•
Free school meals. Pupils eligible for free school meals now, from the January census: the usual measure of how many pupils come from low-income homes.
•
Independent schools. Not included: they publish no results comparable with state schools’.
Questions about schools in Bournemouth
Are schools in Bournemouth good?
Bournemouth’s state schools earn an A against schools across England: primary results beat 73% of towns in England; secondary results beat 92% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council.
What is the best secondary school in Bournemouth?
On 2025/26 GCSE results, Bournemouth School for Girls: Attainment 8 of 72 and 95% with grade 5+ in English and maths, against 47.3 at the average school in England. Results are one measure; distance decides most places.
What is the best primary school in Bournemouth?
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, St. Walburga's Catholic Primary School: 93% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Do Bournemouth secondary schools have sixth forms?
7 of 11 do.
How do I apply for a school place in Bournemouth?
Through Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
How many schools in Bournemouth are full?
10 of 39 mainstream schools have at least as many pupils as places, on DfE’s January 2026 census. A full school still admits by its rules, usually distance after siblings.
How many state schools are in Bournemouth?
42 open state-funded schools are located in Bournemouth’s built-up area: 29 primary, 11 secondary and 2 other (special schools, alternative provision, nurseries and 16–19). Independent schools aren’t included.
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 · DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), further-education and sixth-form colleges · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
