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Bournemouth Town Centre areaBournemouth, #1 on this list · Photo: Colin Vosper · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dorset rankings · Schools

Towns with the best schools in Dorset

Bournemouth ranks first on schools among Dorset’s 30 towns of 2,500+; 5 of the 30 grade A− or better against UK towns.

The School Grade (England only): Key Stage 2 and GCSE results of the state schools in the town (or within 3 km), weighted by pupils and measured against England’s schools. The rank across England sits beside each letter. How grades work

#1

Bournemouth

196,453 people
A

Better than 87% of UK towns·#230 of 1,973 in England

#2

West Parley

3,665 people
A−

Better than 84% of UK towns·#279 of 1,973 in England

All 30 towns, ranked

Schools grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England links to the national list.

Every town in Dorset →

30 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns
1Bournemouth196,453 peopleA#230 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 87% of UK towns
2West Parley3,665 peopleA−#279 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 84% of UK towns
3Lytchett Matravers3,455 peopleA−#348 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 81% of UK towns
4Verwood13,706 peopleA−#395 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 78% of UK towns
5Poole141,009 peopleA−#438 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 76% of UK towns
6Christchurch48,973 peopleB+#525 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 71% of UK towns
7Upton8,401 peopleB+#572 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 69% of UK towns
8Corfe Mullen10,036 peopleB+#652 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 65% of UK towns
9Merley5,489 peopleB#676 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 64% of UK towns
10Ashley Heath7,151 peopleB#844 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 56% of UK towns
11Bearwood4,134 peopleB−#937 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 51% of UK towns
12Alderholt2,868 peopleB−#1,032 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 47% of UK towns
13Blandford Forum11,805 peopleC+#1,112 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 43% of UK towns
14Lyme Regis3,741 peopleC+#1,233 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 37% of UK towns
15Wimborne Minster16,629 peopleC+#1,268 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 36% of UK towns
16Gillingham11,009 peopleC+#1,281 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 35% of UK towns
17Wareham5,876 peopleC#1,315 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 34% of UK towns
18Dorchester21,358 peopleC#1,324 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 33% of UK towns
19Sherborne10,359 peopleC#1,452 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 27% of UK towns
20Bridport12,294 peopleC#1,455 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 27% of UK towns
21West Moors10,432 peopleC−#1,540 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 23% of UK towns
22Beaminster2,995 peopleC−#1,569 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 22% of UK towns
23Swanage9,115 peopleC−#1,610 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 20% of UK towns
24Ferndown13,267 peopleC−#1,640 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 18% of UK towns
25Weston5,208 peopleC−#1,692 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 16% of UK towns
26Chickerell3,973 peopleD#1,730 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 14% of UK towns
27Weymouth55,540 peopleD#1,761 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 13% of UK towns
28Fortuneswell4,554 peopleD#1,776 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 12% of UK towns
29Sturminster Newton3,565 peopleD#1,805 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 10% of UK towns
30Shaftesbury9,163 peopleD−#1,932 of 1,973 nationallybetter than 3% of UK towns
Not ranked

Not on this list

2 military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked: most residents serve in the forces or are students.

  • Pimperne 2,770 people. Garrison town.
  • Wool 5,044 people. Garrison town.
Quick answers

Questions people ask

Which town in Dorset has the best schools?

Bournemouth ranks first on schools among 30 towns, with an A: better than 87% of UK towns. West Parley and Lytchett Matravers follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The School Grade (England only): Key Stage 2 and GCSE results of the state schools in the town (or within 3 km), weighted by pupils and measured against England’s schools. The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

Welsh towns have no School Grade: Wales doesn’t publish school-level results. Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers Dorset’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Dorset is on the county page.

Go deeper

More Dorset lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Dorset rankings →
Best places to live30 towns · #1 West ParleyBest small towns16 towns · #1 West ParleyMost affordable towns30 towns · #1 FortuneswellSafest towns30 towns · #1 MerleyHealthiest towns30 towns · #1 Ashley HeathBest towns for jobs & income30 towns · #1 MerleyMost walkable towns30 towns · #1 DorchesterTowns with the lowest flood risk30 towns · #1 Alderholt and 8 moreBest towns for the outdoors30 towns · #1 SwanageMost historic towns30 towns · #1 BridportTowns with the most civic life30 towns · #1 Lytchett MatraversTowns with the highest household incomes32 towns · #1 PimperneDescribed, no lettersTowns with the lowest council tax32 towns · #1 Bearwood and 2 moreDescribed, no lettersTowns with the mildest winters32 towns · #1 SwanageDescribed, no lettersTowns with the warmest summers32 towns · #1 BearwoodDescribed, no lettersTowns with the coolest summers32 towns · #1 SwanageDescribed, no lettersTowns with the fewest frosts32 towns · #1 Fortuneswell and WestonDescribed, no lettersDriest towns32 towns · #1 FortuneswellDescribed, no lettersWettest towns32 towns · #1 BeaminsterDescribed, no letters
County by county

Towns with the best schools, county by county

AberdeenshireBedfordshireBerkshireBuckinghamshireCambridgeshireCheshireCornwallCounty DurhamCumbriaDerbyshireDevonDorsetEast Riding of YorkshireEast SussexEssexFifeGloucestershireGreater ManchesterHampshireHertfordshireHighlandKentLancashireLeicestershireLincolnshireLondonMerseysideNorfolkNorth LanarkshireNorth YorkshireNorthamptonshireNorthumberlandNottinghamshireOxfordshireShropshireSomersetSouth LanarkshireSouth YorkshireStaffordshireSuffolkSurreyTyne and WearWarwickshireWest MidlandsWest SussexWest YorkshireWiltshireWorcestershire

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 · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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.