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Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School

PrimaryAges 4–11AcademyChurch of England

Wareham, BH20 4PG · Dorset local authority

Wareham’s School Grade C better than 34% of towns in England

Its letter
13%
of England’s primaries have lower KS2 results
Getting in
21/21
first choices offered a place, 2026 (England: 93%)
How full
165 pupils
76% of its 216 places
Free school meals
34%
34 in 100 pupils eligible · outlined square = England’s schools (25)
The gist

What stands out about Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School

  • Its own letter, D: Key Stage 2 results near the bottom of England’s primary schools (better than 13%)
  • 47% meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 15 points below England’s schools
  • Ofsted report card, July 2026: achievement needs attention, safeguarding met (shown, not graded)
  • Every family who put it first got a place for September 2026 (21 of 21)
  • Homes in its postcode sector (BH20 4) sold for a median £348,000; Wareham’s is £350,000

Results

DfE · Key Stage 2

Reading, writing and maths 47%

Met the expected standard, DfE’s 3-year average 2023–2025 · higher than 13% of England’s 14,979 graded primaries · Dorset avg 56%

0%20%40%60%80%100%England avg 61.6%Wareham St Mary CofE Primary 47%

Each subject, 2025

Met the expected standard; the mark is England’s schools · average scaled score: reading 103, maths 102 (100 = the expected standard)

Reading63%
England’s schools 77%
Writing (teacher assessed)67%
England’s schools 73%
Maths67%
England’s schools 75%
Grammar, punctuation and spelling53%
England’s schools 74%

Disadvantaged pupils, 2025

Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths: the 11 disadvantaged pupils and the rest, beside England’s schools

Disadvantaged
36%England 48.5%
Not disadvantaged
58%England 69.4%
Reached the higher standard in all three0%
England’s schools 8% · Dorset 7% · 2025

England’s figures are of its graded mainstream state schools, each school counted once; grammar schools are included, which is why the right-hand tail is long. Small cohorts are suppressed.

Getting in

How hard is it to get a place at Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School?

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

21
families put it first for September 2026
21
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. Coastal Learning Partnership 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

1.13 per place
88% got their first choice
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
1.00 per place
100% got their first choice
Wareham St Mary CofE Primary
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
0.91 per place
100% got their first choice

Wareham and Dorset, side by side

2023–2025

All 87 graded primaries in Dorset. Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually score lower, so a school above the crowd for its free school meals is doing better than its intake predicts. Wareham’s schools are coloured by their letter.

25%37%49%61%73%85%10%20%30%40%50%60%Pupils eligible for free school meals →KS2 expected standard →Wareham St Mary CofE
ABCDElsewhere in DorsetWareham St Mary CofE Primary
Show as a table
SchoolLetterFree school mealsKS2 expected standard
All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolA+22%94%
St Ives Primary & Nursery SchoolA+5%90%
Trent Young's CofE Primary SchoolA+6%85%
Spetisbury CofE Primary SchoolA+13%83%
Pimperne Church of England VC Primary SchoolA−14%74%
Durweston Church of England Primary SchoolA−9%73%
Thorner's Church of England School, Litton CheneyA−13%71%
Parrett and Axe Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolA−21%71%
St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolB+18%70%
Atlantic Academy PortlandB+35%70%
Lockyer's Middle SchoolB+12%70%
Lytchett Matravers Primary SchoolB+9%70%
Holy Trinity Church of England VC Primary School & Community NurseryB+33%69%
Buckland Newton Church of England Primary SchoolB+15%69%
Stalbridge Church of England Primary SchoolB22%67%
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, SwanageB18%67%
Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary SchoolB27%67%
Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary SchoolB27%66%
Thornford CofE Primary SchoolB8%66%
Emmanuel Church of England Middle SchoolB17%66%
The Abbey CofE VA Primary School, ShaftesburyB−17%64%
St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary SchoolB−12%64%
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, MarnhullB−13%62%
St Michael's Church of England Middle School, ColehillB−16%62%
Hazelbury Bryan Primary SchoolB−20%61%
St George's Church of England School, BourtonB−9%61%
Conifers Primary SchoolC+34%60%
Bovington AcademyC+19%60%
St George's Church of England Primary School, Langton MatraversC+17%60%
Maiden Newton, Greenford Church of England Primary SchoolC+20%59%
Beechcroft St Paul's CofE Primary SchoolC+51%59%
St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary SchoolC+19%59%
Bridport Primary SchoolC+22%58%
Milldown CofE AcademyC+23%58%
Swanage Primary SchoolC+17%58%
Powerstock Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolC12%57%
Symondsbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolC14%56%
Radipole Primary SchoolC13%55%
Wyke Regis Church of England Junior SchoolC32%55%
Stoborough Church of England Primary SchoolC8%55%
Broadwindsor Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolC13%54%
Allenbourn Middle SchoolC14%54%
Milton-on-Stour Church of England Primary SchoolC11%54%
Salway Ash Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolC−11%53%
Cranborne Middle SchoolC−19%53%
Chickerell Primary AcademyC−22%53%
Bridport, St Mary's Church of England Primary SchoolC−30%53%
Upton Junior SchoolC−27%53%
William Barnes Primary SchoolC−25%52%
Sticklands Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolC−6%52%
West Moors Middle SchoolC−37%52%
Beaminster St Mary's AcademyC−32%52%
St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, WeymouthC−20%52%
Burton Bradstock Church of England Voluntary Controlled SchoolC−8%52%
St Osmund's Church of England Middle SchoolC−17%52%
Southill Primary SchoolC−14%51%
St George's Foundation Primary SchoolC−27%51%
St Mary's Church of England Middle School, PuddletownC−21%51%
Ferndown Middle SchoolC−21%51%
Bincombe Valley Primary SchoolC−48%50%
Dunbury Church of England AcademyC−12%50%
Corfe Castle Church of England Primary SchoolC−25%50%
St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford AbbasC−10%50%
Sherborne Primary SchoolC−18%50%
Motcombe CofE Primary SchoolC−16%49%
Sherborne Abbey Church of England Primary SchoolC−25%49%
Bere Regis Primary and PreschoolC−20%49%
Sandford St Martin's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolD15%47%
Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary SchoolD34%47%
St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolD14%46%
Shillingstone Church of England Primary SchoolD26%46%
Swanage St Mark's Church of England Primary SchoolD49%45%
Gillingham Primary SchoolD25%45%
Lulworth and Winfrith CofE Primary SchoolD20%45%
Dorchester Middle SchoolD22%44%
Downlands Community SchoolD5%43%
Loders CofE Primary AcademyD14%43%
Wool Church of England Primary SchoolD14%43%
St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Child OkefordD14%43%
Stower Provost Community SchoolD13%42%
St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolD22%42%
Shaftesbury Church of England Primary SchoolD24%41%
St Catherine's Roman Catholic SchoolD21%40%
St John's Church of England Primary SchoolD26%40%
Portesham Church of England Primary SchoolD−17%33%
St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolD−17%31%
Marshwood CofE Primary AcademyD−23%27%

Who goes here

DfE school census, January 2025

175 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
15.4%England 15.3%
EHC plan
5.1%England 3.6%
English as an additional language
8%England 18.8%
Free school meals in the last 6 years
32.6%England 26.2%

Girls and boys

Girls 45%Boys 55%
Its letter

Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School’s letter

Its own results against England’s schools, not the town’s School Grade.

Primary: KS2 reading, writing and maths DBetter than 13% of 15,230 schools
How school letters are worked out

Each school’s measure is compared with every graded school in England of the same phase: for primaries, the share of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (DfE’s three-year average); for secondaries, Attainment 8 and the share with grade 5 or above in English and maths, each turned into a z-score against England’s schools and averaged. The letter comes from the share of those schools it beats, in the same bands as every grade on the site. The same method gives U.S. schools their letters, against their own state.

A+ 95+A 85–94A− 75–84B+ 65–74B 55–64B− 45–54C+ 35–44C 25–34C− 15–24D 5–14D− 0–4

Graded: England’s open mainstream state schools with published results (grammar schools included, which select by test). Not graded: special schools, alternative provision, nurseries, 16–19 colleges, UTCs and studio schools, Welsh schools. Ofsted plays no part.

Ofsted

Ofsted inspections

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

Report card, inspection starting July 2026.

SafeguardingMet
AchievementNeeds attention
Curriculum and teachingNeeds attention
InclusionExpected standard
Attendance and behaviourNeeds attention
Personal development and well-beingExpected standard
Leadership and governanceExpected standard
Early yearsExpected standard

Before the report card: Graded inspection: Good, May 2022.

The full reports on Ofsted ↗

Living nearby

Living near Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School

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

Home prices in BH20 4, the school’s postcode sector

Wareham property prices →
£348,000
median sale, 228 sales in 36 months · Wareham £350,000

Median sale price each year, 2010 to 2025

£150K£200K£250K£300K£350K£400K2010201520202025BH20 4Wareham
BH20 4Wareham

By type, the 36 months to August 2026

Detached
£467K
Semi-detached
£349K
Terraced
£313K
Flat
£182K
BH20 4Wareham

Homes in BH20 4 sell for about the same as Wareham’s typical price. HM Land Registry Price Paid, standard sales. Catchments aren’t published, so the postcode sector stands in for “around the school”.

Schools within 1.6 miles

2 state schools
0.5 mi1 mi1.5 miNBCDWareham St Mary Church of E…
ABCDNo letterPrimarySecondary / all-through

Wareham, BH20 4PG

Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School: common questions

Is Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School a good school?

By its published results, well below average: its Key Stage 2 results are better than 13% of England’s primary schools (its letter is D), with 47% of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% for England’s schools. Ofsted: a report card in July 2026.

How hard is it to get into Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School?

For September 2026, 21 families put Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School first and all of them were offered a place; 21 places were offered in all.

What is Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School’s Ofsted rating?

Its latest inspection (July 2026) gave a report card: achievement needs attention, safeguarding met. Ofsted stopped giving one-word overall grades in September 2024.

How much do houses cost near Wareham St Mary Church of England Primary School?

Homes in its postcode sector, BH20 4, sold for a median £348,000 over the 36 months to August 2026 (228 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; Wareham’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.