Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0At Key Stage 2, 52% of pupils at Wool’s primaries met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, below both Dorset’s towns (58%) and towns in England (62%). 4 state-funded schools are located in Wool’s built-up area. Wool grades D for schools, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. Ofsted is shown, not graded.
Town figures are pupil-weighted across the schools the grade uses; England’s are the average school.
Against every town in England with results; Wales publishes none.
The primary figure: 3 primaries in the town, 188 pupils in results over three years. No secondary school with GCSE results is in or within 3 km of Wool, so its grade uses its primary schools only. 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.
Wool is a military garrison town: most residents serve or work for the armed forces and live in service housing, so it keeps its grades but isn’t ranked against other towns.
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 Wool’s built-up area.
Most schools give places by distance once siblings are in, so the schools nearest a home matter more than any league table.
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.
The share of pupils on free school meals runs from 14% at St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary School to 19% at Bovington Academy. 0 of 3 primaries are above the line.
| School | Free school meals | Result | Typical for that intake | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bovington AcademyKS2 % | 19% | 60% | 63% | −3 |
| St Mary & St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolKS2 % | 14% | 46% | 65% | −19 |
| Wool Church of England Primary SchoolKS2 % | 14% | 43% | 65% | −22 |
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.
Dorset Council handles applications for every state school in Wool, academies included. You apply to the council where you live, even for a school in another area.
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. 2 of Wool’s 3 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.
Useful: Apply for a primary place (GOV.UK) · Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK) · How admissions criteria work
Pupils on roll as a share of the school’s official capacity. The black tick is 100%.
DfE register of schools (GIAS), January 2026 census. Capacity often excludes a nursery class, so a school with a nursery can show over 100%.
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.
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.
Each school’s latest inspection; report cards replace one-word judgements as schools are re-inspected.
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. 0 of Wool’s 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspirations Academies TrustBovington | 1 | 180 | C+ |
| Southern Education TrustHarbour School Dorset | 1 | 145 | — |
| Coastal Learning PartnershipWool | 1 | 116 | D |
| Plymouth CASTSt Mary & St Joseph's | 1 | 81 | D |
Wool has 1 special school (Harbour School Dorset: 145 pupils). A special-school place isn’t applied for like a mainstream one: for a child with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), Dorset 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 ↑
Dorset Council’s SEND Local Offer lists support beyond these schools.
Ranked by School Grade, best first: the towns either side of Wool, and the top and bottom of the group.
| # | Town | Schools | KS2 | Attainment 8 | Grade 5+ E&M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bowdon Greater Manchester | A+ | 83% | 78.4 | 99% |
| … | |||||
| 432 | Newent Gloucestershire | D | 41% | 42.4 | 36% |
| 433 | Lenham and Harrietsham Kent | D | 55% | 37.3 | 19% |
| 434 | Dartmouth Devon | D | 47% | 43.7 | 32% |
| 435 | Sowerby North Yorkshire | D | 55% | 38.4 | 23% |
| 436 | Wool Dorset | D | 52% | — | — |
| 437 | Borough Green Kent | D | 47% | 42.1 | 34% |
| 438 | Staplehurst Kent | D | 51% | — | — |
| 439 | Highbridge Somerset | D | 50% | 40.7 | 30% |
| 440 | Rye East Sussex | D | 49% | 40.6 | 33% |
| … | |||||
| 471 | Amble Northumberland | D− | 35% | 32.7 | 16% |
Coloured by School Grade.
| Town | Schools | KS2 | Att. 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wool 4 schools | D | 52% | — |
| Bere Regis 0 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 4 mi | D− | 49% | — |
| Crossways 1 school · 4.5 mi | — | — | — |
| Wareham 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 4.7 mi | C | 49% | 49 |
| Sandford 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 5.6 mi | C | 49% | 49 |
| Milborne St Andrew 1 school · 6.2 mi | — | — | — |
| Puddletown 2 schools · uses schools within 3 km · 6.4 mi | D | 51% | — |
| Lytchett Matravers 1 school · uses schools within 3 km · 7.7 mi | A− | 70% | 47.9 |
Lytchett Matravers has the best-graded schools nearby (A−). Small places often use the schools within 3 km, so neighbours can share schools.
Wool’s state schools earn a D against schools across England: primary results beat 11% of towns in England, on Department for Education Key Stage 2 and GCSE results. School places are handled by Dorset council.
On Key Stage 2 results over 2023–25, Bovington Academy: 60% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% at the average school in England.
Through Dorset Council, for every state school including academies. Secondary applications close on 31 October (offers 1 March); primary on 15 January (offers 16 April).
4 open state-funded schools are located in Wool’s built-up area: 3 primary, 0 secondary and 1 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.
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.