Dorchester Middle SchoolSt Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Dorchester.
Summary of the comparison
Dorchester Middle School and St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown are middle deemed secondary schools in Dorchester.
Dorchester Middle School scores 37 out of 100 (grade F, weak) and St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown scores 42 out of 100 (grade D, below average). St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is ahead on our composite score.
Dorchester Middle School was judged the expected standard and St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown was judged Good.
On the share of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2, the latest published figures are 49.0% for Dorchester Middle School and 61.0% for St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown.
The share of pupils meeting the expected standard at Key Stage 2 has risen at Dorchester Middle School (32.0% in 2022-23, 49.0% in 2024-25) and has risen at St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown (47.0% in 2022-23, 61.0% in 2024-25).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | DorchesterDorchester Middle School | DorchesterSt Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | F37/100 | D42/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 29th of 29 in Dorset | 25th of 29 in Dorset Stronger figure | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Expected | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Middle deemed secondary | Middle deemed secondary | |
| Age range | 9-13 | 9-13 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 543 | 445 | |
| Capacity | 600 | 480 | |
| Location | Dorchester, DT1 2HS | Dorchester, DT2 8SA | |
| Key Stage 2 (SATs) | |||
| Reading, writing & maths at expected standard | 49.0% | 61.0% Stronger figure | 62.0% |
| At higher standard | 5.0% | 11.0% Stronger figure | 8.0% |
| Reading average scaled score | 104.0 | 105.0 Stronger figure | 106.0 |
| Maths average scaled score | 101.0 | 104.0 Stronger figure | 105.0 |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 543 | 445 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 24.1% | 17.1% | |
| English as an additional language | 17.7% | 2.2% | |
| SEN support | 16.9% | 21.4% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 4.8% | 5.8% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 7.1% | 6.5% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 20.1% | 18.8% Stronger figure | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
KS2: expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Dorchester Middle School
St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown
Full profiles: Dorchester Middle School · St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown