Schools in Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum is a Georgian market town in the heart of Dorset, served by 18 schools: 10 primaries across the town and surrounding villages, and a single secondary, The Blandford School. Admissions are co-ordinated by Dorset Council, which publishes catchment boundary maps each September for the following academic year.
Ten of Blandford Forum's 18 schools carry a religious character - the highest proportion of any similarly-sized cluster in the county - with several Church of England village primaries including Spetisbury, Archbishop Wake, and Blandford St Mary. Four schools hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating. Just one school is currently at or above its admission number. The largely rural nature of the area means that some village primaries have small annual intakes, and places at the most popular Blandford town primaries can tighten when new housing development brings additional demand.
School demand in Blandford Forum
Across the 18 schools in Blandford Forum with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 76%. 1 of them is currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.
10 schools in Blandford Forum have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
9 of the schools in Blandford Forum are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Dorset, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
5 of the schools in Blandford Forum have a current Ofsted rating, of which 4 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Blandford Forum: 1 oversubscribed (10)
Downlands Community School
Primary · Community school
Blandford Forum · DT11 8BG
Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 8SW
Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 9QD
Spetisbury CofE Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 9DF
Milborne St Andrew First School
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 0JE
Milldown CofE Academy
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 7SN
Shillingstone Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 0TX
Durweston Church of England Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 0QA
St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Child Okeford
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 8EL
Pimperne Church of England VC Primary School
Primary · Academy converter
Blandford Forum · DT11 8WF
Secondary Schools in Blandford Forum (1)
Other Schools in Blandford Forum (7)
Bryanston School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Blandford Forum · DT11 0PX
Hanford School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Blandford Forum · DT11 8HN
Clayesmore School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Blandford Forum · DT11 8LL
Milton Abbey School
Not applicable · Other independent school
Blandford Forum · DT11 0BZ
The Forum School
Not applicable · Other independent special school
Blandford Forum · DT11 0QS
The Forum Centre
Not applicable · Pupil referral unit
Blandford Forum · DT11 7BX
The Luccombe Hub
Not applicable · Other independent special school
Blandford Forum · DT11 0BD
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Blandford Forum are set by Dorset and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.