Contested schools in Dorset
These are the Dorset schools that turned first-choice families away in at least one of the last three years — either because more families named them first than they had places, or because they refused families who named them first anyway. Figures shown are for 2026/27. Demand is not a forecast: an oversubscribed school turns more families away, which is not the same as their appeals succeeding more often.
Appeal success rates for Dorset
Secondary schools (5)
Each has its own page with a 12-year demand history.
| School | Places | First choices | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Gryphon School | 234 | 265 | 1.13 |
| Gillingham School | 265 | 284 | 1.07 |
| Budmouth Academy Weymouth | 235 | 234 | 1 |
| Beaminster School | 120 | 119 | 0.99 |
| Lytchett Minster School | 257 | 253 | 0.98 |
Primary schools (44)
Primary schools are listed here as figures rather than pages. Most refusals at the Reception intake are infant class size cases, where a panel can only act on three narrow grounds and fewer than one in ten appeals succeeds — so the honest thing to publish is the data, not a page inviting an appeal.
| School | Places | First choices | Per place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rushcombe First School | 60 | 85 | 1.42 |
| The Prince of Wales School | 29 | 37 | 1.28 |
| St Nicholas and St Laurence Church of England Primary School | 30 | 38 | 1.27 |
| Trent Young's CofE Primary School | 20 | 25 | 1.25 |
| Henbury View First School | 30 | 36 | 1.20 |
| Trinity Church of England First School | 30 | 36 | 1.20 |
| Wimborne First School and Nursery | 59 | 71 | 1.20 |
| Radipole Primary School | 58 | 68 | 1.17 |
| Parley First School | 58 | 66 | 1.14 |
| St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester | 29 | 33 | 1.14 |
| Hayeswood First School | 30 | 34 | 1.13 |
| Salway Ash Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 15 | 17 | — |
| Thornford CofE Primary School | 15 | 17 | — |
| Wool Church of England Primary School | 15 | 17 | — |
| Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| Colehill First School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| Conifers Primary School | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster | 30 | 33 | 1.10 |
| St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery | 29 | 32 | 1.10 |
| Lytchett Matravers Primary School | 60 | 65 | 1.08 |
| Bincombe Valley Primary School | 27 | 29 | 1.07 |
| Hazelbury Bryan Primary School | 15 | 16 | — |
| St Ives Primary & Nursery School | 29 | 31 | 1.07 |
| Oakhurst Community First School | 30 | 31 | 1.03 |
| Sherborne Primary School | 47 | 48 | 1.02 |
| All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 13 | 13 | — |
| Bridport, St Mary's Church of England Primary School | 16 | 16 | — |
| Corfe Castle Church of England Primary School | 15 | 15 | — |
| Durweston Church of England Primary School | 15 | 15 | — |
| Milldown CofE Academy | 19 | 19 | — |
| Pamphill Church of England First School | 14 | 14 | — |
| Puddletown Church of England First School | 29 | 29 | 1 |
| St Augustine's Catholic Primary School, Weymouth | 27 | 27 | 1 |
| St George's Church of England School, Bourton | 20 | 20 | 1 |
| St James Church of England First School | 25 | 25 | 1 |
| St John's Church of England Primary School | 28 | 28 | 1 |
| St Mary the Virgin Church of England Primary School | 26 | 26 | 1 |
| Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney | 16 | 16 | — |
| Southill Primary School | 29 | 28 | 0.97 |
| The Abbey CofE VA Primary School, Shaftesbury | 29 | 28 | 0.97 |
| Wyke Regis Infant School and Nursery | 52 | 50 | 0.96 |
| Symondsbury Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 14 | 13 | — |
| Shillingstone Church of England Primary School | 9 | 7 | — |
| St John's Church of England First School, Wimborne | 30 | 18 | — |
Department for Education, Primary and secondary school applications and offers, school-level file, 2026/27. Appeal outcomes are not published for individual schools — how we source and calculate the figures.