The Purbeck School

Dorset · BH20 4PF

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1022 pupils, 22.7% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 12.3% on SEN support Behaviour 7.5% absence rate Staff 12.6% turnover Financials £7,591 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Purbeck School

General Information

Address: Worgret Road, Wareham, BH20 4PF – View on map
Phone: 01929550077
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Adam Darley
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 156 families put it first for 160 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 2 of the 160 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1022 pupils out of 1180 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 196
% eligible for free school meals: 22.7%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the Dorset average)
English as an additional language: 6% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 12.6% a year (Dorset 15%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 35% moved to another school, 65% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Dorset: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 49 (2.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 54 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 20 (0.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Dorset, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 21.7%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 12.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.7%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 53 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 31 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 20 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Hearing impairment: 4 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 14 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 9 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Attainment 8 score: 41.9
Compared with the area: 2.4 points below the Dorset average (44.3)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−2.9 points against an expected 44.8)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 57% (Dorset 64%, England 65%) Broadly steady
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolDorset averageEngland↘ Falling Down 2.3 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 2.4 points below the Dorset average (44.3).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

12th of 18 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8

#10The Sir John Colfox Academy43.0
#11Budmouth Academy Weymouth42.0
#12The Purbeck School41.9
#13Wey Valley Academy41.0
#14Shaftesbury School39.1

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1The Woodroffe School51.4
#2The Thomas Hardye School49.8
#3Beaminster School47.0
#4The Blandford School47.0
#5Lytchett Minster School46.8
#6The Gryphon School46.7
#7Sturminster Newton High School46.1
#8Ferndown Upper School45.7
#9Queen Elizabeth's School43.3
#10The Sir John Colfox Academy43.0
#11Budmouth Academy Weymouth42.0
#12The Purbeck School41.9
#13Wey Valley Academy41.0
#14Shaftesbury School39.1
#15The Swanage School36.9
#16All Saints' Church of England Academy35.6
#17Dorset Studio School34.1
#18Atlantic Academy Portland34.0

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 92.0%
Went into further education: 81.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

English Language
Maths (General)
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Physics (General)
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Business Studies
Photography
Media Studies
Art & Design
Food Technology
Religious Studies
Speech & Drama
Spanish
Geology
D & T
French Language
Computer Science
Music Studies (General)
Polish
Italian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,591 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

10th of 25 secondary schools in Dorset for spending per pupil

#8The Woodroffe School£7,651
#9Cranborne Middle School£7,640
#10The Purbeck School£7,591
#11Queen Elizabeth's School£7,473
#12The Blandford School£7,449

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Dorset Studio School£12,868
#2The Sir John Colfox Academy£9,808
#3West Moors Middle School£9,264
#4The Swanage School£9,162
#5All Saints' Church of England Academy£8,352
#6Ferndown Upper School£7,798
#7Beaminster School£7,758
#8The Woodroffe School£7,651
#9Cranborne Middle School£7,640
#10The Purbeck School£7,591
#11Queen Elizabeth's School£7,473
#12The Blandford School£7,449
#13The Thomas Hardye School£7,222
#14Atlantic Academy Portland£7,205
#15Lytchett Minster School£6,991
#16Wey Valley Academy£6,932
#17St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown£6,672
#18Budmouth Academy Weymouth£6,654
#19Dorchester Middle School£6,499
#20Ferndown Middle School£6,227
#21St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill£6,062
#22Emmanuel Church of England Middle School£5,779
#23St Osmund's Church of England Middle School£5,695
#24Allenbourn Middle School£5,475
#25Lockyer's Middle School£5,412

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Dorset: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered