← GCSE results 2026 for England
Grade 5+ in English and maths, 2026
GCSE results 2026
Dorset GCSE results 2026
Provisional 2025/26 results for 19 state secondary schools in Dorset, 3,642 pupils. Dorset ranks 124 of 151 councils for Attainment 8, which rose by 0.3 points on 2025.
Grade 5+ English & maths
41.9%
5.9 pts below England
Grade 7+ English & maths
8.0%
6.7 pts below England
Attainment 8
44.5
3.1 points below England
Council rank
124 / 151
By average Attainment 8
Dorset at a glance
- Highest Attainment 8: The Woodroffe School (50.0).
- Schools range from 32.0 to 50.0 on Attainment 8, a spread of 18.0 points, so the school you choose matters more than the council average.
- Disadvantaged pupils averaged 35.1, 12.5 points behind their classmates (a smaller gap than England’s 13.8). They did best at The Woodroffe School (46.9).
- Most improved on 2025: The Purbeck School, up 7.1 points to 49.0.
Every Dorset secondary school, ranked
Ranked by Attainment 8 · 2025/26 provisional · E&M: English and maths
| # | School | Pupils | Attainment 8 | vs 2025 | Grade 4+ E&M | Grade 5+ E&M | Grade 7+ E&M | Disadvantaged A8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Woodroffe School | 161 | 50.0 | −1.4 | 74.5% | 53.4% | 10.6% | 46.9 |
| 2 | The Purbeck School | 165 | 49.0 | +7.1 | 72.7% | 48.5% | 9.7% | 42.8 |
| 3 | Lytchett Minster School | 251 | 47.9 | +1.1 | 70.1% | 49.8% | 10.4% | 40.2 |
| 4 | The Thomas Hardye School | 435 | 47.8 | −2.0 | 70.3% | 50.8% | 10.1% | 37.0 |
| 5 | The Gryphon SchoolChurch of England | 227 | 47.4 | +0.7 | 69.6% | 44.5% | 7.9% | 35.7 |
| 6 | Gillingham School | 281 | 46.8 | +4.1 | 65.8% | 44.8% | 7.5% | 35.7 |
| 7 | Ferndown Upper School | 278 | 45.9 | +0.2 | 65.8% | 41.7% | 8.3% | 40.4 |
| 8 | The Sir John Colfox Academy | 136 | 45.9 | +2.9 | 64.0% | 43.4% | 5.9% | 39.0 |
| 9 | Beaminster SchoolChristian | 121 | 45.4 | −1.6 | 64.5% | 41.3% | 7.4% | 35.8 |
| 10 | Queen Elizabeth's SchoolChurch of England | 362 | 44.4 | +1.1 | 66.0% | 43.6% | 8.0% | 35.0 |
| 11 | The Blandford School | 186 | 43.2 | −3.8 | 59.7% | 37.1% | 7.5% | 28.2 |
| 12 | The Swanage School | 59 | 43.1 | +6.2 | 50.8% | 33.9% | 8.5% | 38.7 |
| 13 | Sturminster Newton High School | 100 | 41.4 | −4.7 | 59.0% | 36.0% | 7.0% | 37.5 |
| 14 | Shaftesbury SchoolChurch of England | 119 | 40.1 | +1.0 | 54.6% | 25.2% | 1.7% | 31.8 |
| 15 | Budmouth Academy Weymouth | 243 | 40.0 | −2.0 | 53.1% | 34.2% | 8.2% | 30.1 |
| 16 | Wey Valley Academy | 207 | 38.9 | −2.1 | 56.0% | 38.2% | 9.2% | 28.9 |
| 17 | All Saints' Church of England AcademyChurch of England | 157 | 37.8 | +2.2 | 52.2% | 35.0% | 7.0% | 27.4 |
| 18 | Atlantic Academy Portland | 94 | 37.7 | +3.7 | 45.7% | 26.6% | 2.1% | 31.6 |
| 19 | Dorset Studio School | 60 | 32.0 | −2.1 | 28.3% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 31.5 |
| England average | 47.6 | 66.8% | 47.8% | 14.7% | 37.7 |
Disadvantaged A8: Attainment 8 of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years or looked after; blank where the school has too few to publish. Small year groups move more from year to year.
Dorset against the rest of the South West
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole57.9%
- Torbay55.0%
- Gloucestershire53.8%
- Bath and North East Somerset53.2%
- Plymouth50.9%
- Devon46.6%
- North Somerset46.1%
- Swindon45.7%
- Bristol, City of45.1%
- Wiltshire44.7%
- Cornwall44.4%
- South Gloucestershire44.1%
- Dorset41.9%
- Somerset40.8%
Reading these figures
- Attainment 8 is out of 90: a pupil’s grades in eight GCSE slots added up, with English and maths counted twice.
- There is no Progress 8 this year (these pupils sat no KS2 SATs), so results partly reflect each school’s intake.
- These are provisional figures; revised ones with re-marks follow in early 2027.
- Source: Department for Education, Key stage 4 performance (school-level data). Council figures are our pupil-weighted calculation over state-funded mainstream schools; independent schools are not included.