The Dormston School
Mill Bank, Sedgley, Dudley, DY3 1SN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Caroline Sutton
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Dudley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,120
- Pupils on roll
- 1,128
- URN
- 103855
- Local authority
- Dudley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01384816395
About this school
The Dormston School is a community secondary school in Dudley. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,128 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Dormston School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 225 | 227 | 219 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.0 | 40.8 | 42.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.08 -0.26 to +0.11 | -0.44 -0.62 to -0.25 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 43% | 30.4% | 42.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 52% | 61.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 8% | 10.6% | 11% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Dormston School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Dudley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44 | 35.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.8 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.1 | 34.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,150 |
| 2023/24 | 1,138 |
| 2024/25 | 1,138 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Dormston School compares
The Dormston School ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Dudley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.1 | 7.4% | 24.8% | 1,128 | — |
| Beacon Hill Academy | 41 | 11.2% | 40.8% | 1,117 | 0.7 miles |
| Ellowes Hall Sports College | 43.1 | 9.3% | 28.5% | 1,038 | 1.1 miles |
| Colton Hills Community School | 39.2 | 8.9% | 56.3% | 1,163 | 1.6 miles |
| Bishop Milner Catholic College | 45.9 | 8.2% | 28.4% | 798 | 1.7 miles |
| The Khalsa Academy Wolverhampton | 49.4 | 5.8% | 38.6% | 763 | 1.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 24.78%
- English as an additional language
- 3.1%
- Overall absence
- 7.43%
- Persistent absence
- 21.23%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Beacon Hill Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
Ellowes Hall Sports College1.1 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
Colton Hills Community School1.6 miles
Secondary · Wolverhampton
-
Bishop Milner Catholic College1.7 miles
Secondary · Dudley
-
The Khalsa Academy Wolverhampton1.8 miles
Secondary · Wolverhampton
Other schools in Dudley
The Dormston School ranks 4th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Dudley.
- Beacon Hill Academy Secondary
- Bishop Milner Catholic College Secondary
- Ellowes Hall Sports College Secondary
- Pegasus Academy Secondary
- St James Academy Secondary
- The Crestwood School Secondary
- The Link Academy Secondary
- Netherton Park Nursery School Nursery
- Alder Coppice Primary School Primary
- Beechwood Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blowers Green Primary School Primary
- Cotwall End Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Dormston School teach?
- The Dormston School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Dudley.
- Who is the headteacher of The Dormston School?
- The headteacher of The Dormston School is Mrs Caroline Sutton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Dormston School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Dormston School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at The Dormston School?
- The Dormston School has 1,128 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Dormston School full?
- The Dormston School has capacity for 1,120 pupils and 1,128 on roll (101%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Dormston School a faith school?
- No. The Dormston School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Dormston School a selective school?
- No. The Dormston School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have The Dormston School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44 in 2022/23 and 42.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Dormston School compare with other schools in Dudley?
- The Dormston School ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Dudley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 21% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Dormston School's absence rate?
- The Dormston School's overall absence rate is 7.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Dormston School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Dormston School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.