Downlands Community School
Blandford Camp, Blandford Forum, DT11 8BG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr James Rielly
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 201
- URN
- 113659
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01258453348
About this school
Downlands Community School is a community primary school in Blandford Forum. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 201 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 38 | 31 | 26 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 45% | 42% | 42% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 3% | 3% | 4% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 65% | 54% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 65% | 65% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 71% | 69% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.70 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Downlands Community 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 | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 42% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 42% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 265 |
| 2023/24 | 254 |
| 2024/25 | 215 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Downlands Community School compares
Downlands Community School ranked 81st of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42% | 4.6% | 5.8% | 201 | — |
| Pimperne Church of England VC Primary School | 63% | 4.8% | 9.6% | 183 | 1.4 miles |
| Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School | 64% | 6.5% | 27.9% | 411 | 2.0 miles |
| Milldown CofE Academy | 48% | 6.2% | 23.2% | 200 | 2.4 miles |
| Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School | 67% | 5.1% | 30.6% | 208 | 2.8 miles |
| Spetisbury CofE Primary School | 77% | 3.7% | 15.2% | 187 | 3.4 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report13 January 2026
- 7 June 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 5.76%
- English as an additional language
- 31.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.55%
- Persistent absence
- 10.05%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pimperne Church of England VC Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Blandford Forum
-
Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Blandford Forum
-
Milldown CofE Academy2.4 miles
Primary · Blandford Forum
-
Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School2.8 miles
Primary · Blandford Forum
-
Spetisbury CofE Primary School3.4 miles
Primary · Blandford Forum
Other schools in Blandford Forum
Downlands Community School ranks 9th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Blandford Forum.
- Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School Primary
- Durweston Church of England Primary School Primary
- Milborne St Andrew First School Primary
- Milldown CofE Academy Primary
- Pimperne Church of England VC Primary School Primary
- Shillingstone Church of England Primary School Primary
- Spetisbury CofE Primary School Primary
- St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Child Okeford Primary
- The Blandford School Secondary
- The Forum Centre Local authority maintained schools
- The Forum School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Downlands Community School teach?
- Downlands Community School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Blandford Forum.
- Who is the headteacher of Downlands Community School?
- The headteacher of Downlands Community School is Mr James Rielly, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Downlands Community School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Downlands Community 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 big is Downlands Community School?
- Downlands Community School has 201 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Downlands Community School full?
- Downlands Community School has capacity for 420 pupils and 201 on roll (48%), so it has space against 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 Downlands Community School a faith school?
- No. Downlands Community School has no designated religious character.
- Does Downlands Community School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Downlands Community School as having nursery classes.
- How have Downlands Community School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 45% in 2022/23 and 42% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Downlands Community School rank locally?
- Downlands Community School ranked 81st of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 13% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Downlands Community School's absence rate?
- Downlands Community School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Downlands Community School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Downlands Community 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.