Sturminster Marshall First School
78 High Street, Sturminster Marshall, Wimborne, BH21 4AY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 4 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sharon Bentley
- Constituency
- Mid Dorset and North Poole
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 148
- Pupils on roll
- 49
- URN
- 113675
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01258857348
About this school
Sturminster Marshall First School is a community primary school in Wimborne. It teaches children aged 4 to 9 and has 49 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Trends over time
How Sturminster Marshall First 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 86 |
| 2023/24 | 84 |
| 2024/25 | 68 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sturminster Marshall First School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 5.8% | 16.2% | 49 | — |
| Pamphill Church of England First School | — | 4.9% | 10% | 67 | 2.7 miles |
| Henbury View First School | — | 3.1% | 5.5% | 148 | 2.8 miles |
| Lytchett Matravers Primary School | 68% | 5.3% | 10.1% | 484 | 3.0 miles |
| Rushcombe First School | — | 3.9% | 6.7% | 313 | 3.1 miles |
| Spetisbury CofE Primary School | 77% | 3.7% | 15.2% | 187 | 3.2 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)
- 16.18%
- English as an additional language
- 1.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.75%
- Persistent absence
- 13.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pamphill Church of England First School2.7 miles
Primary · Wimborne
-
Henbury View First School2.8 miles
Primary · Wimborne
-
Lytchett Matravers Primary School3.0 miles
Primary · Poole
-
Rushcombe First School3.1 miles
Primary · Wimborne
-
Spetisbury CofE Primary School3.2 miles
Primary · Blandford Forum
Other schools in Wimborne
- Colehill First School Primary
- Cranborne Church of England First School Primary
- Hampreston Church of England Voluntary Aided First School Primary
- Hayeswood First School Primary
- Henbury View First School Primary
- Merley First School Primary
- Pamphill Church of England First School Primary
- Rushcombe First School Primary
- St James Church of England First School Primary
- St John's Church of England First School, Wimborne Primary
- Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School Primary
- Wimborne First School and Nursery Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Sturminster Marshall First School teach?
- Sturminster Marshall First School teaches children aged 4 to 9. It is a primary school in Wimborne.
- Who is the headteacher of Sturminster Marshall First School?
- The headteacher of Sturminster Marshall First School is Mrs Sharon Bentley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sturminster Marshall First School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sturminster Marshall First 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 Sturminster Marshall First School?
- Sturminster Marshall First School has 49 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 9.
- Is Sturminster Marshall First School full?
- Sturminster Marshall First School has capacity for 148 pupils and 49 on roll (33%), 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 Sturminster Marshall First School a faith school?
- No. Sturminster Marshall First School has no designated religious character.
- Does Sturminster Marshall First School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Sturminster Marshall First School as having no nursery classes.
- What is Sturminster Marshall First School's absence rate?
- Sturminster Marshall First School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Sturminster Marshall First School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Sturminster Marshall First School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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.