Cranborne Middle School
Cranborne, Wimborne, BH21 5RP
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 9 to 13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Stevens
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 256
- Pupils on roll
- 265
- URN
- 113853
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01725517348
About this school
Cranborne Middle School is a community middle school in Wimborne. It teaches children aged 9 to 13 and has 265 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 15 January 2025, where inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 90 | 95 | 74 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 34% | 65% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 3% | 8% |
| Expected standard in reading | 83% | 76% | 74% |
| Expected standard in maths | 74% | 65% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 63% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.90 | - | - |
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 Cranborne Middle 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 | 62% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 34% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 65% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 339 |
| 2023/24 | 312 |
| 2024/25 | 306 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Cranborne Middle School compares
Cranborne Middle School ranked 27th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 65% | 5.7% | 17.3% | 265 | — |
| Emmanuel Church of England Middle School | 65% | 5.3% | 18.7% | 434 | 3.7 miles |
| West Moors Middle School | 49% | 10.3% | 36.4% | 240 | 7.3 miles |
| St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill | 65% | 5.9% | 14.8% | 563 | 8.0 miles |
| Ferndown Middle School | 45% | 6.7% | 20.9% | 600 | 8.3 miles |
| Allenbourn Middle School | 68% | 6.3% | 18% | 499 | 8.7 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)
- 17.32%
- English as an additional language
- 0.3%
- Overall absence
- 5.66%
- Persistent absence
- 14.74%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Emmanuel Church of England Middle School3.7 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Verwood
-
West Moors Middle School7.3 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Ferndown
-
St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill8.0 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Wimborne
-
Ferndown Middle School8.3 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Ferndown
-
Allenbourn Middle School8.7 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Wimborne
Other schools in Wimborne
- Allenbourn Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- Lockyer's Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill Middle deemed secondary
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does Cranborne Middle School teach?
- Cranborne Middle School teaches children aged 9 to 13. It is a middle school in Wimborne.
- Who is the headteacher of Cranborne Middle School?
- The headteacher of Cranborne Middle School is Mr Richard Stevens, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Cranborne Middle School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Cranborne Middle 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 Cranborne Middle School?
- Cranborne Middle School has 265 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 13.
- Is Cranborne Middle School full?
- Cranborne Middle School has capacity for 256 pupils and 265 on roll (104%), 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 Cranborne Middle School a faith school?
- No. Cranborne Middle School has no designated religious character.
- How have Cranborne Middle School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 65% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Cranborne Middle School rank locally?
- Cranborne Middle School ranked 27th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 53% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Cranborne Middle School's absence rate?
- Cranborne Middle School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Cranborne Middle School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Cranborne Middle 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.