Lytchett Minster School
Post Green Road, Purbeck, Poole, BH16 6JD
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headmaster
- Mr Andrew Mead
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Mid Dorset and North Poole
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,624
- URN
- 113863
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01202622413
About this school
Lytchett Minster School is a foundation secondary school in Poole. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 1,624 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 22 February 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 255 | 252 | 253 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.5 | 48.4 | 46.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.05 -0.13 to +0.23 | +0.38 +0.20 to +0.55 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 48% | 52.8% | 47.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 73% | 75% | 70.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 15.9% | 19.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
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 Lytchett Minster 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 | 46.5 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.4 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.8 | 35.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,549 |
| 2023/24 | 1,526 |
| 2024/25 | 1,590 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Lytchett Minster School compares
Lytchett Minster School ranked 5th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.8 | 7.8% | 19.6% | 1,624 | — |
| The Cornerstone Academy | 41 | 12.2% | 40.8% | 645 | 3.0 miles |
| Corfe Hills School | 46.7 | 11.1% | 17.9% | 943 | 3.0 miles |
| Parkstone Grammar School | 68.5 | 5.1% | 6.9% | 1,241 | 3.2 miles |
| Poole High School | 51 | 8.8% | 20.6% | 1,891 | 3.5 miles |
| Poole Grammar School | 70.2 | 5.2% | 5.9% | 1,224 | 3.6 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)
- 19.56%
- English as an additional language
- 2.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.77%
- Persistent absence
- 22.57%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Cornerstone Academy3.0 miles
Secondary · Poole
-
Corfe Hills School3.0 miles
Secondary · Broadstone
-
Parkstone Grammar School3.2 miles
Secondary · Poole
-
Poole High School3.5 miles
Secondary · Poole
-
Poole Grammar School3.6 miles
Secondary · Poole
Other schools in Poole
Lytchett Minster School ranks 4th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Poole.
- Magna Academy Secondary
- Parkstone Grammar School Secondary
- Poole Grammar School Secondary
- Poole High School Secondary
- St Aldhelm's Academy Secondary
- St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole Secondary
- The Cornerstone Academy Secondary
- Ad Astra Infant School Primary
- Baden-Powell and St Peter's Church of England Junior School Primary
- Bayside Academy Primary
- Bishop Aldhelm's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Canford Heath Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Lytchett Minster School teach?
- Lytchett Minster School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Poole.
- Who is the headmaster of Lytchett Minster School?
- The headmaster of Lytchett Minster School is Mr Andrew Mead, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Lytchett Minster School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lytchett Minster 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 Lytchett Minster School?
- Lytchett Minster School has 1,624 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is Lytchett Minster School full?
- Lytchett Minster School has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,624 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Lytchett Minster School a faith school?
- No. Lytchett Minster School has no designated religious character.
- Is Lytchett Minster School a selective school?
- No. Lytchett Minster School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Lytchett Minster School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.5 in 2022/23 and 46.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Lytchett Minster School rank locally?
- Lytchett Minster School ranked 5th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 65% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Lytchett Minster School's absence rate?
- Lytchett Minster School's overall absence rate is 7.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lytchett Minster School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lytchett Minster 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.