Gillingham School
Hardings Lane, Gillingham, SP8 4QP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Nicholson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,850
- Pupils on roll
- 1,684
- URN
- 113882
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01747822222
About this school
Gillingham School is a voluntary controlled secondary school in Gillingham. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,684 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Gillingham School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 279 | 282 | 264 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.1 | 45.7 | 42.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.16 -0.33 to +0.01 | -0.18 -0.35 to -0.02 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 47% | 45% | 42.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 66.3% | 62.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 62% | 65.6% | 64% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
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 Gillingham 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 | 46.1 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.7 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.7 | 35.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,755 |
| 2023/24 | 1,706 |
| 2024/25 | 1,670 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Gillingham School compares
Gillingham School ranked 11th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.7 | 9.5% | 20.3% | 1,684 | — |
| Shaftesbury School | 39.1 | 11.4% | 27.9% | 782 | 4.3 miles |
| King Arthur's School | 40.6 | 8.9% | 26.1% | 450 | 6.9 miles |
| Sturminster Newton High School | 46.1 | 10.9% | 29.6% | 605 | 7.3 miles |
| Sexey's School | 51.5 | 10.3% | 11.1% | 633 | 9.7 miles |
| Gillingham Primary School | — | 5.4% | 24.8% | 233 | 0.2 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)
- 20.29%
- English as an additional language
- 4.6%
- Overall absence
- 9.5%
- Persistent absence
- 26.13%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Shaftesbury School4.3 miles
Secondary · Shaftesbury
-
King Arthur's School6.9 miles
Secondary · Wincanton
-
Sturminster Newton High School7.3 miles
Secondary · Sturminster Newton
-
Sexey's School9.7 miles
Secondary · Bruton
-
Gillingham Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Gillingham
Other schools in Gillingham
Common questions
- What ages does Gillingham School teach?
- Gillingham School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Gillingham.
- Who is the headteacher of Gillingham School?
- The headteacher of Gillingham School is Mr Paul Nicholson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Gillingham School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Gillingham 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 Gillingham School?
- Gillingham School has 1,684 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Gillingham School full?
- Gillingham School has capacity for 1,850 pupils and 1,684 on roll (91%), 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 Gillingham School a faith school?
- No. Gillingham School has no designated religious character.
- Is Gillingham School a selective school?
- No. Gillingham School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Gillingham School have?
- The schools register lists Gillingham School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Gillingham School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.1 in 2022/23 and 42.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Gillingham School compare with other schools in Dorset?
- Gillingham School ranked 11th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Gillingham School's absence rate?
- Gillingham School's overall absence rate is 9.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Gillingham School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Gillingham 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.