Beaminster School
Newtown, Beaminster, DT8 3EP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Christian
- Headteacher
- Mr Keith Hales
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 760
- Pupils on roll
- 673
- URN
- 113884
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01308862633
About this school
Beaminster School is a Christian voluntary controlled secondary school in Beaminster. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 673 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Beaminster School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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 | 120 | 122 | 117 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.4 | 43.3 | 47.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.36 to +0.17 | -0.08 -0.33 to +0.18 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 35.2% | 43.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 54% | 62.3% | 70.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 24% | 43.4% | 51.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.3 |
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 Beaminster 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 | 41.4 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.3 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 47 | 35.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 663 |
| 2023/24 | 649 |
| 2024/25 | 679 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Beaminster School compares
Beaminster School ranked 4th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47 | 8.4% | 22.4% | 673 | — |
| The Sir John Colfox Academy | 43 | 9.1% | 24.1% | 756 | 4.7 miles |
| Wadham School | 42.3 | 9.7% | 19.2% | 763 | 5.4 miles |
| Stanchester Academy | 43.7 | 9.1% | 19.6% | 829 | 9.6 miles |
| Preston School Academy | 45.9 | 7.7% | 20.7% | 1,003 | 9.7 miles |
| Westfield Academy | 44.5 | 7.8% | 21.7% | 1,013 | 10.1 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)
- 22.39%
- English as an additional language
- 3.1%
- Overall absence
- 8.36%
- Persistent absence
- 21.04%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Sir John Colfox Academy4.7 miles
Secondary · Bridport
-
Wadham School5.4 miles
Secondary · Crewkerne
-
Stanchester Academy9.6 miles
Secondary · Stoke-sub-Hamdon
-
Preston School Academy9.7 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
-
Westfield Academy10.1 miles
Secondary · Yeovil
Other schools in Beaminster
Common questions
- What ages does Beaminster School teach?
- Beaminster School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Beaminster.
- Who is the headteacher of Beaminster School?
- The headteacher of Beaminster School is Mr Keith Hales, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Beaminster School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Beaminster 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 Beaminster School?
- Beaminster School has 673 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Beaminster School full?
- Beaminster School has capacity for 760 pupils and 673 on roll (89%), 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 Beaminster School a faith school?
- Yes. Beaminster School is designated Christian.
- Is Beaminster School a selective school?
- No. Beaminster School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does Beaminster School have?
- The schools register lists Beaminster School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Beaminster School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.4 in 2022/23 and 47 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Beaminster School compare with other schools in Dorset?
- Beaminster School ranked 4th of 19 secondary schools in Dorset for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 66% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Beaminster School's absence rate?
- Beaminster School's overall absence rate is 8.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Beaminster School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Beaminster 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.