The Blandford School
Milldown Road, Blandford Forum, DT11 7SQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- Mr Alan Jones
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,557
- Pupils on roll
- 1,103
- URN
- 113888
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01258451121
About this school
The Blandford School is a voluntary controlled secondary school in Blandford Forum. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,103 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
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 | 170 | 186 | 182 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.2 | 46.6 | 47.0 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.13 -0.35 to +0.08 | -0.33 -0.54 to -0.12 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 60% | 47.8% | 46.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 67.7% | 65.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 40.3% | 26.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
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 The Blandford 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 | 49.2 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.6 | 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 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,108 |
| 2023/24 | 1,142 |
| 2024/25 | 1,135 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Blandford School compares
The Blandford School ranked 3rd 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 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47 | 8.7% | 20.8% | 1,103 | — |
| Sturminster Newton High School | 46.1 | 10.9% | 29.6% | 605 | 7.7 miles |
| Queen Elizabeth's School | 43.3 | 12.7% | 16.8% | 1,375 | 8.2 miles |
| Corfe Hills School | 46.7 | 11.1% | 17.9% | 943 | 9.6 miles |
| Lytchett Minster School | 46.8 | 7.8% | 19.6% | 1,624 | 9.6 miles |
| Shaftesbury School | 39.1 | 11.4% | 27.9% | 782 | 9.7 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)
- 20.78%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.66%
- Persistent absence
- 21.86%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sturminster Newton High School7.7 miles
Secondary · Sturminster Newton
-
Queen Elizabeth's School8.2 miles
Secondary · Wimborne
-
Corfe Hills School9.6 miles
Secondary · Broadstone
-
Lytchett Minster School9.6 miles
Secondary · Poole
-
Shaftesbury School9.7 miles
Secondary · Shaftesbury
Other schools in Blandford Forum
- Archbishop Wake Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blandford St Mary Church of England Primary School Primary
- Downlands Community School Primary
- Durweston Church of England Primary School Primary
- Milborne St Andrew First School Primary
- Milldown CofE Academy Primary
- Pimperne Church of England VC Primary School Primary
- Shillingstone Church of England Primary School Primary
- Spetisbury CofE Primary School Primary
- St Nicholas Church of England Primary School, Child Okeford Primary
- The Forum Centre Local authority maintained schools
- The Forum School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does The Blandford School teach?
- The Blandford School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Blandford Forum.
- Who is the headteacher of The Blandford School?
- The headteacher of The Blandford School is Mr Alan Jones, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Blandford School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Blandford 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 The Blandford School?
- The Blandford School has 1,103 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Blandford School full?
- The Blandford School has capacity for 1,557 pupils and 1,103 on roll (71%), 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 The Blandford School a faith school?
- No. The Blandford School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Blandford School a selective school?
- No. The Blandford School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have The Blandford School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.2 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 The Blandford School rank locally?
- The Blandford School ranked 3rd 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 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Blandford School's absence rate?
- The Blandford School's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Blandford School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Blandford 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.