St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown
Coombe Road, Puddletown, Dorchester, DT2 8SA
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 9 to 13
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Head of School
- Dr Tim Ennion
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- Sponsor
- Wessex Multi Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- North Dorset
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 480
- Pupils on roll
- 441
- URN
- 138189
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01305848293
About this school
St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is a Church of England middle academy in Dorchester. It teaches children aged 9 to 13 and has 441 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. 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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found some aspects are not as strong as at the previous inspection.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 125 | 110 | 109 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 46% | 61% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 3% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 71% | 68% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 58% | 64% | 70% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 65% | 67% | 74% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 104.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.80 | - | - |
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 St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown 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 | 47% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 46% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 61% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 479 |
| 2023/24 | 460 |
| 2024/25 | 445 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown compares
St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown ranked 37th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 61% | 6.5% | 17.1% | 441 | — |
| St Osmund's Church of England Middle School | 58% | 6.3% | 18.7% | 714 | 4.6 miles |
| Dorchester Middle School | 49% | 7.1% | 24.1% | 527 | 5.1 miles |
| Puddletown Church of England First School | — | 4.4% | 11.1% | 134 | 0.3 miles |
| Dorset Studio School | — | 12.7% | 32.3% | 332 | 3.1 miles |
| Frome Valley CofE First School | — | 4.7% | 23.3% | 141 | 3.2 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report22 January 2025
- 18 September 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 17.08%
- English as an additional language
- 2.2%
- Overall absence
- 6.51%
- Persistent absence
- 18.83%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Osmund's Church of England Middle School4.6 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Dorchester
-
Dorchester Middle School5.1 miles
Middle deemed secondary · Dorchester
-
Puddletown Church of England First School0.3 miles
Primary · Dorchester
-
Dorset Studio School3.1 miles
Secondary · Dorchester
-
Frome Valley CofE First School3.2 miles
Primary · Dorchester
Other schools in Dorchester
St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown ranks 4th of the 7 ranked primary schools in Dorchester.
- Dorchester Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- St Osmund's Church of England Middle School Middle deemed secondary
- Broadmayne First School Primary
- Buckland Newton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cerne Abbas CofE VC First School Primary
- Cheselbourne Village School Primary
- Damers First School Primary
- Frome Valley CofE First School Primary
- Maiden Newton, Greenford Church of England Primary School Primary
- Manor Park Church of England First School Primary
- Piddle Valley Church of England First School Primary
- Puddletown Church of England First School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown teach?
- St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown teaches children aged 9 to 13. It is a middle school in Dorchester.
- Who is the head of school of St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown?
- The head of school of St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is Dr Tim Ennion, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown, 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 St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown?
- St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown has 441 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 13.
- Is St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown full?
- St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown has capacity for 480 pupils and 441 on roll (92%), 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 St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Who runs St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown?
- St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown is part of WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown have?
- The schools register lists St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 61% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown rank locally?
- St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown ranked 37th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 43% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown's absence rate?
- St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown'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 1 July 2026.