Damers First School
Liscombe Street, Poundbury, Dorchester, DT1 3DF
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 9
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Louise Greenham
- Sponsor
- Wessex Multi Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 475
- URN
- 147559
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01305264924
About this school
Damers First School is a primary academy in Dorchester. It teaches children aged 4 to 9 and has 475 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 12 February 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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.
Trends over time
How Damers First 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 | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 484 |
| 2023/24 | 494 |
| 2024/25 | 477 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Damers First School compares
Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | — | 4.3% | 18.9% | 475 | — |
| The Prince of Wales School | — | 5.4% | 12.2% | 156 | 0.8 miles |
| St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster | — | 4.1% | 6.7% | 148 | 1.2 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester | — | 5.4% | 9.3% | 177 | 1.5 miles |
| Manor Park Church of England First School | — | 5.5% | 17.3% | 396 | 1.6 miles |
| Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School | — | 4.3% | 4.6% | 60 | 3.4 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)
- 18.87%
- English as an additional language
- 14%
- Overall absence
- 4.31%
- Persistent absence
- 8.6%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Prince of Wales School0.8 miles
Primary · Dorchester
-
St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster1.2 miles
Primary · Dorchester
-
St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester1.5 miles
Primary · Dorchester
-
Manor Park Church of England First School1.6 miles
Primary · Dorchester
-
Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School3.4 miles
Primary · Dorchester
Other schools in Dorchester
- Broadmayne First School Primary
- Buckland Newton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cerne Abbas CofE VC First School Primary
- Cheselbourne Village 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
- St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester Primary
- St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster Primary
- Sticklands Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Damers First School teach?
- Damers First School teaches children aged 4 to 9. It is a primary school in Dorchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Damers First School?
- The headteacher of Damers First School is Mrs Louise Greenham, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Damers First School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Damers First 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 Damers First School?
- Damers First School has 475 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 9.
- Is Damers First School full?
- Damers First School has capacity for 600 pupils and 475 on roll (79%), 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 Damers First School a faith school?
- No. Damers First School has no designated religious character.
- Does Damers First School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Damers First School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Damers First School?
- Damers First School 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 Damers First School have?
- The schools register lists Damers First School's special educational needs provision as: OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Damers First School's absence rate?
- Damers First School's overall absence rate is 4.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- Does Damers First School publish exam results?
- OfferDay shows exam results for a school only where the Department for Education has published them, and none are shown for Damers First School. That is usual for infant, nursery, special and independent schools, and for schools without recent published results.
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 10 July 2026.