St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown
Middle school · Academy converter · ages 9 to 13 · Mixed
Coombe Road, Puddletown, Dorchester, DT2 8SA
- Pupils441
- Ages9 to 13
- Latest Ofsted22 Jan 2025
- FundingState-funded
Ofsted inspections
Shown exactly as Ofsted published them, each with its own date.
Graded inspection · 18 Sep 2019
Overall effectiveness: Good
- Quality of educationGood
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Leadership and managementGood
- Safeguarding is effectiveYes
Grades run from Outstanding to Inadequate (four steps, left to right).
Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 · report published 8 Oct 2019
Ungraded inspection · 22 Jan 2025
Outcome: Some aspects not as strong. An ungraded inspection checks whether a school is still at the standard of its last graded inspection; it doesn’t give new grades.
Ungraded inspection · report published 4 Mar 2025
Read the full reports on Ofsted’s website (opens in a new tab) — they explain the reasons behind each grade.
Source: Ofsted, state-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (latest inspections as at 30 September 2026). Newer inspections may be on Ofsted’s website. How Ofsted inspections work.
Results
Primary results (end of Year 6, key stage 2)
2024/25 · 109 pupils. What these mean
Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Pupils who scored 100 or more in both the reading and maths tests and were assessed by teachers as working at the expected standard (or greater depth) in writing.
2024/25
Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
A high score (110 or more) in the reading and maths tests and working at greater depth in writing.
2024/25
Average scaled score in reading
Test scores are scaled from 80 to 120; 100 or more means the expected standard. Pupils who didn’t sit the test are left out.
2024/25
Average scaled score in maths
Scaled from 80 to 120; 100 or more means the expected standard.
2024/25
Each subject separately
Expected standard in reading
2024/25
Expected standard in writing (teacher assessment)
2024/25
Expected standard in maths
2024/25
Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling
2024/25
Average scaled score in grammar, punctuation and spelling
2024/25
Expected standard in science (teacher assessment)
2024/25
No progress scores for 2024/25: the DfE couldn’t calculate them because there was no key stage 1 data for these pupils (COVID-19 disruption). They return with the 2025/26 results.
Results describe one group of pupils in one year, so they can change a lot — especially in small schools. The DfE says “conclusions should not be drawn on a single piece of data alone.” This school on the DfE’s performance tables (opens in a new tab).
Source: Department for Education, school performance tables. England and local authority figures are the DfE’s own, for the same year.
Pupils and attendance
- Pupils
- 441 (capacity 480)
197 girls, 244 boys - Eligible for free school meals
- 20.9% (currently eligible, census of January 2026)
Pupils with SEN support
Special educational needs, without an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
2024/25
Pupils with an EHC plan
An education, health and care plan sets out the support a child must get.
2024/25
Eligible for free school meals at any time in the last 6 years
2024/25
First language not English
This is not a measure of how well pupils speak English.
2024/25
Attendance
Overall absence
The share of possible mornings and afternoons missed, for any reason (authorised or not).
2024/25
Persistent absence
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions.
2024/25
Sources: Get Information about Schools; DfE school census and absence statistics via the performance tables. What these figures mean.
About the school
- Type
- Academy converter (Academies)
- Phase
- Middle deemed secondary
- Trust
- WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Sponsor
- Wessex Multi Academy Trust
- Boys, girls or mixed
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- Nursery
- No Nursery Classes
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Special needs catered for
- OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Opened
- 1 June 2012
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Parliamentary constituency
- North Dorset
- URN
- 138189 (the DfE’s reference number for the school)
Source: Get Information about Schools (Department for Education). See the full record (opens in a new tab).
Admissions
For a place at the usual starting age you apply through your home council (where you live), even if the school is in another area — not to the school. You can usually name several schools in order of preference.
Apply for a primary place (GOV.UK) Apply for a secondary place (GOV.UK)
How school admissions work: deadlines, oversubscription and appeals.