Best Schools in Salisbury

How many schools are there in Salisbury?

Salisbury has 68 open schools: 49 state primary, 8 state secondary or all-through, 6 independent, 4 special and 1 other.

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Which schools in Salisbury are rated Outstanding?

3 schools in Salisbury were rated Outstanding at their most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School, Sarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary School and Wyndham Park Infants' School. Counting Good as well, 87% of the 47 graded schools here are rated Good or better. Ofsted stopped giving single-word overall grades in September 2024, so these are the grades from each school's last full inspection.

Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar SchoolSarum St Paul's CofE (VA) Primary SchoolWyndham Park Infants' School

Source: Ofsted

Which secondary schools in Salisbury get the best GCSE results?

Of the 7 schools in Salisbury with 2026 GCSE results, the highest Attainment 8 scores - the average grade across a pupil's best eight GCSEs - were at South Wilts Grammar School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 76.5 and 100% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School (selective grammar), with an Attainment 8 score of 73.5 and 98% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above; and Wyvern St Edmund's Academy, with an Attainment 8 score of 46.1 and 48% passing English and maths at grade 5 or above. Selective schools admit by ability, so their raw results are not a like-for-like comparison with comprehensives. Progress 8, the DfE's value-added measure, was not published for 2026.

South Wilts Grammar SchoolBishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar SchoolWyvern St Edmund's Academy

Source: DfE school performance data

Which primary schools in Salisbury have the best SATs results?

Of the 40 primary schools in Salisbury with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Whiteparish All Saints Church of England Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); Netheravon All Saints CofE Primary School (93% in reading, 87% in maths); and St Nicholas Church of England Primary School (91% in reading, 87% in maths). Small schools can swing a long way from one year to the next, because each pupil is a large share of the result.

Whiteparish All Saints Church of England Primary SchoolNetheravon All Saints CofE Primary SchoolSt Nicholas Church of England Primary School

Source: DfE school performance data

Are there grammar schools in Salisbury?

Yes. Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School and South Wilts Grammar School are state grammar schools in Salisbury. Grammar schools admit pupils by ability through an entrance test, usually sat at the start of Year 6.

Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar SchoolSouth Wilts Grammar School

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools

Do schools in Salisbury have catchment areas?

Most state schools in Salisbury have no fixed catchment boundary. When a school is oversubscribed, the council allocates places on its published criteria - usually looked-after children first, then siblings, then home-to-school distance - so the practical cut-off moves each year. Each school's page here shows an estimate of its catchment radius.

How do I apply for a school place in Salisbury?

Apply to your council - Wiltshire, Dorset or Hampshire, depending on your address - through its coordinated admissions process, even for academies and faith schools. In England the closing date is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts. Independent schools run their own admissions, so apply to those directly.