Poole Grammar School, Poole

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, rugby, cricket, basketball, badminton, cross-country, drama, orchestra, ukulele and chess.

Coming up: an open evening on Monday 9 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at Poole Grammar School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 70.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.2 in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; and 47 across England.

93% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 56% in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 70.2.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.55: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Physics and Chemistry.

Poole Grammar School is a grammar school: places go to children who reach the required standard in its entrance test, and only then are the oversubscription criteria applied.

For September 2026 entry, 243 families put Poole Grammar School as their first choice and 400 named it as one of their preferences, for 177 places offered. That is 1.4 first choices for every place. 72 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

Poole Grammar School admits pupils through an entrance test, usually called the 11-plus. Children have to be registered for it in advance, normally in the spring or summer of Year 5; the test itself is usually sat in September of Year 6, and results come out in October, before the 31 October deadline for naming secondary schools.

Passing the test makes a child eligible rather than guaranteeing a place: when more children pass than there are places, Poole Grammar School ranks them by the criteria in its admissions policy, which can include test score and distance. Check Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's admissions pages and the school's own policy for this year's registration deadline - a child who is not registered in time cannot sit the test.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole has 4 state grammar schools in all, so a child who passes may have several selective schools to choose between.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Poole Grammar School are Parkstone Grammar School (0.7 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 67.6); Broadstone Middle School (0.7 miles, Good); Magna Academy (0.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.2); and St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.7).

Poole Grammar School's 2026 results were higher than all 3 of them.

205 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Poole Grammar School (as of September 2025): 89% would recommend the school, 96% say their child is happy there and 83% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (96%); the weakest, that pupils behave well (81%).

Of the 181 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 95% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 12% to a further education college and 2% to an apprenticeship.

Of the 163 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 52% went on to university or other higher education, 8% to apprenticeships and 25% into work. 45% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

5.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 150 pupils (12.3%) received SEN support and 12 (1%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia.

The nearest railway station is Poole Rail Station, about 2.4 miles away in a straight line.

17 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Poole Grammar School (w-bound), 90 metres away.

In August 2026, police recorded 83 crimes within a mile of the school, most often anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (223).

In 2024/25, Poole Grammar School issued 44 suspensions, 3.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Poole Grammar School are Hillbourne Primary School (0.6 miles), Ad Astra Infant School (0.7 miles), Haymoor Junior School (0.7 miles) and Broadstone First School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.