St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole, Poole
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in Poole. It has a Church of England/Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in November 2022 did not change this grade. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 5th-highest of the 8 schools in Poole with published results, and 1,514th of 3,298 across England. It was 96% full in 2025.
- GCSE results
- In line with England
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- Better than England average
- Progress (2024)
- Average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole averaged an Attainment 8 score of 46.7, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 50.2 in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; and 47 across England.
43% 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 46.4.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.09: pupils made about average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 31.1, against 49.9 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 18.8 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Geography.
Getting a place at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole
For September 2026 entry, 190 families put St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole as their first choice and 691 named it as one of their preferences, for 170 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 31 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole are Magna Academy (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.2); St Aldhelm's Academy (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 35.6); St Aldhelm's Academy (1.2 miles); and Parkstone Grammar School (1.3 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 67.6).
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 3 schools.
Magna AcademySt Aldhelm's AcademySt Aldhelm's AcademyParkstone Grammar School
Where pupils go next
Of the 177 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 90% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 45% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.
Of the 74 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 43% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 32% into work. 11% went to one of the most selective third of universities.
Who goes there
12.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Parkstone (Dorset) Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Rose Crescent (se-bound), 290 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole issued 110 suspensions, 10.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 3 permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole are Canford Heath Infant School (0.5 miles), Canford Heath Junior School (0.6 miles), Haymoor Junior School (0.7 miles) and Livingstone Road Junior School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Canford Heath Infant SchoolCanford Heath Junior SchoolHaymoor Junior SchoolLivingstone Road Junior School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from April 2013, 13 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its April 2013 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
About
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Poole in the English county of Dorset.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
12.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Progress 8 has remained stable at around 0.09 (2023 to 2024). Attainment 8 has improved from 46.4 to 46.7 (2023 to 2026). GCSE English & Maths 5+ has remained stable at around 43% (2023 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 46.7 | 42.5% |
| Disadvantaged(30) | - | 31.1 | 13.3% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(149) | - | 49.9 | 48.3% |
| Boys(86) | - | 44.2 | 40.7% |
| Girls(93) | - | 49.1 | 44.1% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(27) | - | 51.2 | 59.3% |
| Non mobile(171) | - | 47.6 | 43.9% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 3 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 177 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
3
Permanent exclusions
0.28%
Exclusion rate
110
Suspensions
10.39%
Suspension rate
50 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 1,059 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole
Term dates
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
You apply to the council where you live. St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole is in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; for families living there:
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 33
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 7
- Children hurt
- 3
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 33 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 7 serious and 25 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 2 on a bicycle.
6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is 24 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole
Will you get a place at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole.
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole publishes last distance offered figures, but none for St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
96%
Near capacity
1,057 pupils
1,097 places
40 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Poole
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Poole
Across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council
Places available
4,119
Applications
3,624
Got 1st preference
86.4%
Got preferred school
96.9%
All secondary applications across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
185
SEN Support
56
EHC Plans
22.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
1,093
Total Pupils
545
Boys
548
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
73
Teachers
15.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£54,133
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,815
Per pupil
£6400k
Total funding
£127k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
7.4%
Overall absence
20.1%
Persistent absence
930
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole
What are GCSE results like at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
In the 2026 results, pupils at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole achieved an Attainment 8 score of 46.7. 43% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole's Ofsted rating?
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole's most recent Ofsted inspection, in November 2022, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in April 2013, it was rated Good.
How close to St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole do you need to live?
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole published that the last place offered at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole under its "Category 6c" criterion went to a family 0.949 miles away. This is the authority's own figure for one year, not a fixed boundary - the cut-off moves with the number of applications, so treat it as a guide rather than a guarantee.
Is it hard to get a place at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole was close to full in 2025, at 96% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
Classes at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole average 21.7 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole has around 1093 pupils on roll. 13% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
7.4% of sessions were missed at St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole in 2024/25. 20.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
Apply through Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole's coordinated admissions process, naming St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 33 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 7 serious and 25 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot and 2 on a bicycle. 6 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is 24 (the median across 117 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole?
St Edward's Roman Catholic/Church of England School, Poole is at Dale Valley Road, Oakdale, Poole, Dorset, BH15 3HY.
Sources: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole admissions booklet; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)