Schools in Sherborne
Dorset · 15 schools
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 5 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Dorset (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Dorset (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Schools in Sherborne (15)
- Thornford CofE Primary School
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 6QY
Ofsted: Outstanding (2014)KS2: 70% expected (2025)82% of first choices got in - Charlton Horethorne Church of England Primary School
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 4NL
Ofsted: Good (2023)KS2: 42% expected (2024) - Sherborne Abbey Church of England Primary School
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 6AQ
Ofsted: Good (2015)New report cardKS2: 57% expected (2025) - Sherborne Primary School
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 4AJ
Ofsted: Good (2012)New report cardKS2: 62% expected (2025)96% of first choices got in - St Andrew's Church of England Primary School
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 6LS
Ofsted: Good (2021)New report cardKS2: 59% expected (2025) - St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 6RH
Ofsted: Good (2022)New report cardKS2: 66% expected (2025) - The Gryphon School
Secondary · Ages 11-18 · DT9 4EQ
Ofsted: Good (2014)Attainment 8: 47.4 (2026)87% of first choices got in - Trent Young's CofE Primary School
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 4SW
Ofsted: Good (2014)KS2: 100% expected (2025)80% of first choices got in - All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Primary · Ages 4-11 · DT9 5NQ
- Milborne Port Primary School
Primary · Ages 2-11 · DT9 5EP
- Sherborne Preparatory School
Independent · Ages 3-14 · Independent · DT9 3NY
- Sherborne School
Senior · Ages 13-19 · Independent · DT9 3AP
Attainment 8: 14.9 (2026)Grammar (11-plus) - Sherborne School for Girls
Senior · Ages 11-19 · Independent · DT9 3QN
Attainment 8: 28.7 (2026)Grammar (11-plus)
By type:Primary schools in Sherborne (9)Senior schools in Sherborne (2)All-through schools in Sherborne (2)Secondary schools in Sherborne (1)Independent schools in Sherborne (1)
15
9 primary · 1 secondary
4,791
90% capacity used
2
0 outstanding · 2 good
5,318
527 spare places
Ofsted Ratings
Best Schools in Sherborne
View the full league table - ranked by Ofsted, Progress 8, KS2 results and more
Best Schools in Dorset
Compare all schools across the county
Area Performance (2026)
Attainment 8
30.5
GCSE Eng+Maths
11.1%
School Capacity & Demand
Housing Growth Detected
650 new homes approved nearby. This could generate an estimated +163 primary and +117 secondary pupils.
Source: MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years)
Primary Schools
85% occupied · 246 spare places
Secondary Schools
105% occupied · 74 over capacity
Questions parents ask about schools in Sherborne
How many schools are there in Sherborne?
Sherborne has 15 open schools: 9 state primary, 2 state secondary or all-through and 4 independent.
Source: DfE Get Information About Schools
Which schools in Sherborne are rated Outstanding?
1 school in Sherborne was rated Outstanding at its most recent graded Ofsted inspection: Thornford CofE Primary School. Counting Good as well, 100% of the 9 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.
Source: Ofsted
Which primary schools in Sherborne have the best SATs results?
Of the 6 primary schools in Sherborne with 2025 Key Stage 2 results, the highest shares of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading and maths were at Trent Young's CofE Primary School (100% in reading, 100% in maths); Thornford CofE Primary School (67% in reading, 73% in maths); and St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas (63% in reading, 69% 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.
Trent Young's CofE Primary SchoolThornford CofE Primary SchoolSt Mary's Church of England Primary School, Bradford Abbas
Source: DfE school performance data
Are there grammar schools in Sherborne?
No. None of the state secondary schools in Sherborne selects pupils by ability, so every state secondary here is comprehensive.
Source: DfE Get Information About Schools
Do schools in Sherborne have catchment areas?
Most state schools in Sherborne 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 Sherborne?
Apply to your council - Dorset or Somerset, 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.