Dorset Studio School

Secondary Free School Dorchester 📅 Term dates 2025–2026 🏅 Ofsted: Good 📊 Attainment 8: 34.1

Dorset Studio School is a mixed secondary free school in Dorchester, Dorset Council, teaching 332 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in March 2024. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 34.1 (England 46.1). Term dates and holidays for 2025–2026 are listed below.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Dorset Studio School.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
S5 Inspection · Inspected 5 Mar 2024 · Published 15 May 2024
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Dorset Studio School.

Dorset Studio School term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • Inset Day Monday 1 September 2025 Inset Day
  • Inset Day Tuesday 2 September 2025 Inset Day
  • Autumn Term Starts Wednesday 3 September 2025 Term
  • Inset Day Thursday 23 October 2025 Inset Day
  • Inset Day Friday 24 October 2025 Inset Day
  • Autumn Half Term Monday 27 October 2025 - Friday 31 October 2025 Holiday
  • Autumn Term Ends / Inset Day Friday 19 December 2025 Inset Day
  • Christmas Holiday Monday 22 December 2025 - Friday 2 January 2026 Holiday
  • Inset Day Monday 5 January 2026 Inset Day
  • Spring Term Starts Tuesday 6 January 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Monday 16 February 2026 - Friday 20 February 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Term Ends Friday 27 March 2026 Term
  • Easter Holiday Monday 30 March 2026 - Monday 13 April 2026 Holiday
  • Inset Day Monday 13 April 2026 Inset Day
  • Summer Term Starts Tuesday 14 April 2026 Term
  • Inset Day Friday 1 May 2026 Inset Day
  • Summer Half Term Monday 25 May 2026 - Friday 29 May 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term Ends Friday 10 July 2026 Term
  • Summer Holiday Monday 13 July 2026 - Return Date TBC Holiday
  • New Year's Day (Bank Holiday) Thursday 1 January 2026 Holiday
  • Good Friday (Bank Holiday) Friday 3 April 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Monday (Bank Holiday) Monday 6 April 2026 Holiday
  • Early May Bank Holiday Monday 4 May 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday Monday 25 May 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Monday 31 August 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day (Bank Holiday) Thursday 25 December 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day (Bank Holiday) Friday 26 December 2025 Holiday

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
34.1 Attainment 8 England 46.1
14.5% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
42.4% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Dorset Studio School with Dorset Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 34.1 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Dorset Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 34.1
Dorset Council 43.2 England 46.1 -12 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 14.5%
Dorset Council 40.7% England 45.4% -30.9 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 29.1
Dorset Council 31.1 England 34.9 -5.8 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 6.7
Dorset Council 15.8 England 15.5 -8.8 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 24.6%
Dorset Council 23.9% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 69
Attendance 42.4% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Dorset Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 42.4%
Dorset Council 19.5% England 17.8% +24.6 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 12.7%
Dorset Council 7.6% England 6.8% +6 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 88% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Dorset Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 88%
Dorset Council 94% England 92% -4 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 77%
Dorset Council 87% England 83% -6 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Dorset Studio School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Dorset Studio School than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.