St James Church of England First School
Primary · Academy converter · Ages 2–9 · Wimborne, Dorset
Last distance offered · Reception 2026
3.551 miles
Published by Dorset Council · offers on 16 April 2026
2015–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
St James Church of England First School is a primary school in Wimborne, Dorset for ages 2–9 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Not judged, from the inspection on 4 February 2025. Dorset has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2015 to 2026 entry.
St James Church of England First School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2026 | 3.551 mi |
| Reception 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2021 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2020 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2019 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2015 | 🔒 With a pass |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- The last child offered a 2026 Reception place lived 3.551 miles away, 6th longest of the 31 Dorset primary schools with a published Reception 2026 last distance (this one included).
- Across those 31 schools the middle figure was 1.64 miles; the 2026 Reception distance here was further than in 2025 and nearer than in 2015.
- Reception 2026 had 25 first-choice applications for 25 offers; 24 offers went to first-choice families, and 1 first-choice family (4%) was not offered a place.
- Free school meal eligibility is 4.5% of pupils, against a middle figure of 12.3% across the 8 nearest primary schools in Dorset.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Dorset schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Gaunts Common, Wimborne, BH21 4JN
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 2–9
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Council
- Dorset
- Pupils on roll
- 134 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 4.5% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 22.3
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Not judged Inspected 4 February 2025
Strengths
- “St James is a friendly school in the heart of its community.”
- “Pupils flourish in its supportive atmosphere.”
- “They appreciate the kindness and warmth shown by staff.”
To improve
- “However, in a few subjects that have been more recently revised, pupils' knowledge is not as deep as in others.”
- “However, some staff do not consistently rectify misconceptions in pupils’ written work.”
- “As a result, some pupils continue to make the same errors in punctuation and letter formation.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 13 March 2025 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 25 first-preference applications, 25 offers in total, 24 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in Dorset.
- Witchampton Church of England First School 2.3 mi Good Last distance published
- Colehill First School 2.6 mi Good Last distance published
- Hayeswood First School 2.9 mi Good Last distance published
- Wimborne First School and Nursery 3.1 mi Good Last distance published
- St John's Church of England First School, Wimborne 3.2 mi Good Last distance published
- Pamphill Church of England First School 3.4 mi Good Last distance published
- St Mary's CofE First School & Nursery 3.7 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Three Legged Cross First and Nursery School 3.7 mi Good Last distance published