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Lytchett Minster School

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Foundation school in Poole, BH16 6JD, taking ages 11 to 19, 1,624 on roll.

No current grade Ofsted
5.246 mi Admitted from, 2025/26
98% Full

Will an address get in?

In the 2025/26 round, the furthest-away child offered a place at Lytchett Minster School lived 5.246 miles away, according to Dorset. Put a postcode in and it is measured against that distance.

Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close on 31 October 2026, with offers on 1 March 2027. The address on the deadline is the one the council uses. How it works.

The circle is 5.246 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26. Real admission areas are not circular: this is the distance, not a boundary.

This is not a catchment area. Most English schools do not have one. When Lytchett Minster School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived. 5.246 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.

What kind of school this is

AdmissionsNon-selective
Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formHas a sixth form
How full 1,624 pupils in 1,650 places (98% full)
Local authorityDorset

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Attainment 8 46.8 (2024/25)
YearProgress 8
2024/25 not published
2023/24 +0.38
2022/23 +0.05

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Lytchett Minster School

Girls and boys52.3% girls, 47.7% boys
English as an additional language3.7% of pupils
Free school meals16.6% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Where Lytchett Minster School's Year 11 went next

Stayed for the sixth form42.7%
Sixth-form college0.0%
Further education college40.4%
Apprenticeship5.5%
Employment3.1%
No sustained destination recorded5.5%

DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.

What it costs to live within reach of Lytchett Minster School

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 5.246 miles the school admitted from in 2025/26, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is BH15 at £272,500; the dearest, BH18, £450,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
BH15 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 3.4 mi £272,500 89 sales
BH16 Dorset 0.5 mi £342,000 97 sales
BH17 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 3.4 mi £345,000 116 sales
BH14 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 5.2 mi £347,500 143 sales
BH18 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 2.9 mi £450,000 120 sales

Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing Lytchett Minster School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around BH16: ages, selection, and how full each one is →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report measures the distance from every nearby school to one address, alongside sold prices, flood risk, crime and the other checks on the same house.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for Lytchett Minster School?

Lytchett Minster School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2025/26 lived 5.246 miles away, per Dorset.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Lytchett Minster School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 5.246 miles was enough in 2025/26, and at 98% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.

Does buying a house near Lytchett Minster School guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Every Dorset school's distance

All Dorset schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Admission distance published by Dorset. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.