Gillingham School
Voluntary controlled school in Gillingham, SP8 4QP, taking ages 11 to 18, 1,684 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 6.96 miles Dorset published for 2025/26, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
In 2025/26, the furthest child offered a place lived 6.96 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
How this compares: every Dorset school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 6.96 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26.
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Gillingham 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.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary. The labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside it; each opens the district's guide.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
One published year so far: 2025/26, from Dorset. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.
Source: Dorset, published admission distances, 2025/26
Two schools, both in reach
Two children, or a first and second preference? Add a second school to see where both are in reach, cheapest districts first. Only a school with a published distance can be added.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Dorset, 34 of 105 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (32.4%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Gillingham School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| St George's Church of England School, Bourton Both in reach | Primary | 3.63 mi 2025/26 | 3.6 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | No religious character |
| Sixth form | Has a sixth form |
| How full | 1,684 pupils in 1,850 places (91% full) |
| Local authority | Dorset |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 04 July 2023 |
| Attainment 8 | 42.7 (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | -0.18 |
| 2022/23 | -0.16 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Gillingham School
| Girls and boys | 49.0% girls, 51.0% boys |
| English as an additional language | 5.0% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 18.8% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where Gillingham School's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 51.3% |
| Sixth-form college | 0.4% |
| Further education college | 29.0% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% |
| Employment | 3.6% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 5.7% |
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 Gillingham School
Cheapest district inside the 6.96 miles: BA9, median £197,500. Dearest: SP8, £330,000.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| BA9 | Somerset | 6.3 mi | £197,500 81 sales |
| SP7 | Dorset | 4.3 mi | £257,500 170 sales |
| BA8 | Somerset | 6.9 mi | £270,000 58 sales |
| SP8 | Dorset | 1.0 mi | £330,000 162 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 6.96 miles the school admitted from in 2025/26, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.
How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.
Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide
Getting to Gillingham School by bus
Best-served stop: Barn Surgery, 0.2 mi away, with 2.2 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 07:53, last 17:53.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School and Leisure Centre | 67 yd | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | CR2M, CR3 |
| Gillingham School | 0.1 mi | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 625 |
| Barn Surgery | 0.2 mi | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | CR2M, 625, CR3 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Gillingham School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around SP8: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at SP8 4QP, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Gillingham School?
Gillingham 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 6.96 miles away, per Dorset.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Gillingham School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 6.96 miles was enough in 2025/26. 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 Gillingham 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 →
Put Gillingham School's figure on your own site
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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.