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Colehill First School

Academy converter in Wimborne, BH21 2LZ, taking ages 5 to 9, 148 on roll.

Good Ofsted, May 2023
1.02 mi Admitted from, 2025/26
99% Full

Will an address get in?

In 2025/26, the furthest child offered a place lived 1.02 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.

The circle is 1.02 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26.

This is not a catchment area. 1.02 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Colehill First 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 Colehill First School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
Hayeswood First School Both in reach Primary 0.81 mi 2025/26 0.2 mi
St Michael's Church of England Middle School, Colehill Both in reach Secondary 3.43 mi 2025/26 0.6 mi
Wimborne First School and Nursery Both in reach Primary 1.13 mi 2025/26 1.7 mi
Ferndown Upper School Both in reach Secondary 5.15 mi 2025/26 2.2 mi
Pamphill Church of England First School Both in reach Primary 4.56 mi 2025/26 2.6 mi
St James Church of England First School Both in reach Primary 3.55 mi 2025/26 2.6 mi

The distance as a picture

Colehill First School catchment area map: the 1.02 mile admission distance, 2025/26 and the postcode districts inside it
Drawn to scale from the published figure, with the districts whose centre falls inside. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 148 pupils in 150 places (99% full)
TrustINITIO LEARNING TRUST
Local authorityDorset

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Good, inspected 10 May 2023

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

Who goes to Colehill First School

Girls and boys54.7% girls, 45.3% boys
English as an additional language1.4% of pupils
Free school meals9.5% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

What it costs to live within reach of Colehill First School

Cheapest district inside the 1.02 miles: BH21, median £500,000.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
BH21 Dorset 1.0 mi £500,000 66 sales
How to read this

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 1.02 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 Colehill First School by bus

Best-served stop: First School, 136 yd away, with 1.3 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 06:33, last 23:29.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
First School133 yd1.20.81.013A, 704, 95, C13
First School136 yd1.30.81.013A, 704, C13
Colehill Pharmacy0.2 mi1.20.81.013A, C13

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 Colehill First School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around BH21: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at BH21 2LZ, 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 Colehill First School?

Colehill First 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 1.02 miles away, per Dorset.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Colehill First School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 1.02 miles was enough in 2025/26, and at 99% 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 Colehill First 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 Colehill First School's figure on your own site

A small badge with the published distance that links back here, for a school website, parents' group or forum.

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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.