St Osmund's Church of England Middle School
Academy converter in Dorchester, DT1 2DZ, taking ages 9 to 13, 714 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 4.47 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.
Sign up and the homes you open are kept in My properties, so this list is here on any phone or computer.
Will an address get in?
In 2025/26, the furthest child offered a place lived 4.47 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 4.47 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26.
St Osmund's Church of England Middle School: 4.47 miles, 2025/26 St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster: 1.47 miles, 2025/26, published by Dorset
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When St Osmund's Church of England Middle 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 and faith criteria 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 both circles; 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
Where St Osmund's Church of England Middle School and St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster admitted from 1.47 miles in 2025/26, published by Dorset. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside both published distances, cheapest first by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is DT2 at £312,500. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.
| District | Area | From St Osmund's Church of England Middle School | From St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DT2 | Dorset | 3.2 mi | 1.2 mi | £312,500 41 sales |
Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Distances measured from each district's centre to each school's point on the Department for Education register.
Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.
Drop St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster and go back to one school.
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 St Osmund's Church of England Middle School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester Both in reach | Primary | 0.39 mi 2025/26 | 0.2 mi |
| The Prince of Wales School Both in reach | Primary | 0.87 mi 2025/26 | 1.0 mi |
| St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster Both in reach | Primary | 1.47 mi 2025/26 | 2.2 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | Church of England |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 714 pupils in 720 places (99% full) |
| Trust | WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST |
| Local authority | Dorset |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 21 September 2022 |
| Meeting the expected standard | 58.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Meeting the expected standard |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 58.0% |
| 2023/24 | 51.0% |
| 2022/23 | 48.0% |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to St Osmund's Church of England Middle School
| Girls and boys | 48.3% girls, 51.7% boys |
| English as an additional language | 6.9% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 17.1% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
What it costs to live within reach of St Osmund's Church of England Middle School
Cheapest district inside the 4.47 miles: DT1, median £285,000. Dearest: DT2, £312,500.
| District | Area | From the school | Median sold price |
|---|---|---|---|
| DT1 | Dorset | 0.8 mi | £285,000 103 sales |
| DT2 | Dorset | 3.2 mi | £312,500 41 sales |
How to read this
The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 4.47 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 St Osmund's Church of England Middle School by bus
Best-served stop: Rothesay Road, 137 yd away, with 0.6 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 08:21, last 15:30.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Osmunds School | 63 yd | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | CR5 |
| Melstock Avenue Shops | 131 yd | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 |
| Rothesay Road | 137 yd | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2, CR5 |
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 St Osmund's Church of England Middle School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around DT1: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at DT1 2DZ, 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 St Osmund's Church of England Middle School?
St Osmund's Church of England Middle 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 4.47 miles away, per Dorset.
How close do I need to live to get a place at St Osmund's Church of England Middle School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 4.47 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 St Osmund's Church of England Middle School guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings and faith criteria 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 St Osmund's Church of England Middle 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.
Show the badge and its code
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.