Schools in Wiltshire
254 open schools · Ofsted ratings, catchment areas and admission criteria · best primary schools · best secondary schools
Wiltshire has 237 state schools: 201 primary, 28 secondary. Between them they teach around 68,841 pupils. 208 have enough published data for a score, averaging 4.5 out of 10, and 7 score 8 or above.
28 have a sixth form. 37 take children from age three or under. 137 have a religious character, which usually means the school sets its own admissions criteria rather than the council's. 2 are selective and set an entrance test. How the score works.
Undersubscribed schools rated Good or Outstanding
These schools didn't fill on first preference in the latest admissions year, despite an Ofsted rating of Good or Outstanding — worth a look if you're chasing the same handful of famous names everyone else applies to.
How places are allocated in Wiltshire
Primary schools: Catchment areas historically set by parish/town boundary; LA publishes an interactive 'School Admissions Explorer' catchment finder. (source)
Most schools use the local authority's default scheme rather than a school-specific catchment map — see each school's page for its own designated/catchment area where one is published.
Wiltshire entrance test format
The two Wiltshire (Salisbury) grammar schools test separately, both with GL Assessment papers but different structures: 1. Bishop Wordsworth's School (boys) — two papers of about 50 minutes: Verbal Skills (English + verbal reasoning) and Mathematics + Non-Verbal/Spatial Reasoning. Multiple-choice, held at the school in the second half of September. 2. South Wilts Grammar School (girls) — three papers in one sitting with breaks: Mathematics (50 minutes, Year 5 curriculum plus early Year 6), English (45 minutes — linguistic skills, comprehension, spelling, punctuation) and Verbal Reasoning (50 minutes). No non-verbal reasoning. Separate registrations with each school; results arrive in October. A child applying to a Salisbury school and e.g. a Hampshire/Dorset school will face different formats — prepare per school.
Out-of-area applications
Wiltshire's two grammar schools are both in Salisbury and register SEPARATELY: Bishop Wordsworth's Church of England Grammar School (boys) and South Wilts Grammar School (girls). Each runs its own entrance test — register direct with each school (Bishop Wordsworth's registration historically runs late March to 1 September; check South Wilts' own window), with tests in the second half of September of Year 6. Children living outside Wiltshire can register — the schools draw from south Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset. Apply via your home LA's Common Application Form by 31 October. Check each school's oversubscription criteria: both use catchment/priority-area elements, and Bishop Wordsworth's is a Church of England school (check any faith-related criteria in its current policy).
Browse by town
Wiltshire covers several towns — jump straight to the schools in yours.
Key dates
| Entry year | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 2028 | Application deadline | 31 October 2027 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary application deadline | 15 January 2028 |
| Sept 2028 | Offer day | 1 March 2028 |
| Sept 2028 | Primary offer day | 17 April 2028 |
| Sept 2027 | Test date | 26 September 2026 (passed) |
| Sept 2027 | Application deadline | 31 October 2026 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary application deadline | 15 January 2027 |
| Sept 2027 | Offer day | 1 March 2027 |
| Sept 2027 | Primary offer day | 16 April 2027 |
| Sept 2026 | Application deadline | 31 October 2025 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary application deadline | 15 January 2026 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Offer day | 2 March 2026 (passed) |
| Sept 2026 | Primary offer day | 16 April 2026 (passed) |
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