Bournemouth School vs Poole Grammar School
Both are grammar schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, 5.3 miles apart. Side-by-side on official DfE, Ofsted and council admissions data.
Side by side
| Bournemouth School | Poole Grammar School | |
|---|---|---|
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary |
| Gender | Boys | Boys |
| Pupils on roll | 1,284 | 1,199 |
| Free school meals | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| Ofsted rating | Outstanding | Not judged |
| Attainment 8 — 2024/25 | 74.2 | 70.2 |
| A-level average points — 2024/25 | 40.24 | 40.02 |
| 11+ test board | GL Assessment | GL Assessment |
| Admission system | pass/fail then criteria order | pass/fail then criteria order |
| Places offered — 202627 | 179 | 177 |
| First preferences per place — higher means more competition for a first-preference place | 1.33 | 1.37 |
Qualifying scores
Bournemouth School
No fixed published pass mark. The four-school BCP consortium test (maths, English, verbal reasoning) is age-standardised, and each school determines eligibility and applies its own oversubscription criteria (with local priority elements). No cutoff score is pre-announced.
Poole Grammar School
No fixed published pass mark. The four-school BCP consortium test (maths, English, verbal reasoning) is age-standardised, and each school determines eligibility and applies its own oversubscription criteria (with local priority elements). No cutoff score is pre-announced.
Who gets priority
Where a school is oversubscribed, these are the first criteria applied, in order. This is usually what decides an application.
Bournemouth School
- Looked After/Previously Looked After Children (all given equal priority)
- Boys eligible for Pupil Premium, ranked by entrance test score
- A fixed quota of places assigned to the highest-scoring boys overall, regardless of catchment
- Remaining boys living in the designated catchment area (BH1-BH12/BH23 postcodes) not eligible for Pupil Premium, ranked
Source: school admissions policy.
Poole Grammar School
- Children looked after by a local authority and previously looked after children (including those who appear to the admission authority to have been in state car
- Children with an exceptional medical or social need to attend this particular school, supported by written professional evidence (where the LA or school include
- Children who will have a sibling on the roll of the school (or a linked infant/junior school, where the published arrangements say so) at the time of admission.
- Children living in the school's catchment / priority admission / designated / normal / geographical priority area (terminology varies by LA). Living in the area
- Children living nearest to the school, measured by the method in the published admission arrangements (commonly straight-line or shortest safe walking route fro
Source: la_default admissions policy.
Choosing between them
Both schools admit boys, so the decision usually comes down to the admission criteria above and how far each one reaches. The figures on this page are the published ones — they describe intakes and results, not what either school would be like for your child. The right choice depends on your family's own priorities and circumstances.
Other Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole comparisons
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