Editing Dorset (section)

==Education==
{{see also|List of schools in Dorset|List of schools in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole}}
Responsibility for [[state school]]s in Dorset is divided between two [[local education authority|local education authorities]]: Dorset Council, which covers the majority of the county, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council. Most of the Dorset Council area operates a two-tier [[Comprehensive school|comprehensive system]] whereby pupils attend a primary school before completing their education at secondary school but Corfe Mullen, Dorchester, Ferndown and [[West Moors]] maintain a [[Three-tier education|three-tier system]] ([[first school|first]], [[middle school|middle]] and high school).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/education-and-training/schools-and-learning/pdfs/parents-guide-to-school-admissions-2018-19.pdf |title=Admissions to schools |page=5 |year=2018 |work=Dorset For You |publisher=[[Dorset County Council]] |access-date=30 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811163651/https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/education-and-training/schools-and-learning/pdfs/parents-guide-to-school-admissions-2018-19.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Bournemouth operates a two-tier system; Poole operates two and three-tier systems.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://boroughofpoole.com/news/ref:N46BB286C33779/ |title=Landmark Decision For Poole Schools |publisher=[[Borough of Poole]] |date=11 May 2007 |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706170140/http://www.boroughofpoole.com/news/ref%3AN46BB286C33779/ |archive-date=6 July 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> BCP is one of the few local authorities in England to maintain selective education, containing four [[Single-sex education|single-sex]] [[grammar school]]s which select pupils on the basis of an [[eleven-plus]] examination. Some of the county's schools are [[Academy (English school)|academies]]—self-governing state schools which have become independent of their local education authority and are maintained directly by the [[Department for Education]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xls/a/publication%20list%20june%202011.xls |format=XLS |title=Sponsored Academies |publisher=[[Department for Education]] |year=2011 |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-date=8 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708124337/http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/xls/a/publication%20list%20june%202011.xls |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, the [[Progress 8 benchmark|Progress 8 score]] for schools in the Dorset Council area was ranked below average, and 39.6% of pupils gained at least Grade 5 or above in English and maths [[GCSE]]s matching the national average of 39.6%.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=835&geographic=la&phase=secondary |title=All schools and colleges in Dorset |publisher=[[gov.uk]] |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811194324/https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=835&geographic=la&phase=secondary |url-status=live}}</ref> Poole recorded an above average Progress 8 score and 54% of pupils achieved Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=836&geographic=la&phase=secondary |title=All schools and colleges in Poole |publisher=[[gov.uk]] |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811163333/https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=836&geographic=la&phase=secondary |url-status=live}}</ref> Bournemouth was ranked as average and 47.8% of pupils achieved Grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=837&geographic=la&phase=secondary |title=All schools and colleges in Bournemouth |publisher=[[gov.uk]] |access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811164011/https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=phase&region=837&geographic=la&phase=secondary |url-status=live}}</ref>

Dorset contains a range of privately funded independent schools. Many are [[boarding school]]s which also take [[Day school|day pupils]], such as the co-educational [[Canford School]] which is built around a 19th-century Grade I listed [[manor house]]; and [[Sherborne School]], a boys' school founded in the 16th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sherborne.org/school/School_History |title=A short history of Sherborne School |publisher=[[Sherborne School]] |year=2011 |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116041748/http://www.sherborne.org/school/School_History |url-status=live}}</ref>

Four of the county's five largest towns contain a [[further education]] college: [[Weymouth College]], [[Kingston Maurward College]] in Dorchester and [[Bournemouth and Poole College]] which is one of the largest in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/partnerinstitutions.html#bournemouthpoole |title=Partner colleges |publisher=[[Bournemouth University]] |year=2011 |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104022601/http://media.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/partnerinstitutions.html#bournemouthpoole |archive-date=4 November 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Dorset has two higher education establishments situated in the heart of the county's south east conurbation. [[Bournemouth University]] has facilities across Bournemouth and Poole and over 17,000 students.<ref name="BU history">{{cite web |url=http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/introduction_to_bu/history_university.html |title=University history |publisher=[[Bournemouth University]] |year=2011 |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924175956/http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/introduction_to_bu/history_university.html |archive-date=24 September 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Previously named Bournemouth Polytechnic, it was granted university status as a result of the [[Further and Higher Education Act 1992]].<ref name="BU history"/> [[The Arts University Bournemouth]] is situated between the border of Poole and Bournemouth. It became a higher education institute in 2001 and was given degree-awarding powers in 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/student/into-university/az-uni-colleges/the-arts-university-college-at-bournemouth-1733667.html |title=The Arts University College at Bournemouth |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=1 May 2011 |access-date=23 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711230441/http://www.independent.co.uk/student/into-university/az-uni-colleges/the-arts-university-college-at-bournemouth-1733667.html |archive-date=11 July 2011 |url-status=dead |location=London}}</ref> It was granted full university status in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20464013 |title='New' universities set to be created in England |work=[[BBC News]] |date=27 November 2012 |access-date=7 January 2013 |archive-date=17 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017020314/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-20464013 |url-status=live}}</ref>