Dursley's schools are one of the town's best arguments for moving here. Nearly nine in ten graded schools in the county are good or outstanding. The nearest primary is a short walk for most families. Secondary isn't much further. Getting a place is the harder part, and the council's admissions rules decide that, however close you live.
Ofsted rates 136 of the 156 graded schools and settings in Gloucestershire good or better, which is close to nine in ten. That's a figure for the whole county, and Dursley's own handful of schools are part of it. Nine are outstanding, 19 require improvement and one is inadequate. Another 95 settings across Gloucestershire have no published grade yet, so they're left out of those counts. That isn't a mark against them.
Distance is on a family's side here. The Department for Transport's 2019 modelling puts the nearest primary about 12 minutes' walk from the average Dursley home and the nearest secondary about 16 minutes, or roughly 9 minutes by car. Places are allocated under the council's published admissions rules, so buying the house nearest a school doesn't buy a place there, and families who assume it does are the ones refreshing their inbox on offer day. Look up how far the last child admitted lived from the gate in recent years for the school you want, and compare that with the house you're looking at. In this town an eleven-year-old can still walk to school, which is more than most of the adults here can say about their journey to work.
At primary age, Dursley Church of England Primary Academy carries the town's name. The surrounding villages have their own schools, including Uley Church of England Primary School up the valley and North Nibley CofE Primary School to the south, with more primaries spread through the neighbouring parishes. Rednock School is the local secondary, and the area also has Peak Academy. None of those individual grades are given here, so check each school's own Ofsted report and don't lean on the county average when you choose between them. A family weighing a village primary against the town one is choosing between two good walks, more often than between a good school and a bad one.
Schools are one of Dursley's real strengths. A family who moves here can expect a solid choice within walking distance, and the only real argument left is over admissions.