The Thomas Hardye School
Secondary · Academy converter · Mixed · Dorset
Queen's Avenue, Dorchester, DT1 2ET
70
headline score
Ranking (England)
—
No ranked results
Ofsted
Not judged
Graded 04/02/2025
Application demand
—
No council data
Attendance
88.8%
33.0% persistently absent
At a glance
Pupils on roll
2,014
Capacity used
Nearly full94%
2,138 places
GCSE rank (England)
—
KS2 rank (England)
—
Details
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 13–18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sixth form
- Yes
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Headteacher
- N St J F Rutherford
- Address
- Queen's Avenue, Dorchester, DT1 2ET
- Phone
- 01305266064
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward / constituency
- Dorchester West · West Dorset
- Area
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- URN
- 137163
Pupils
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free school meals | 19% | — | — |
| English as additional language | 5% | — | — |
| SEN support | 16% | — | — |
Local deprivation (IDACI quintile 2 of 5)
1 = least deprived area, 5 = most deprived. Context only.
Academy trust: WESSEX MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
2,014 pupils · 2,138 places. Intake figures describe the school's community — they aren't good or bad.
Ofsted inspections
- 25
04 February 2025
Full graded inspection
Not judged overall effectivenessSixth form Good Personal development Good Quality of education Good Safeguarding effective Yes Behaviour and attitudes Good Leadership and management Good
Attendance
2024/2025 school year · 1,354 pupils
Attendance
88.8%
Share of sessions attended · England 91.1%
Overall absence
11.2%
Sessions missed, any reason · England 8.9%
Persistent absence
33.0%
Pupils missing 10%+ of school · England 26.7%
Severe absence
5.9%
Pupils missing 50%+ of school · England 2.3%
Unauthorised absence
2.1%
Absences the school didn't approve
Persistent absence by year
Source: Department for Education, pupil absence by school (pupils aged 5–15). Lower absence is better. England figures are approximate 2023/24 averages.
GCSE results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 48.9 | — | — |
| Progress 8 score | 0.30 | — | 0.00 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 48% | — | — |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 70% | — | — |
| EBacc average point score | 4.41 | — | — |
Progress 8 band
A-level results
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 35.53 | — | — |
Average grade: B- (England B-)
GCSE results over time
Attainment 8 by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 49.8 | 46 |
| Grade 5+ English & maths | 49.9% | 46% |
| Grade 4+ English & maths | 71.1% | 65% |
| Entering EBacc | 58.1% | 40% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.48 | 4.1 |
| Pupils in cohort | 439 | — |
How different pupils progress (GCSE, 2023/2024)
Progress 8 by group. 0 is the national average; above 0 means pupils do better than similar children elsewhere.
A-level results over time
Average points per entry by year (2020 and 2021 exams were cancelled)
| Result | School | England (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Average points per entry | 34.81 | 35 |
| Average grade | C+ | — |
| AAB or better (2 facilitating) | 15.3% | 17% |
| A-level students | 336 | — |
Results by subject
Official DfE exam results for summer 2025. Green, amber and red compare against typical results in England; subjects with fewer than 5 entries aren't rated.
GCSE
Grade 4 is a standard pass, 5 a strong pass, 7 equals the old A.
| Subject | Entries | Grade 7+ | Grade 5+ | Grade 4+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 434 | 21% | 57% | 74% | |
| Mathematics | 432 | 23% | 57% | 80% | |
| English Literature | 423 | 20% | 56% | 76% | |
| Religious Studies | 385 | 12% | 42% | 60% | |
| Combined Science | 313 | 4% | 36% | 63% | |
| History | 215 | 23% | 52% | 63% | |
| Spanish | 177 | 12% | 42% | 61% | |
| Geography | 177 | 31% | 57% | 70% | |
| Design & Technology | 175 | 25% | 65% | 80% | |
| Physical Education | 160 | 16% | 48% | 59% | |
| French | 145 | 19% | 55% | 70% | |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 131 | 43% | 79% | 89% |
A level
| Subject | Entries | A* | A*–A | A*–B | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 118 | 13% | 31% | 48% | |
| Psychology | 81 | 6% | 19% | 51% | |
| Biology | 59 | 8% | 27% | 42% | |
| Geography | 52 | 0% | 21% | 50% | |
| History | 48 | 6% | 40% | 65% | |
| Physics | 45 | 13% | 27% | 53% | |
| English Literature | 38 | 8% | 16% | 55% | |
| Sociology | 36 | 14% | 22% | 61% | |
| Chemistry | 35 | 11% | 40% | 54% | |
| Design and Technology (Product Design) | 31 | 0% | 6% | 16% | |
| English Language | 30 | 3% | 17% | 47% | |
| Fine Art | 27 | 15% | 44% | 70% |
Oxbridge
Cambridge offers by year
Ranked #160 of 1,018 UK schools with Cambridge offers2
UCAS apply centre 10508: The Thomas Hardye School
| Cambridge admissions1 | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Applications | 8 |
| Offers | ≤5 |
| Success rate | — |
| Accepted offers | ≤5 |
1 Source: University of Cambridge, applications, offers and acceptances by UCAS apply centre. To protect privacy small counts are hidden: "<3" means 0–2 (up to 2023); "≤5" means 1–5 (from 2024). Success rate is only shown when exact numbers are published (England average is about 20%).
2 Schools ranked by number of offers; this doesn't account for school size. Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures, so they aren't shown.
Where students go next
| Measure | School | LA | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Higher education (university) | 44% | — | — |
| Apprenticeships | 4% | — | — |
| Any education or training | 49% | — | — |
Oxford/Cambridge application numbers aren't published per school in official data, so university progression is shown instead.
House prices near the school
Typical sold prices (Land Registry) within 1 km, last 12 months.
Loading prices…
Key application dates
National deadlines in England. Apply through Dorset council, not the school.
| Entry | Deadline | Offer day |
|---|---|---|
| Year 7 (secondary) | 31 October | 1 March (or next working day) |
Admissions policy: Non-selective. Check the school's own admissions rules on its website.
Source: Get Information About Schools and the DfE school and college performance tables (2023-2024); Oxbridge figures from the University of Cambridge's admissions by UCAS apply centre (Oxford doesn't publish per-school figures). Read the method.