The Thomas Hardye School

The Thomas Hardye School is performing well overall. Inspectors found good provision across the key areas they judged, including sixth-form provision, and noted that the school remains highly ambitious for all pupils and students. Many pupils achieve exceptionally well, the curriculum is broad, teachers are knowledgeable, behaviour is calm and orderly, and the extra-curricular offer is a significant strength. The sixth form is vibrant and ambitious, and the school’s two resourced provisions provide high-quality support for pupils with complex communication needs and physical disabilities. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement concern consistency. Curriculum delivery is not uniformly effective, including in the sixth form; in some lessons, activities do not support pupils to learn well, and monitoring of curriculum impact is stronger in some subjects than others. Where provision is weaker, pupils with SEND learn less effectively. Personal, social, health and citizenship education is well planned but not always well delivered, so some pupils’ understanding of healthy relationships and fundamental British values is less secure. This was the school’s first routine inspection since 2015, and it is part of Wessex Multi-academy Trust. Inspectors asked the trust to ensure staff use the most effective teaching approaches and to strengthen systems for checking curriculum impact across all subjects.

Strengths

• Highly ambitious culture for all pupils and sixth-form students
• Strong academic focus with many pupils achieving exceptionally well
• Broad curriculum offering a wide range of subjects and courses
• Passionate and highly knowledgeable teachers
• High expectations for behaviour with a calm and orderly school
• Warm and respectful relationships between staff and pupils
• Significant extra-curricular provision, including CCF, Duke of Edinburgh, sport, music and clubs
• Vibrant and ambitious sixth form with strong outcomes
• High-quality support in the two resourced SEND provisions
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Well-planned personal, social, health and citizenship education supplemented by assemblies and workshops
• High-quality information and guidance on next steps, including apprenticeships and universities
• Leaders are mindful of staff wellbeing and workload

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent curriculum delivery across some subjects and the sixth form
• Some teaching activities do not effectively support pupils’ learning
• Curriculum monitoring and oversight are uneven across subjects
• Actions to address weaker curriculum areas have not yet had enough impact
• Pupils with SEND learn less effectively where curriculum delivery is weaker
• PSHE delivery is not always effective because staff expertise varies
• Some pupils’ understanding of healthy relationships and fundamental British values is less secure
• Leaders’ oversight of some curriculum areas is not sufficiently robust
• Trust systems for checking curriculum impact need strengthening

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Thomas Hardye School attended 88.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 7.3% of pupils at The Thomas Hardye School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Thomas Hardye School had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 17.3% of pupils at The Thomas Hardye School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Thomas Hardye School received £7,731 and spent £7,571 for each of its 2,051 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,230,000 (£1,087 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Wessex Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,381 and spending £7,135 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Dorchester · Dorset local authority: places and applications

The Thomas Hardye School is part of Wessex Multi Academy Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Dorchester Middle School Dorchester
• Damers First School Dorchester
• St Osmund's Church of England Middle School Dorchester
• Manor Park Church of England First School Dorchester
• St Mary's Church of England Middle School, Puddletown Dorchester
• Frome Valley CofE First School Dorchester
• Puddletown Church of England First School Dorchester
• Piddle Valley Church of England First School Dorchester
• Milborne St Andrew First School Blandford Forum
• Bere Regis Primary and Preschool Wareham

What is The Thomas Hardye School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Thomas Hardye School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was The Thomas Hardye School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Thomas Hardye School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does The Thomas Hardye School have?

The Thomas Hardye School has 2,014 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Thomas Hardye School cover?

The Thomas Hardye School for pupils aged 13 to 18.

Where is The Thomas Hardye School?

The Thomas Hardye School is at Queen's Avenue, Dorchester, Dorset, DT1 2ET.