Wikipedia

The Thomas Hardye School

The Thomas Hardye School is a secondary academy school in Dorchester, Dorset, England. It is also part of the DASP group.

The Thomas Hardye School
The Thomas Hardye School central building, known as "The Spine"
Address
Map
Queen's Avenue

Dorchester
,
Dorset
,
DT1 2ET

England
Coordinates50°42′30″N 2°27′13″W / 50.70838°N 2.45372°W / 50.70838; -2.45372
Information
TypeAcademy
MottoScientia et Veritas - Knowledge and truth
Established1579
Sister schoolThe Doon School
Department for Education URN137163 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadteacherNick Rutherford
GenderCoeducational
Age13 to 18
Enrolment2,140
AlumniHardyeans[1]
Former nameHardye's School
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

History

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Grammar school

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The school is named after Thomas Hardye of Melcombe Regis and later Frampton. Hardye was a property owner who endowed the Dorchester "free" school in 1579, ten years after its completion by the town. It is unknown how old the original school was, given that the 1569 building was constructed to replace an older, damaged school building.[2] Hardye was an ancestor of novelist Thomas Hardy and Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Hardy[3] His monument is on the south wall of St. Peter's Church. The Tudor grammar school offered free education to boys of the town and neighbourhood. The building was destroyed in a 1613 fire,[2] but was rebuilt in a few years and later flourished under the Puritan regime of Revd. John White. An oak screen was installed into the reconstructed school, alleged to have been salvaged from a Spanish Galleon. The oak screen was later moved between buildings and structures and remained part of the school until 2021.[4] It survived the doldrums of the 18th century, though at times having very few scholars, and struggled through the first half of the 19th century. The Charity Commission eventually closed it whilst it was rebuilt, reopening in 1883.[3] It was known as Dorchester Grammar School until approximately 1952, when the name Hardye's School was adopted as a reminder of the 16th century founder and links to the Hardye family.

Though he had as a child attended Isaac Last's rival establishment in Durngate Street, the novelist Thomas Hardy laid one of the foundation stones for the school's new building on the out-of-town Fordington site in 1927.[citation needed] The land had previously belonged to the Duchy of Cornwall, and the new building was formally opened in 1928 by the Duke of Cornwall, the then Prince of Wales, and remained the 'Hardye's' site until 1992. The Memorial Gates, dedicated in 1957, escaped demolition and were moved to the new Thomas Hardye School. Dorchester Grammar School for Girls was opened in around 1930, and Dorchester Modern School some time after the Education Act 1944. These schools formed the basis of the Thomas Hardye School.

Comprehensive

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In 1980, Dorchester's secondary schools changed from the grammar school system (with three schools: separate boys’ and girls’ grammar schools and a mixed secondary modern) to comprehensive. Dorchester Grammar School for Girls combined with the female half of Dorchester Secondary Modern to form Castlefield School, based on the site of the Dorchester Secondary Modern School, while the boys of the Secondary Modern moved to the site of Hardye's School. The boys’ school had boarding facilities until 1982. The current school is a merger of the former Hardye's School (boys) and Castlefield School (girls) in 1990. The school moved to The Castlefield School site in 1992. The Hardye's School site was subsequently sold in 1995 and developed into housing.

On Friday 12 December 2008, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the school to officially open the newly constructed library and sports hall.

Academy

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On 1 August 2011, the Thomas Hardye School officially gained academy status under the UK Government scheme.[5]

Removal of houses

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In the school year starting 2022, the current headteacher Nick Rutherford, has installed a plan to remove the House system and instead replace it with a Year group based system. Houses up until this point had been advertised using coloured ties,[6] however this has adapted to the Year group system.[7][8]

Year group system in school year 2023–2024
Year Group Colour of tie
Year 9 Blue
Year 10 Red
Year 11 Silver

The reasons for this change include:

  • Differentiating between year groups more easily
  • Consistency of information - Rather than assemblies for houses, assemblies will now be in year groups this means that only relevant information is given to the relevant year group. At the same time.

Cyber Attack

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The school suffered a cyber attack on Sunday morning, 21 May 2023, affecting its servers and limiting use of the local network, associated materials and email. The attack was accompanied by a ransom demand. As of August 2023 the situation is unresolved and being investigated by the National Cyber Security Centre and the Police.[9]

Headmasters

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  • Robert Cheke (1595– )
  • Gabriel Reeves
  • Samuel Crumwelholme (1657)
  • Henry Dolling (1657– )
  • Conyers Place
  • Rev. William Thornton
  • John Jacob
  • Rev. Edward Cozens
  • Rev. Edward Lee
  • Rev. John Henchman
  • Rev. John Hubbock, (1749– )
  • Rev. John Watson
  • Rev. John Cutler
  • Rev. Henry John Richman
  • Rev. Evan Davies, AB (1814– )
  • Ralph Hill 1927–55
  • Anthony Hamilton 1955–74
  • W M Thomas 1974–82
  • P Close 1982–88
  • Malin 1988–91
  • A N Moore 1991–92
  • Iain Melvin 1988–2010[10] (new site)
  • Michael Foley 2011–2021
  • Nick Rutherford 2021–

Admissions

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The school provides government-funded education for children from Year 9 to Year 11, and takes them through GCSE and BTEC courses. It also has an integrated sixth form which takes pupils through A-Levels and AVCEs.

Sixth form

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The school has the largest integrated sixth form in the United Kingdom which shares teachers, resources and facilities with the 'lower school'.[11]

From 2008 to 2015 it offered the International Baccalaureate (IB).[citation needed]

The school has a partnership with local land-based college Kingston Maurward, offering practical alternatives to traditional A-levels.[12]

Extracurricular activities

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Clubs

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Ancient Greek Club

Badminton

Fitness

Homework Club

Percussion Ensemble

A-Level Spanish Club

Dance Club

Football

GCSE French Club

Girls Rugby

Lego Club

Monopoly Club

Music Tech Club

Netball

Rugby

THS Show Rehearsals

CCF

CCF DofE

Audition prep

The school currently has a CCF (Combined Cadet Force) that has been running for the last 100 years.[when?][citation needed] The CCF has an Army contingent as well as an RAF section. They train regularly and compete on a national level. The Army contingent is cap-badged to the Royal Tank Regiment as of the third of July 2023. They were previously badged to the Rifles was formerly Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and prior to that the Wessex Regiment. Also attached is a Drum Corps that performs annually at the Remembrance day parade, and regularly at other events such as school music performances and many other external events.[citation needed]

Model United Nations

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The Sixth Form's Model United Nations club regularly attend BISMUN (Bath) and BGSMUN (Bristol), as well as hosting its own in the summer.[13] It has also sent delegates to MUNs abroad.

Debating club

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The school has a Debating Society, which has represented the school in the National Finals of the Oxford Union Debating Competition.[14][better source needed]

International

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UNESCO status

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In 2010, the school was awarded the UNESCO school status (one of just 54 in the UK) for the "global outlook of students" at the Hardye's. UNESCO aims to promote quality education as well as international perspectives in schools and such values as human rights, mutual respect and cultural diversity. The Thomas Hardye School has also been declared a 'World School' by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO).[15] Much of this recognition is thanks to a pupil who gained the title of UK Young Scientist of the Year.[16]

BBC World Olympic Dreams

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After Sports Voice submitted an entry into the BBC scheme (which sees a UK school twinned with a former school of a London 2012 Olympic athlete), the Thomas Hardye School was twinned with The Doon School, in the northern Indian city of Dehradun.[17] The all-boys private school is one of India's oldest education institutions and was the school of India's first individual Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra. The schools communicate regularly and are represented by a member of staff and pupil who arrange projects to exchange culture and prepare for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.[18][19]

Along with all the schools in Dorchester, Thomas Hardye has been part of the DASP Olympic Torch Relay in celebration of the Olympics.[20][21]

Partner schools

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The school is twinned/associated with:

Facilities

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Library

Canteen

Students can go to the canteen for having breakfast, lunch and during morning break. There is a weekly time table for the canteen.

Canteen opening time:

Breakfast: 8.15 am-8.45 am

Morning break: 11.20 am

Lunch:12.40 pm

All departments have IT rooms. The school has a theatre (refurbished in June 2022)[29] and a library with over 30,000 books. The school also uses the neighbouring artificial pitch and pools of the local sports centre operated by the not-for-profit trust 1610.[30] The school has playing fields.

Notable former pupils

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Hardyeans Club". www.hardyeansclub.com. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "School History".
  3. ^ a b "The Origins of The Thomas Hardye School". The Thomas Hardye School. Retrieved 27 October 2021.[dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Campaign to save school's ancient oak screen put up for sale at auction". 15 September 2023.
  5. ^ Pearce, Lucy (7 August 2011). "Thomas Hardye School in Dorchester officially gains academy status". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Previous Uniform Policy - Thomas Hardye School". thomas-hardye.net. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Prospectus" (PDF). p. 6. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Updated Uniform Policy - Thomas Hardye School". The Thomas Hardye School. 17 August 2022. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  9. ^ Bevins, Trevor (23 May 2023). "Dorchester school IT system held to ransom in cyber attack". BBC News. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  10. ^ Hogger, Harry (17 December 2010). "Dr Iain Melvin says farewell to Thomas Hardye School". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  11. ^ "The Tatler guide to the best state secondary schools". Tatler. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Dorset Studio School". 22 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Clubs - Thomas Hardye School". www.thomas-hardye.net. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  14. ^ "News - The Thomas Hardye School". Thomas-hardye.dorset.sch.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  15. ^ Tourgout, James (31 March 2010). "UN status for Thomas Hardye School". Dorset Echo. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Bright spark from Dorchester wins UK Young Scientist of the Year". Dorset Echo. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Schools Spotlight on Team Abhinav Bindra". BBC News. 8 April 2011.
  18. ^ "Olympic twinned schools compete". BBC News. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Olympic Dreams Success for the Thomas Hardye School". Archived from the original on 20 October 2021.
  20. ^ "News - The Thomas Hardye School". Thomas-hardye.dorset.sch.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  21. ^ "Dorchester Area Schools Partnership". Dasp.org.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  22. ^ "News - The Thomas Hardye School". Thomas-hardye.dorset.sch.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  23. ^ "News Bytes - The Thomas Hardye School". Thomas-hardye.dorset.sch.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  24. ^ "Humanities College Newsletter - Issue 2 - Summer 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2019.
  25. ^ "Grace Secondary School - Newsletter". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013.
  26. ^ "A Guide for Students and Parents 2012-13" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  27. ^ Thomas Hardye School [@thomashardye] (5 February 2013). "Our partner school..." (Tweet) – via Twitter./photo/1
  28. ^ "News - The Thomas Hardye School". Thomas-hardye.dorset.sch.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  29. ^ "New Thomas Hardye's theatre boost for Dorchester - Dorset Echo". dorsetecho.co.uk. July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  30. ^ "Work Starts On Huge New Leisure Complex - Heart Dorset News". Heart.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  31. ^ Hogger, Harry (8 March 2013). "Newly elected county politician hopes to outline youth issues at next meeting". The Dorset Echo. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  32. ^ "UK PARLIAMENT, MPs and Lords". Parliament UK. Archived from the original on 13 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
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