Admission & Appeals

In accordance with the Legal requirements, the Governors of The Thomas Hardye School (“the School”) publish their admissions policy. The arrangements are reviewed annually by the Governors.

Admissions Policy 2023-24

Admission Number

1. The Governors will consult with the LA before introducing or changing admission arrangements at least once in each year (September to August).
2. The Governors have determined that the admission number for year 9 in 2024-25 will be 450.

Criteria for Admission

Admission to Years 9, 10, and 11

The Trustees will admit a pupil to the School for which the parents have expressed a preference unless to do so would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.

Where there are more applications than there are places available the Trustees will admit pupils according to the following order of priority:

1. Looked After Children and all previously Looked After Children, including those children who appear (to the admission authority) to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as result of being adopted as defined by the Schools Admissions Code (2021).
2. Pupils living in the area normally served by the School (see School office for details) and who also attend Dorchester Middle School, St Mary's Puddletown, or St Osmund's Middle School at the time of their application.
3. Pupils living in the area normally served by the School.
4. Pupils living outside the area normally served by the School will be offered spare places in the following order:
   1. Pupils who are attending Dorchester Middle School, St Mary's Puddletown, or St Osmund's Middle School at the time of their application
   2. Those pupils who have a brother or a sister who has been admitted in previous years and who will be attending the School at the time of admission
   3. Those pupils who have a particular medical reason for attending the School which is stated in writing at the time of application and which is supported by written medical evidence.
   4. Pupils who have particular social or compassionate grounds for attending the school which are stated in writing at the time of the application and which are supported by appropriate letters from Social Workers, Doctors, Locality Team etc.
   5. Children of staff with at least two years continuous service at the school or who have been recruited into a vacancy to meet a demonstrable skills shortage as at the date of application (in year) or relevant closing date under the LA co-ordinated scheme (normal year of entry) and who still intend to be employed at the school at the time of the child's admission.

If too few places are available to satisfy preferences expressed within any of the priority order above, places will be allocated on the basis of the child's closeness to the preferred school (defined by straight measurements).

N.B When measuring distances from home to school, this will be done by recourse to the County Council's computer system, which identifies the centre of the building of the home address and the centre of the school building and calculates the distance between the who locations to determine proximity.

The admission of children with statements of Special Education Need is covered by sections 324 to 328 of, and schedule 27 to, the Education Act of 1996. Guidance is given in the Special Education Needs Code of Practice.

Where parents/guardians have children of multiple births and Trustees are unable to allocate all the children a place at the preferred school, the parents/guardians will be invited to decide which of the children should be allocated the available place(s).

In the event that the Trustees are unable to distinguish between applications despite applying the priority criteria above, lots will be drawn by an independent (of the Trustees) person to determine the final place(s).

Admission to Year 12

The Trustees determine the policy for admissions to the Sixth Form. This policy is contained in the school prospectus and Sixth Form brochure.

The admission number for students being admitted to the school for the first time is 180.

Students wishing to be admitted to the school in Year 12 can choose from a number of level 3 courses. Those following A level courses should have 5 A* to B grades (or 5+ on the new GCSE grading system), along with the individual course requirements. Those applying for BTEC or other vocational courses should have 5 A* to C grades (or 4+ on the new grading system), and the individual course requirements. Students can study a combination of A level and vocational courses.

Students studying Further Mathematics will be expected to study four courses. Very able students will have the chance to study four courses.

Students who have not yet achieved a good grade in English Language or Mathematics will need to retake this subject as part of their programme of study.

In the event of oversubscription for Year 12, the general criteria pertaining to that for Years 9, 10 and 11 will apply except for the references therein to the feeder middle schools.

Appeals against Admission Decisions

Parents may appeal to an independent panel against the decisions of the Trustees.

Such panels consist of three or five persons. They will include lay-members who have no personal experience of management or education in a school, and persons who either have educational experience, or are acquainted with educational conditions in the area, or are parents of registered school pupils.

The procedure respecting the Appeal process is laid down in the Department for Children Schools and Families Code of Practice, and the decision of the Appeal Panel is binding upon the Trustees and the Headteacher of the school. The conduct of such panels falls under the supervision of the Council on Tribunals.

A Parent wishing to appeal against a decision by the Trustees should complete an appeals form which can be found by clicking the link.