Thomas Hall School

About Thomas Hall School

Thomas Hall School is a mixed state secondary in Exeter, part of the Devon local authority. Among the 43 secondary schools in the county, it sits at rank 29 by Progress 8 score, placing it in the bottom half of Devon’s state schools. Its closest high-performing peers locally include Colyton Grammar School, Chulmleigh Community College, and The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy, all of which achieve significantly stronger academic outcomes. The school is led by headteacher Phil Arnold and caters to pupils aged 4 to 16, with no sixth form provision. It is oversubscribed for the 2025/26 academic year, receiving 79 applications for 51 places, with 37 first-preference offers made. The school’s capacity is 720, but current pupil numbers stand at 458, meaning there is room for growth. Over 30% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, a figure well above the national average, reflecting the school’s role in serving a relatively disadvantaged local community.

Academically, Thomas Hall’s most recent published results from the 2023/24 year show a Progress 8 score of -0.27, meaning pupils achieve slightly less progress than the national average, and below the Devon LA average of -0.09. The Attainment 8 score is 34.3, and the proportion of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths is 14.8%, with 44.4% achieving grade 4 or above. The EBacc average point score is 3.07, and only 5.6% of pupils entered the EBacc and achieved a grade 5 or higher. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2024, the school was rated Requires Improvement overall, a step up from its previous Inadequate rating in 2018. The inspection found that quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all require improvement, while personal development and early years provision were judged Good. The school’s Progress 8 banding is classified as Average, though the open element score of -0.74 is notably low.

The school offers a range of facilities including a swimming pool, astro turf, theatre, music rooms, gymnasium, and a chapel. Sports on offer include tennis, rowing, swimming, rounders, netball, and cricket, while extracurricular clubs cover drama, choir, gardening, chess, film club, orchestra, Young Enterprise, book club, and coding. For pupils with additional needs, the school provides support for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, and autistic spectrum disorder. Given its oversubscription and improving Ofsted trajectory, Thomas Hall may appeal to families in Exeter seeking a local secondary with a broad range of facilities and a clear focus on personal development, though those prioritising strong academic outcomes may want to compare it with higher-ranked peers in the area.

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