The Thomas Hardye School

The school is named after a distant collateral ancestor of the author Thomas Hardy and Admiral Thomas Hardy; Thomas Hardye of Melcombe Regis and Frampton. Hardye was a property owner who endowed the Dorchester ‘free’ school in 1579, ten years after its completion by the town.[1] 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 and flourished under the Puritan regime of Revd. John White. 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.[1] 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, Thomas Hardy, the author, laid one of the foundation stones for the school's new building on the out-of-town Fordington site in 1927 – parents attached great importance to health as an aspect of education at the time. 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 Egypt, 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 1944 Education Act. These schools formed the basis of the Thomas Hardye School.

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.

On 1 August 2011, the Thomas Hardye School officially gained academy status under the UK Government scheme.[2]

The school currently has a CCF (Combined Cadet Force) that has been running for the last 100 years. 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 the Rifles and was formerly Devonshire and Dorset Regiment. The school inevitably produces many future officers. 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.

Aaron Cook (who represented Great Britain at the 2008 Olympics in taekwondo, losing in the bronze medal bout in the -80 kg class[7]) also attended the school for years 9-10 but never completed his full education in order to concentrate fully on his Olympic dreams and preparations. He held gold titles for European Junior Championships, World Junior Championships and European Championships.[8]

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

The school has also enjoyed much success with its Debating Society too, with students getting into the National Finals of the Oxford Union Debating Competition (one of the most prestigious in the country).[9]

Thomas Hardye's has a very successful music department, with its flagship orchestra (THS Orchestra) having performed in some of the UK and Europe's most prestigious venues. It has a variety of opportunities from Chapel Choir to Jazz Club. The school hosts termly concerts as well as its weekly 'Friday Live' performances. The music department works closely with dance and drama to put on shows across the continent (in recent years they have visited Austria, Italy and Slovenia with performances from all their groups.

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).[10] Much of this recognition is thanks to a pupil who gained the title of UK Young Scientist of the Year.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13][14]

Along with all the schools in Dorchester, Thomas Hardye has been part of the DASP Olympic Torch Relay in celebration of the Olympics.[15][16]

The school has annual (often biennial) educational/recreational trips to Florida, New York & Washington, D.C., Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, Russia and Germany. Other trips include; India, Kenya, Indonesia, China, Italy and Slovenia as well as frequent trips to UK-wide destinations for competitions and educational enrichment. The school's Music Department have performed in some of Europe's most prestigious destinations and its chapel choir have sung in the likes of Bath Abbey, Salisbury Cathedral and performed with King's College, London[17] choir.

The school is twinned/associated with:

• The Doon School, India since 2010 through the BBC and British Council's Olympic Dreams initiative[12]
• The Kabale School, Tanzania, has had major developments in its science programme thanks to financial help and visits from Hardye's[18]
• Instituto Maristas-Immaculada, Barcelona, Spain
• Collège de Hérault, France
• Muhaka Primary School, Kenya was partly built by pupils from the Thomas Hardye School[19]
• George Green's School, Tower Hamlets (London) have been linked with the school through Humanities projects[20]
• Grace Secondary School, Sudan is funded by a Dorchester-based charity and supports by Hardyes[21]
• Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College, Lewisham[22]
• IES Mariano Baquero Goyanes, Murcia, Spain[23]
• Lycée Alain Chartier, Bayeux, France.[24]