Thornden School is a
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
with
academy status in
Chandler's Ford
Chandler's Ford (originally The Ford and historically Chandlersford) is a largely residential area and civil parish in the Eastleigh (borough), Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It has a population of 21,436 in the 2011 UK Census.
Cha ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. It is an 11-16 (no sixth form), mixed specialist
Arts College
An Arts College, in the United Kingdom, is a type of specialist school that specialises in the subject fields of the performing, visual, digital and/or media arts. They were announced in 1996 and introduced alongside Sports Colleges to England i ...
with Science as the second specialism. There are 1400 pupils on roll and 11 tutor groups of around 30 pupils in each tutor group, to form year groups of around 300 people.
Subjects
The following subjects are taught at Thornden School: Art, Business and Economics, Dance,
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
,
Design and Technology GCSE,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
Geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
,
History
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
,
ICT
ICT may refer to:
Sciences and technology
* Information and communications technology
* Image Constraint Token, in video processing
* Immunochromatographic test, a rapid immunoassay used to detect diseases such as anthrax
* In-circuit test, in ...
,
Mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
Modern Foreign Languages (MFL),
Music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
Physical Education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
,
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
,
Religious Education
In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to te ...
and
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
.
Classes
In Year 9, pupils choose their options for
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
. At Thornden, all pupils are strongly advised to select at least one modern foreign language from either French, German or Spanish. Some pupils may take up a second language for Year 9, which was usually Spanish prior to its introduction at Year 7.
Staff
There are 104 members of staff at Thornden School. Patrick Earnshaw is the Executive Headteacher of Thornden and the HISP Multi-Academy Trust,
taking over from Steve Hicks after an "incident between students".
Productions
As Thornden is a performing Arts College, many productions take place inside
Thornden Hall involving Thornden Pupils and the wider community. The Thornden Operatic and Musical Society have performed dozens of musicals.
Academic performance
The most recent inspection was in June 2022, in which the school received a 'Good' rating
OFSTED
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...
. The report cited students' concerns over complaints of bullying not being adequately addressed by staff and inconsistent attention to detail in safeguarding records. The report also found that teachers sometimes do not check that students' learning has been successfully embedded.
Prior to the June 2022 Ofsted inspection, Thornden School had been consistently rated 'Outstanding', although a full inspection had not taken place since 2007.
Thornden Hall
Thornden Hall is part of a performing arts centre, which was awarded a Commendation in the Civic Trust Awards 2005. Thornden Hall was opened in May 2003 in the presence of percussionist
Evelyn Glennie
Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie, (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish people, Scottish percussionist. She was selected as one of the two laureates for the Polar Music Prize of 2015.
Early life
Glennie was born in Methlick, Aberdeenshire in Sco ...
. It is a concert hall designed with acoustics for music performances, with a stage large enough to accommodate a full orchestra and an audience capacity of 388 people. The venue can be adapted for other dance and drama events, presentations and lectures. In addition to the concert hall there are two specialist drama studios, two music rooms and a dance studio, as well as foyer and bar area.
Thornden Hall is the home of the
Hampshire County Youth Orchestra
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire is ...
, Eastleigh Area Schools Orchestra, Thornden Community Wind Band, TOMS,
Stagecoach Theatre Arts
Stagecoach Theatre Arts Ltd is a professional part-time theatre arts school, with over 600 schools in the United Kingdom. Training is offered in singing, dancing and acting.
Stagecoach Theatre Arts is a franchise for part-time theatre arts sch ...
, and Tribe Community Arts, who all rehearse or hold classes in the performing arts centre throughout the week. The concert hall is also used for meetings and presentations.
In 2021, building work was completed on Thornden Hall following three years forced closure, after it suffered major roof damage when one of the roof beams was split. The Hall itself has also been upgraded.
Fire
In December 2002 there was a fire at the school which caused extensive damage to the food and textiles rooms. It also damaged the maths classrooms above. The fire spread rapidly through a wing of the building and took 50 fire fighters from four areas three hours to bring under control. Temporary classrooms were used during repair work, including huts. Two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, were charged with arson in connection with the fire which severely damaged the school. The school was closed for two days as a result.
Notable alumni
* Bob Dibden, from
Urban Hype
Urban Hype were an English breakbeat hardcore duo. The duo was formed in 1988, consisting of Bob Dibden (Robert John Dibden) and Mark Lewis (Mark Louis Chitty). They are best known for their toytown techno single, " A Trip to Trumpton", whic ...
, known for the June 1992 ''
A Trip to Trumpton'', known as
Toytown techno
Toytown techno (also known as kiddy rave or cartoon rave) is an underground subgenre of techno that emerged in the early 1990s, characterized by merging techno, jungle, or breakbeat hardcore with samples from children's programs or public informa ...
References
External links
Thornden School WebsiteOfsted reportOfsted: Thornden School
{{authority control
Academies in Hampshire
Secondary schools in Hampshire
School buildings in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson
Specialist arts colleges in England
Specialist science colleges in England