SchoolFacts.uk

Thomas Hall School

All-through · Exeter · EX4 5AD

Data updated

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Requires improvement

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 19 March 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

438 pupils · 61% of 720 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Free schools
Age range
4–16
Gender
Mixed
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
34% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
12.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
22.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
9.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
https://www.thomashallschool.org
URN
147650

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 30 families named it first for 31 Year 7 places, 0.97 first choices per place. Its last Year 7 place offered on distance for 2023 entry went to 13581.9 m (≈8.44 mi); distance decided places in 1 of the 7 years of Year 7 rounds we hold, 2020 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Requires improvement on 19 March 2024, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 13.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.00 first-choice applications per place

9 places offered · 9 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.97 first-choice applications per place

31 places offered · 30 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

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One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2023 entry, the most recent year with a distance-only cutoff) lived within 13581.9 m (≈8.44 mi)

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

28 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
64%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
7%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
104
England 105

GCSE results (2024/2025)

52 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
34.6
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
46.2%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
25%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
2.9
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school34.6
Median of its 12 closest peers39
Devon average45.9
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Aylestone SchoolHereford · 98 miles awayRequires improvement36.3
Digitech Studio SchoolBristol · 68 miles awayExpected standard31.2
Aureus SchoolDidcot · 115 miles awayGood33.7
Forest Hall SchoolStansted Mountfitchet · 180 miles awayNeeds attention40.6
Dyson Perrins CofE AcademyMalvern · 109 miles awayGood43.8
The DeanesBenfleet · 188 miles awayGood34.4
The Axholme AcademyCrowle · 228 miles awayGood38.4
Hadlow Rural Community SchoolHadlow · 172 miles awayExpected standard36.3
Goffs - Churchgate AcademyWaltham Cross · 165 miles awayExpected standard42.6
Ixworth High SchoolIxworth · 217 miles awayGood44
Nidderdale High SchoolHarrogate · 243 miles awayNeeds attention41.8
Stalham High SchoolNorwich · 258 miles awayGood39.5

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 77% (Devon 87%, England 59%) · Any other White background 10% (Devon 4%, England 7%) · Not recorded 3% (Devon 2%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Devon 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Devon 1%, England 2%) · Black African 1% (Devon 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Devon 1%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Devon 1%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Devon 0%, England 1%) · other groups together 0%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
13.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
36.5%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

69.65 suspensions per 100 pupils and 2 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Devon: 36.27 suspensions and 0.29 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

77% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 9% moved to another state school · 14% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 3.7% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

67.6% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.9 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £47,771; 16.7% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£7,789
Typical all-through school£7,789

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for all-through schools in brackets: Staff 78% (78%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (1%) · catering 5% (4%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve -£146,000; in-year balance +£61,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
92%
Continuing in education
72%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
16%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
7/10less deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
9/10among the least deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher22%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications3.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work10.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways11.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health57.9%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier66.2%62.3%
Social housing13.6%17.1%
Privately rented20.1%20.5%
Detached houses51.1%22.9%
Flats20%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms37.4%21.1%
Households with no car or van20.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01034629 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£332,50046 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£284,500–£430,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (31)£410,000
Terraced (5)£220,000
Flat (6)£267,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
7an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
0an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools