Thornden School, Eastleigh

Ofsted's report card from its 9 June 2026 inspection grades Thornden School on 6 areas: 1 exceptional and 5 strong standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Exceptional. "Pupils' achievement is exceptional."

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Pupils enjoy being at school."

Curriculum and teaching - Strong standard. "Staff know how to ensure that lessons quickly build pupils' knowledge and understanding."

Inclusion - Strong standard. "Inclusion is at the heart of the school."

Leadership and governance - Strong standard. "Leaders, including trustees and governors, share an ethos for the school in which inclusion is central."

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "The personal development curriculum is closely matched to pupils' needs and meets statutory requirements."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "The school should continue to embed the highly effective school leadership, structures and processes that it has developed in order to continue to support all pupils to both thrive and to continue to achieve exceptionally well".

In its own words: "Please view the links on the right hand side for further information"

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include cricket, tennis, athletics, dance, drama, chess, coding, STEM and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at Thornden School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 64.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.6 in Hampshire and 47 across England.

80% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Hampshire and 47% in England.

That is up from 59.9 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.74: pupils made well above average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 42.3, against 65.6 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 23.3 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, Geography and Business Studies.

For September 2026 entry, 314 families put Thornden School as their first choice and 620 named it as one of their preferences, for 302 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 19 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Thornden School are The Toynbee School (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.2); Crestwood Community School (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.7); Saint George Catholic Voluntary Aided College Southampton (3.4 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 57.8); and Wyvern College (3.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 46.6).

Thornden School's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

Thornden School is one of 8 schools run by Hisp Multi Academy Trust Ltd, an academy trust.

Of the 290 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 93% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 11% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

6.5% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 97 pupils (6.7%) received SEN support and 55 (3.8%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a moderate learning difficulty.

The nearest railway station is Chandlers Ford Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Thornden School Grounds (n-bound), 100 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Thornden School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 43 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and other theft. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Hampshire (72).

In 2024/25, Thornden School issued 77 suspensions, 5.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Thornden School are Scantabout Primary School (0.4 miles), Merdon Junior School (0.6 miles), Fryern Infant School (0.8 miles) and Fryern Junior School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.