Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney
Litton Cheney, Dorchester, DT2 9AU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Sitch
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salisbury
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 115
- URN
- 113804
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01308482410
About this school
Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Dorchester. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 115 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 11 | 9 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 64% | 78% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 91% | 78% | 87% |
| Expected standard in maths | 73% | 78% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 67% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Dorset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 64% | 53.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 78% | 53.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 54.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 110 |
| 2023/24 | 95 |
| 2024/25 | 114 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney compares
Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney ranked 7th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 4.1% | 10.7% | 115 | — |
| Burton Bradstock Church of England Voluntary Controlled School | 64% | 4.9% | 11.8% | 99 | 3.8 miles |
| Powerstock Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School | 50% | 6.1% | 5.1% | 33 | 4.3 miles |
| Loders CofE Primary Academy | 50% | 3.6% | 20% | 72 | 4.3 miles |
| Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School | — | 4.3% | 4.6% | 60 | 4.3 miles |
| Portesham Church of England Primary School | 38% | 13.9% | 26.3% | 46 | 4.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 10.68%
- English as an additional language
- 1.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.1%
- Persistent absence
- 9.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Burton Bradstock Church of England Voluntary Controlled School3.8 miles
Primary · Bridport
-
Powerstock Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School4.3 miles
Primary · Bridport
-
Loders CofE Primary Academy4.3 miles
Primary · Bridport
-
Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First School4.3 miles
Primary · Dorchester
-
Portesham Church of England Primary School4.3 miles
Primary · Weymouth
Other schools in Dorchester
Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney ranks 1st of the 7 ranked primary schools in Dorchester.
- Broadmayne First School Primary
- Buckland Newton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cerne Abbas CofE VC First School Primary
- Cheselbourne Village School Primary
- Damers First School Primary
- Frome Valley CofE First School Primary
- Maiden Newton, Greenford Church of England Primary School Primary
- Manor Park Church of England First School Primary
- Piddle Valley Church of England First School Primary
- Puddletown Church of England First School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester Primary
- St Mary's Church of England First School, Charminster Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney teach?
- Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Dorchester.
- Who is the headteacher of Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney?
- The headteacher of Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney is Mr Michael Sitch, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney?
- Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney has 115 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney full?
- Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney has capacity for 105 pupils and 115 on roll (110%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney a faith school?
- Yes. Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Salisbury.
- Does Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney as having nursery classes.
- How have Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 64% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney rank locally?
- Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney ranked 7th of 89 primary schools in Dorset for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney's absence rate?
- Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney's overall absence rate is 4.1% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.