Thomas Hall School
Cowley Bridge Road, Exeter, EX4 5AD
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- REACH SOUTH ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Phil Arnold
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Reach South Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Exeter
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 720
- Pupils on roll
- 438
- URN
- 147650
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01392757371
About this school
Thomas Hall School is an all-through academy in Exeter. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 438 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thomas Hall School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 26 | 28 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 35% | 54% | 64% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 68% | 79% |
| Expected standard in maths | 50% | 57% | 75% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 62% | 64% | 68% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 101.0 | 104.0 |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 25 | 54 | 52 |
| Attainment 8 score | 30.7 | 34.3 | 34.6 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.42 -1.01 to +0.17 | -0.27 -0.68 to +0.15 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 8% | 14.8% | 25% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 16% | 44.4% | 46.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 24.1% | 25% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Thomas Hall School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 35% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 54% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 64% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30.7 | 36.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 34.3 | 36.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 34.6 | 33.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 14.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 412 |
| 2023/24 | 459 |
| 2024/25 | 458 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thomas Hall School compares
Thomas Hall School ranked 39th of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 26% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 34.6 | 13.1% | 31% | 438 | — |
| Matford Brook Academy | — | 10.4% | 25.4% | 276 | 3.9 miles |
| Cranbrook Education Campus | 46 | 7% | 26% | 1,066 | 6.4 miles |
| University of Exeter | — | — | — | — | 0.7 miles |
| Exeter and North Devon Colleges Group | — | — | — | — | 1.0 miles |
| Exwick Heights Primary School | — | 4.4% | 21.4% | 496 | 1.1 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)
- 31%
- English as an additional language
- 12.9%
- Overall absence
- 13.07%
- Persistent absence
- 39.22%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Matford Brook Academy3.9 miles
All-through · Exeter
-
Cranbrook Education Campus6.4 miles
All-through · Exeter
-
University of Exeter0.7 miles
Universities · Exeter
-
Exeter and North Devon Colleges Group1.0 miles
16 plus · Exeter
-
Exwick Heights Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Exeter
Other schools in Exeter
Thomas Hall School ranks 27th of the 48 ranked primary schools in Exeter, and Thomas Hall School ranks 8th of the 8 ranked secondary schools in Exeter.
- Cranbrook Education Campus All-through
- Matford Brook Academy All-through
- Chestnut Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation Nursery
- West Exe Nursery School - Exeter Nursery Schools Federation Nursery
- Alphington Primary School Primary
- Bowhill Primary School Primary
- Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School Primary
- Broadclyst Community Primary School Primary
- Cheriton Bishop Community Primary School Primary
- Christow Primary School Primary
- Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School Primary
- Clyst St Mary Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Thomas Hall School teach?
- Thomas Hall School teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is an all-through school in Exeter.
- Who is the headteacher of Thomas Hall School?
- The headteacher of Thomas Hall School is Mr Phil Arnold, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thomas Hall School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thomas Hall School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Thomas Hall School?
- Thomas Hall School has 438 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is Thomas Hall School full?
- Thomas Hall School has capacity for 720 pupils and 438 on roll (61%), so it has space against 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 Thomas Hall School a faith school?
- No. Thomas Hall School has no designated religious character.
- Is Thomas Hall School a selective school?
- No. Thomas Hall School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Thomas Hall School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Thomas Hall School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Thomas Hall School part of an academy trust?
- Thomas Hall School is part of REACH SOUTH ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Thomas Hall School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 35% in 2022/23 and 64% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thomas Hall School compare with other schools in Devon?
- Thomas Hall School ranked 39th of 40 secondary schools in Devon for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 26% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thomas Hall School's absence rate?
- Thomas Hall School's overall absence rate is 13.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thomas Hall School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thomas Hall School'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 10 July 2026.