Primary school in Dorchester, Dorset
Thorner's Church of England School, Litton Cheney
Litton Cheney, Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 9AU
Ofsted
Inspected under the current framework, which gives no overall grade, on 24 September 2024.
Inspections since September 2024 do not give an overall grade, so there is no one-word judgement to report. The full report sets out what inspectors found.
Key stage 2 results 2024/25
Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Reached the higher standard
Average reading score
Average maths score
On the headline measure this school is in the upper half of state-funded primaries in England.
Compared with the fifth of schools whose intake is second least disadvantaged, which is where this one sits, it is in the better-performing half.
There are no progress measures for primary schools any more. They were calculated from a key stage 1 baseline, and statutory key stage 1 tests ended in 2023, so nothing has been published since. That makes attainment the only official measure — and attainment tracks intake closely, which is why the comparison against similar schools above is the more useful of the two lines.
Pupils
- Pupils on roll
- 115
- Places
- 105
- How full
- Full — 115 pupils against 105 places
- Girls / boys
- 69 / 46
- Overall absence
- 4%
- Persistently absent
- 9%
primary schools average 5.2%
primary schools average 12.8% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions
- Free school meals, last 6 years
- 11%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- With an EHC plan
- 0%
- On SEN support
- 11%
England 25.7%
England 18.7%
England 3.5%
England 15%
The neighbourhood around the school
Census 2021 figures for Dorset 037A, the statistical neighbourhood the school sits in — roughly 1,500 residents. It describes the area, not the pupils, who may travel in from further away.
- Adults with a degree
- 41%
- Adults with no qualifications
- 12%
- Households owning their home
- 68%
- Households in social housing
- 9%
- Households with no car
- 8%
- Adults economically inactive
- 48%
England 33.8%
England 18.3%
England 62.7%
England 17%
England 21.9%
England 39.9%
School details
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- Ages 2–11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Sixth form
- No
- Nursery
- Yes
- Boarding
- Day school
- Headteacher
- Headteacher: Michael Sitch
- Local authority
- Dorset
- Ward
- Chesil Bank
- Constituency
- West Dorset
- URN
- 113804
The unique reference number used in all official school data.
Nearest primary schools
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burton Bradstock Church of England Voluntary Controlled SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 64% | 3.8 mi |
| Powerstock Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Requires improvement 2024 | 50% | 4.3 mi |
| Loders CofE Primary AcademyAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 50% | 4.3 mi |
| Winterbourne Valley Church of England Aided First SchoolVoluntary aided school | No grade | — | 4.3 mi |
| Portesham Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy sponsor led | No grade | 38% | 4.3 mi |
| Bridport Primary SchoolAcademy converter | Good 2023 | 50% | 5.2 mi |
| Maiden Newton, Greenford Church of England Primary SchoolVoluntary controlled school | Good 2024 | 63% | 5.5 mi |
| St Catherine's Roman Catholic SchoolAcademy converter | No grade | 30% | 5.5 mi |
Schools with a similar intake
State-funded primary schools nationally whose share of disadvantaged pupils is closest to this school's. This is the fairest like-for-like comparison the published data supports.
| School | Ofsted | Expected standard |
|---|---|---|
| Rosary Catholic Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2022 | 73% |
| Christ Church Church of England Primary School, Shooters HillVoluntary aided school | Good 2023 | 73% |
| St Mary Abbots CofE Primary SchoolVoluntary aided school | Good 2024 | 72% |
| John Ball Primary SchoolCommunity school | Outstanding 2024 | 71% |
| Heber Primary SchoolCommunity school | No grade | 70% |
| Brookland Junior SchoolCommunity school | Good 2022 | 82% |
| Brunswick Park Primary and Nursery SchoolCommunity school | Good 2023 | 93% |
| Church Hill SchoolCommunity school | Good 2022 | 73% |
Where these figures come from
- School details, address and pupil numbers — Get Information About Schools, the DfE register, as at 14 August 2026.
- Exam results — DfE performance tables, 2024/25.
- Free school meals, EAL and SEN — school census, 2024/25.
- Ofsted — Ofsted management information, latest inspections as at 30 June 2026.
- Neighbourhood figures — ONS Census 2021, lower layer super output area.
All published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.