Hardye was a property owner who endowed the Dorchester "free" school in 1579, ten years after its completion by the town.

Though he had as a child attended Isaac Last's rival establishment in Durngate Street, the novelist Thomas Hardy laid one of the foundation stones for the school's new building on the out-of-town Fordington site in 1927.

On Friday 12 December 2008, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visited the school to officially open the newly constructed library and sports hall.

On 1 August 2011, the Thomas Hardye School officially gained academy status under the UK Government scheme.

[7][8] The reasons for this change include: The school suffered a cyber attack on Sunday morning, 21 May 2023, affecting its servers and limiting use of the local network, associated materials and email.

As of August 2023[update] the situation is unresolved and being investigated by the National Cyber Security Centre and the Police.

[citation needed] The school has a partnership with local land-based college Kingston Maurward, offering practical alternatives to traditional A-levels.

[citation needed] The Sixth Form's Model United Nations club regularly attend BISMUN (Bath) and BGSMUN (Bristol), as well as hosting its own in the summer.

UNESCO aims to promote quality education as well as international perspectives in schools and such values as human rights, mutual respect and cultural diversity.

The schools communicate regularly and are represented by a member of staff and pupil who arrange projects to exchange culture and prepare for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

The school also uses the neighbouring artificial pitch and pools of the local sports centre operated by the not-for-profit trust 1610.