SCHOOL PROFILE

St Thomas More Catholic High School

Secondary Academy converter URN 139764
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 640 Published school capacity
Capacity used 100.3% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 16 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

5 November 2024
Latest published outcome Not judged
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

5 March 2020
Ungraded inspection School remains Good
Published 18 May 2020
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Cheshire East
Trust THE SOUTH CHESHIRE CATHOLIC MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 642 642 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 326 50.8% of pupils
Male pupils 316 49.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

17.0%
7.8 pts below England
School 17.0%
Cheshire East 16.3%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

30.5%
10.2 pts above England
School 30.5%
Cheshire East 10.0%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Cheshire East 1.5%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
49.2%
316
Any other White background
16.4%
105
Unclassified
10.4%
67
Indian
6.5%
42
African
3.7%
24
Any other Asian background
3.3%
21
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 13.2% 85 of 642 pupils
7.6 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 13.2%
Cheshire East 19.2%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 8.3% 53 pupils
England 14.8% 6.5 pts below
EHC plans 5.0% 32 pupils
England 6.0% 1.1 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 31
Other difficulty or disability 15
Moderate learning difficulty 10
Autistic spectrum disorder 9
Speech, language & communication 9
No specialist assessment yet 6

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

47.7 8.5 pts above England
School 47.7
Cheshire East 36.8
North West 37.7
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 45.7% England 36.0% 9.7 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 74.0% England 51.4% 22.6 pts above England
EBacc entry 54.3% England 30.6% 23.7 pts above England
EBacc average point score 4.24 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.26 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.

ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

6.66%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.44 pts higher than England
School 6.66%
Cheshire East 5.82%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

15.07%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

0.75 pts lower than England
School 15.07%
Cheshire East 13.33%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

2.28%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

0.48 pts higher than England
School 2.28%
Cheshire East 1.79%
North West 1.75%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

100.3% 8.0 pts above England
St Thomas More Catholic High School
100.3%
Cheshire East
92.6%
North West
91.8%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information