St Thomas More Catholic High School

St Thomas More Catholic High School is performing well overall, maintaining a 'Good' rating across multiple areas, including the quality of education, behavior, personal development, and leadership. The school fosters a supportive and inclusive environment in which pupils feel safe, appreciated, and well-known by staff. Parents and students commend the school's strong pastoral support and the breadth of subjects offered in both key stages and sixth form, with many students expressing satisfaction with their educational journey.

Strengths

• Strong pastoral support and care for pupils
• Positive pupil behavior and engagement in lessons
• Ambitious curriculum matching pupils' needs, including for SEND students
• Good support for pupils with SEND
• Effective reading intervention programs
• Well-structured personal, social, and health education program
• High student achievement and successful transition from sixth form

Areas for Improvement

• Not all teachers consistently plan to involve all pupils in lessons
• Low participation in extra-curricular activities among pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Thomas More Catholic High School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 22.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 5.1% of pupils at St Thomas More Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Thomas More Catholic High School had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.2% of pupils at St Thomas More Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 St Thomas More Catholic High School received £7,351 and spent £7,437 for each of its 1,622 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £520,000 (£321 per pupil).

Across all 39 schools of Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, income was £7,320 and spending £7,580 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in North Shields · North Tyneside local authority: places and applications

St Thomas More Catholic High School is part of Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust, which runs 39 schools. The nearest others:

• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, North Shields North Shields
• Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School, Whitley Bay Whitley Bay
• St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, North Shields North Shields
• St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, Wallsend Wallsend
• St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Cullercoats North Shields
• St Bernadette's Catholic Primary, Wallsend Wallsend
• St Columba's Catholic Primary School, Wallsend Wallsend
• St Marys Catholic Primary School, Forest Hall Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• St Alban's Catholic Primary School, Walker Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• St Stephen's Catholic Primary School, Newcastle Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

What is St Thomas More Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Thomas More Catholic High School is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was St Thomas More Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Thomas More Catholic High School was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does St Thomas More Catholic High School have?

St Thomas More Catholic High School has 1,660 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Thomas More Catholic High School cover?

St Thomas More Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Thomas More Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.8, and 50% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Thomas More Catholic High School?

St Thomas More Catholic High School is at Lynn Road, North Shields, Tyne and Wear, NE29 8LF.