St Thomas More Catholic Academy

St Thomas More Catholic Academy continues to be recognized as a good school, providing a nurturing environment where pupils feel happy and safe. The school excels in delivering excellent care and involves pupils in a broad and engaging curriculum, which builds resilience and life skills. Notably, students have opportunities for outdoor learning, and those with special educational needs thrive due to effective support. While there are some outstanding practices, there are areas needing improvement, particularly regarding the mathematics curriculum in key stage 3 and ensuring more pupils study languages in key stage 4 to meet the English Baccalaureate criteria.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy and safe at school.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs.
• Strong emphasis on welfare and mental health.
• Inclusive provision for all learners.
• Engaging curriculum with opportunities for real-world experiences.
• High-quality career advice leading to successful student placements.

Areas for Improvement

• Mathematics curriculum in key stage 3 lacks sufficient practice.
• Insufficient number of pupils studying a language in key stage 4.

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 Academy attended 91.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.1% 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, 6.9% of pupils at St Thomas More Catholic Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Academy had 14.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.1% 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, 17.8% of pupils at St Thomas More Catholic Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.9% 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 Academy received £8,843 and spent £8,554 for each of its 1,119 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £264,000 (£236 per pupil).

Across all 56 schools of St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,565 and spending £7,594 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 Stoke-On-Trent · Stoke-on-Trent local authority: places and applications

St Thomas More Catholic Academy is part of St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 64 schools. The nearest others:

• St Gregory's Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Our Lady's Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St Augustine's Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St Maria Goretti Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St Teresa's Catholic (A) Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Our Lady and St Benedict Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• St Filumena's Catholic Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• St George and St Martin's Catholic Academy Stoke-On-Trent
• Our Lady and St Werburgh's Catholic Primary School Newcastle

What is St Thomas More Catholic Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Thomas More Catholic Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2022.

When was St Thomas More Catholic Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Thomas More Catholic Academy was last inspected in November 2022.

How many pupils does St Thomas More Catholic Academy have?

St Thomas More Catholic Academy has 1,085 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Thomas More Catholic Academy cover?

St Thomas More Catholic Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Thomas More Catholic Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.6, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Thomas More Catholic Academy?

St Thomas More Catholic Academy is at Longton Hall Road, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST3 2NJ.