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St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

Primary Ages 2-11 436 pupils Guildford
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Guildford

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is an academy converter in Guildford for pupils aged 2 to 11. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 436 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2018 of its predecessor, St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School. In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: March 2024. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 2-11
Religion Roman Catholic
Address Horseshoe Lane West
Merrow
Guildford
Surrey
GU1 2SX
Phone 01483888388
Reference Number 147431

General Makeup

Number of pupils 436
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 55.05%
Girls: 44.95%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 5%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 27.3%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 31.6
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 30.3
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 32.2

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 35 25 60
2 29 31 60
3 32 33 65
4 33 31 64
5 35 29 64
6 36 26 62

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 49.1%
White, Other 20.9%
African 4.6%
White & Asian 4.1%
Mixed, Other 3.9%
Chinese 3.7%
Unclassified 3.7%
Irish 2.1%
Asian, Other 1.6%
Indian 1.1%
White & Black (African) 1.1%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.2%
Caribbean 0.2%
Pakistani 0.2%

This school has not been graded since it changed URN, usually on converting to an academy. The rating shown is from its predecessor, St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School, inspected in March 2018.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date 06 Feb 2024 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
06 Feb 2024 School inspection
07 Sep 2019 Academy conversion letter
06 Mar 2018 Short inspection
Previously as St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
11 Jul 2013 Full inspection:
07 Jan 2011 Interim assessment
06 Mar 2008 Full inspection:
08 Mar 2004 Full inspection

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 78%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 11%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 110
Maths 108

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 2.3
Writing -1.1
Maths 1.4

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 47 2
Third Preference 18 0
From another Local Authority 1 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School had 432 pupils for 420 places. That is 12 more pupils than the school has room for.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “East Guildford Primary” planning area

Surrey counted 258 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 219 in 2029–30, down 15%.

20212022202320242025
Places 420420420420420
Pupils 418423427425432
Unfilled 0.5%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%

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 of Canterbury Catholic Primary School attended 96.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20212022202320242025
Authorised absence 1.4%3.0%3.2%2.9%2.8%
Unauthorised absence 0.3%0.7%0.6%0.7%0.7%
Severely absent pupils 0.3%0.0%0.3%0.0%0.0%

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, 0.2% of pupils at St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.20.50.20.51.40.5
Permanent exclusions 000000

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 of Canterbury Catholic Primary School had 24.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 11.712.211.811.013.114.114.7
Teachers who left state teaching 1.0%0.0%12.6%5.7%14.4%8.1%–
Teachers who took any sick leave –4.3%81.8%65.0%52.2%43.5%–
Sick days per teacher –0.45.53.61.11.8–

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, 8.9% of pupils at St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
No specialist assessment of need 18 0
Social, emotional and mental health 10 2
Speech, language and communication needs 4 3
Autistic spectrum disorder 2 4
Specific learning difficulty 4 1
Multi-sensory impairment 1 1
Down's syndrome 0 1
Moderate learning difficulty 0 1

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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School received £6,413 and spent £6,474 for each of its 429 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £145,000 (£338 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Xavier Catholic Education Trust, income was £6,512 and spending £6,815 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £103,000£58,000£85,000£81,000£63,000£145,000
per pupil £245£138£204£188£149£338
In-year balance -£35,000£27,000£8,000-£90,000£8,000-£26,000
per pupil -£83£64£19-£208£18-£61

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.

Name Distance
Boxgrove Primary School
Boxgrove Lane, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2TD
0.21 miles
Merrow Junior School
Sheeplands Avenue, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2SG
0.55 miles
Merrow CofE Controlled Infant School
Kingfisher Drive, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7EA
0.71 miles
Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School
Addison Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3QF
0.93 miles
Pewley Down Infant School
Semaphore Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3PT
1.19 miles
Sandfield Primary School
Stoke Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4DT
1.32 miles
Burpham Primary School
Burpham Lane, Burpham, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7LZ
1.37 miles
Weyfield Primary Academy
School Close, Off Woking Road, Guildford, GU1 1QJ
1.48 miles
St Nicolas' Church of England Infant School
Portsmouth Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 4YD
1.81 miles
Clandon CofE Aided Primary School
The Street, West Clandon, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7ST
1.9 miles
Guildford Nursery School
Hazel Avenue, Guildford, GU1 1NR
1.92 miles
Chilworth CofE (Aided) Infant School
Dorking Road, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 8NP
2.03 miles
Northmead Junior School
Grange Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 9ZA
2.1 miles
Stoughton Infant School
Stoughton Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 9ZT
2.18 miles
Tillingbourne Junior School
New Road, Chilworth, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 8NB
2.19 miles
Shalford Infant School
Shalford Infant School, Station Row, Shalford, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 8BY
2.21 miles
Queen Eleanor's Church of England School
Queen Eleanor's Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7SD
2.37 miles
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
155 Aldershot Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 8YH
2.6 miles
Onslow Infant School
Powell Close, Onslow Village, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7DD
2.69 miles
Rydes Hill Preparatory School
Rydes Hill House, Guildford, GU2 8BP
2.69 miles
Name Distance
St Peter's Catholic School
Horseshoe Lane East, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2TN
0.31 miles
Tormead School
Cranley Road, Guildford, GU1 2JD
0.58 miles
George Abbot School
Woodruff Avenue, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 1XX
0.75 miles
Guildford High School
London Road, Guildford, GU1 1SJ
0.96 miles
Royal Grammar School Guildford
1.25 miles
Castle Garden School
Pewely Hill, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3SQ
1.34 miles
Surrey Maths School
Mary Road, Guildford, GU1 4QU
1.62 miles
Pond Meadow School
Larch Avenue, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 1DR
1.83 miles
Christ's College, Guildford
Larch Avenue, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 1JY
1.87 miles
Guildford County School
Farnham Road, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 4LU
1.98 miles
Kings College Guildford
Southway, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 8DU
2.81 miles
Gosden House School
Horsham Road, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey, GU5 0AH
3.08 miles
St Catherine's School
Station Road, Guildford, GU5 0DF
3.34 miles
Broadwater School
Summers Road, Farncombe, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 3BW
3.67 miles
Freemantles School
Smarts Heath Road, Mayford Green, Woking, Surrey, GU22 0AN
3.85 miles
Cranmore
Epsom Road, Leatherhead, KT24 6AT
4.04 miles
Hoe Valley School
Egley Road, Woking, Surrey, GU22 0NH
4.06 miles
Elysian, West Horsley
Hillside Farm, Shere Road, West Horsley, Elysian West Horsley, Shere Rd, Leatherhead, Surrey Kt24 6er, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT24 6ER
4.07 miles
Elysian, Shamley Green
Westland Farm, Lordshill Common, Guildford, Surrey, Surrey, GU5 0TL
4.08 miles
Unsted Park School
Munstead Heath Road, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1UW
4.22 miles

All schools in Guildford · Surrey local authority: places and applications

What is St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2018 of its predecessor, St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School.

When was St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School was last inspected in March 2024.

How many pupils does St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School have?

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School has 436 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School cover?

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School?

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is at Horseshoe Lane West, Merrow, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 2SX.

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