St Thomas More Catholic Primary School

St Thomas More Catholic Primary is a small Catholic primary in Cheltenham, part of the Little Way Catholic Educational trust, and it also runs a nursery. Inspectors found a calm, caring school where pupils feel they belong, behaviour is strong, safeguarding is effective, and relationships with families are warm. Attendance has improved, disadvantaged pupils now attend in line with their peers nationally, and provision for pupils with SEND and for children in the early years is a clear strength. Younger pupils achieve well in phonics and early mathematics, and the broad curriculum and wide personal-development offer give pupils valuable experiences. However, achievement at the end of key stage 2 is significantly below the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils, and some older pupils have gaps in knowledge and skills. Teaching is improving but remains inconsistent; it does not always check and adapt precisely to what pupils already know. Leaders are taking the right action and governance is effective, but the impact of these improvements is not yet fully evident. Pupils also need more opportunities to build confidence in discussing ideas and reflecting on their experiences.

Strengths

• Safeguarding is effective and pupils feel safe.
• Pupils behave well, are respectful and learning is rarely disrupted.
• Attendance has improved, including for disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
• Early years provision is well considered and children achieve well.
• Early reading and phonics are taught effectively.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well.
• Pupil premium funding is used carefully to support disadvantaged pupils.
• Leadership has an accurate view of the school and acts on improvements.
• Governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge.
• Personal development offers a wide range of trips, clubs and experiences.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and tailored to the school's context.
• Parents value the warm, purposeful relationships with leaders.
• Pupils feel a sense of belonging and receive sensitive pastoral support.

Areas for Improvement

• Key stage 2 achievement is significantly below the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance is well below national and the disadvantage gap is large.
• Some older pupils have gaps in basic knowledge and skills.
• Teaching quality remains inconsistent and does not always adapt precisely to pupils' prior knowledge.
• Improvements to older pupils' achievement are in their infancy and impact is not yet clear.
• Pupils sometimes lack confidence and independence in discussing ideas and reflecting on experiences.
• Older pupils are not always well prepared for their next steps.

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 Primary School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

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, 8.3% of pupils at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No 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 Primary School had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

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, 18.3% of pupils at St Thomas More Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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

In 2024–25 St Thomas More Catholic Primary School received £8,362 and spent £8,752 for each of its 182 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £314,000 (£1,723 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Little Way Catholic Educational Trust, income was £6,895 and spending £7,177 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 Cheltenham · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School is part of Little Way Catholic Educational Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• The Catholic School of Saint Gregory the Great Cheltenham
• St Peter's Catholic Primary School Gloucester
• The Rosary Catholic Primary School Stroud
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Stonehouse
• St Catharine's Catholic Primary School Chipping Campden

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Thomas More Catholic Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

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

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

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

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School has 191 pupils on roll.

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

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Thomas More Catholic Primary School?

St Thomas More Catholic Primary School is at Lewis Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL51 0HZ.