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St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School

Primary Ages 3-11 237 pupils Gillingham
Ofsted: Good
All schools in Gillingham

St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School is an academy converter in Gillingham for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 237 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2023 of its predecessor, St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School.

Ofsted inspection: October 2024.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 3-11
Religion Roman Catholic
Address Romany Road
Rainham
Romany Road
Gillingham
Kent
ME8 6JH
Reference Number 150466

General Makeup

Number of pupils 237
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 41.77%
Girls: 58.23%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 9.7%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 24.5%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 29.5
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 27.5
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 31.3

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 13 17 30
2 6 20 26
3 12 18 30
4 15 15 30
5 15 18 33
6 13 18 31

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 53.2%
African 18.6%
Indian 8%
White, Other 4.2%
Mixed, Other 4.2%
White & Black (Caribbean) 2.1%
White & Asian 2.1%
Caribbean 2.1%
Asian, Other 1.7%
White & Black (African) 1.3%
Irish 0.4%

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 RC Primary School, inspected in June 2023.

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
Last Report Date This school has not had an inspection yet.
Date Report
05 Oct 2024 Academy conversion letter

Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 17 1
Third Preference 4 0
From another Local Authority 1 1

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School had 209 pupils for 240 places. 31 places (12.9%) were unfilled.

Reception intake in the “Rainham North Primary” planning area

Medway counted 259 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 284 in 2029–30, up 10%.

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 RC Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

2025
Authorised absence 3.0%
Unauthorised absence 1.2%
Severely absent pupils 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, 0.0% of pupils at St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.0
Permanent exclusions 0

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 RC Primary School had 25.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20252026
Pupils per adult 14.015.1
Teachers who left state teaching 0.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 63.6%–
Sick days per teacher 4.9–

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, 21.1% of pupils at St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 13 1
Social, emotional and mental health 11 2
Moderate learning difficulty 12 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 7 3
Specific learning difficulty 5 0
Hearing impairment 1 0
Physical disability 1 0

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.

Name Distance
Twydall Primary School and Nursery
Twydall Lane, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6JS
0.15 miles
Featherby Junior School
Chilham Road, Featherby Junior School, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6BT
0.47 miles
Danecourt School
Hotel Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6AA
0.53 miles
Featherby Infant and Nursery School
Allington Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6PD
0.55 miles
Thames View Primary School
Bloors Lane, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 7DX
0.71 miles
The Academy of Woodlands
Woodlands Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 2DU
0.98 miles
St Margaret's Church of England Junior School
Orchard Street, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9AE
1.11 miles
St Margaret's Infant School
St Margaret's Infant School, Orchard Street, Orchard Street, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9AE
1.11 miles
Barnsole Primary School
Barnsole Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 2JG
1.4 miles
Miers Court Primary School
Silverspot Close, Rainham, Kent, ME8 8JR
1.44 miles
Byron Primary School
Byron Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5XX
1.53 miles
Napier Community Primary and Nursery Academy
Napier Community Primary and Nursery Academy, Napier Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 4HG
1.54 miles
Fairview Community Primary School
Drewery Drive, Wigmore, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0NU
1.55 miles
Riverside Primary School
St Edmunds Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8ET
1.61 miles
Hempstead Infant School
Hempstead Road, Hempstead, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 3QG
1.61 miles
Parkwood Primary School
Deanwood Drive, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9LP
1.67 miles
Hempstead Junior School
Birch Grove, Hempstead, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 3HJ
1.68 miles
St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Greenfield Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1YH
1.7 miles
Luton Primary School
Luton Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5AW
1.7 miles
Saxon Way Primary School
Ingram Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1SJ
1.72 miles
Name Distance
Rainham Mark Grammar School
Pump Lane, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 7AJ
0.54 miles
The Howard School
Derwent Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0BX
0.62 miles
Rainham School for Girls
Derwent Way, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 0BX
0.69 miles
The Robert Napier School
Third Avenue, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 2LX
1.06 miles
Chatham Grammar
Rainham Road, Chatham, Kent, ME5 7EH
1.5 miles
Alchemy School
105 Nelson Road, Gillingham, ME7 4LT
1.51 miles
Hospital and Medical Tuition Service
The School Room, Dolphin Ward, Gillingham, ME7 5NY
1.82 miles
Rivermead School
Forge Lane, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1UG
1.83 miles
Leigh Academy Rainham
Otterham Quay Lane, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 8GS
1.88 miles
Brompton Academy
Marlborough Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5HT
2.04 miles
The Victory Academy
Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5JB
2.17 miles
Waterfront UTC
South Side Three Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4FQ
2.38 miles
MidKent College
Medway Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1FN
2.39 miles
Blue Skies School
126 Maidstone Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 6DQ
2.67 miles
Bradfields Academy
Churchill Avenue, Chatham, Kent, ME5 0LB
2.68 miles
INSPIRE Free Special School
Churchill Avenue, Silverbank, Chatham, Kent, ME5 0LB
2.68 miles
Holcombe Grammar School
Holcombe, Maidstone Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 6JB
2.74 miles
Greenacre School
157 Walderslade Road, Walderslade, Chatham, Kent, ME5 0LP
2.81 miles
Walderslade School
Bradfields Avenue, Walderslade, Chatham, Kent, ME5 0LE
2.84 miles
St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School
City Way, Rochester, Kent, ME1 2FA
2.86 miles

All schools in Gillingham · Medway local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2023 of its predecessor, St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School.

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

St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School was last inspected in October 2024.

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

St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School has 237 pupils on roll.

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

St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School?

St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School is at Romany Road, Rainham, Romany Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6JH.

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