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St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

Primary · Walsall · WS3 1SP

Data updated

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Good (2016)

Last grade Ofsted published, no newer grade exists

Ofsted graded this school Good in 2016. Every inspection since has been ungraded, and an ungraded inspection cannot change a grade. The most recent found “Improved significantly”. Ofsted's current data file lists only graded inspections from September 2019 onwards, so this grade has dropped out of it, but it is still the school's grade of record, and still on Ofsted's own report page. It is old, so weigh it against the more recent evidence on this page.

Inspected 23 February 2016

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

296 pupils · 103% of 288 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
3–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Free school meals
24% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
27.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
19.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
www.st-thomas.walsall.sch.uk/
URN
104236

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 39 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 1.30 first choices per place. We hold 4 Reception admissions rounds for it, 2023 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. The last grade Ofsted published for it is Good, from 2016. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.30 first-choice applications per place

30 places offered · 39 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

The council did not publish a cutoff distance for 2026 entry.

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

41 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
88%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
24%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
110
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
111
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school88%
Median of its 12 closest peers55%
Walsall average61.7%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
St Patrick's Roman Catholic Primary SchoolRochdale · 71 miles awayGood66%
Cambridge Road Community Primary and Nursery SchoolEllesmere Port · 60 miles awayGood53%
Hearsall Community AcademyCoventry · 23 miles awayGood34%
St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School, CarlisleCarlisle · 162 miles awaySpecial measures41%
Batley Parish CofE Primary AcademyBatley · 78 miles awayRequires improvement68%
Ocker Hill AcademyTipton · 5 miles awayGood77%
Woodbank Primary SchoolBury · 70 miles awayGood63%
Charlton Manor Primary SchoolLondon · 116 miles awayGood48%
Devonshire Road Primary SchoolBolton · 70 miles awayStrong standard68%
St Margaret Ward Catholic Primary SchoolSale · 58 miles awayGood55%
Sacred Heart Catholic SchoolPaignton · 164 miles awayGood55%
St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary SchoolManchester · 55 miles awayGood52%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Black African 33% (Walsall 6%, England 5%) · White British 24% (Walsall 48%, England 60%) · Any other White background 18% (Walsall 4%, England 7%) · Any other Black background 8% (Walsall 1%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 5% (Walsall 3%, England 3%) · Black Caribbean 3% (Walsall 1%, England 1%) · Asian Indian 3% (Walsall 10%, England 4%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Walsall 2%, England 3%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Walsall 11%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Walsall 3%, England 2%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Walsall 0%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Walsall 3%, England 2%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.34 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Walsall: 2.03 suspensions and 0.02 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
17.3
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

100% of teachers stayed at the school the following year

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

27.8% of teachers took sickness absence, 3 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £52,261; 21.1% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£6,905
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 74% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 14% (9%) · educational supplies 5% (4%) · bought-in professional services 7% (3%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £164,477; in-year balance -£28,788

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher16.7%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications35%18.1%
In managerial or professional work13.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways35%18.1%
Residents in very good health41.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier39.3%62.3%
Social housing48.7%17.1%
Privately rented11.6%20.5%
Detached houses6.3%22.9%
Flats6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms7.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van34.8%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01032888 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£218,500336 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£181,000–£262,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (65)£278,000
Semi-detached (191)£217,500
Terraced (72)£180,000
Flat (8)£106,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
1an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
3an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
15an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools