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St Thomas More Catholic School, Willenhall

Secondary · Willenhall · WV14 7BL

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 11 October 2022

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,464 pupils · 98% of 1,500 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
41.1% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
35.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
11.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
http://www.st-thomasmore.walsall.sch.uk/
URN
104259

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 253 families named it first for 238 Year 7 places, 1.06 first choices per place. We hold 3 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2024 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 11 October 2022, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 8.4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.06 first-choice applications per place

238 places offered · 253 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: Year 7

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

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

237 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
41.4
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
49.4%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
31.6%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.2
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

A-level results (2024/2025)

A-level points per entry (England: 35 ≈ B-) C
28.4
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school41.4
Median of its 12 closest peers45.5
Walsall average43.6
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind 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.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Bedford AcademyBedford · 74 miles awayGood42.8
Thomas Bennett Community CollegeCrawley · 129 miles awayNeeds attention33.1
The St Thomas the Apostle CollegeLondon · 114 miles awayOutstanding (2018)61.7
St Margaret Ward Catholic AcademyStoke-on-Trent · 35 miles awayExpected standard43
Harris Garrard AcademyErith · 119 miles awayStrong standard48.1
Heartlands High SchoolLondon · 106 miles awayGood (2016)45.4
St George's Catholic SchoolLondon · 107 miles awayOutstanding55.9
Ark John Keats AcademyLondon · 106 miles awayGood50.1
The Phoenix CollegiateWest Bromwich · 3 miles awayGood39.8
Oak Wood SchoolUxbridge · 99 miles awayGood37.6
Mulberry Academy WoodsideLondon · 107 miles awayStrong standard48.4
The Chalk Hills AcademyLuton · 81 miles awayGood45.7

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 38% (Walsall 49%, England 59%) · Asian Indian 21% (Walsall 10%, England 4%) · Any other White background 10% (Walsall 4%, England 7%) · Black African 9% (Walsall 7%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 4% (Walsall 3%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Walsall 2%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 2% (Walsall 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Walsall 2%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 2% (Walsall 2%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Walsall 3%, England 3%) · Not recorded 2% (Walsall 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Walsall 11%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Walsall 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Walsall 1%, England 1%) · 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)
8.4%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
27.4%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

22.31 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Walsall: 23.68 suspensions and 0.13 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
15.7
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

91% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 6% moved to another state school · 3% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

2.04% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained secondaries: 0.22% vacant, 0.42% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

76.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 7.4 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 £56,808; 6.8% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

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

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£8,592
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 79% (77%) · premises 9% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 2% (7%) · supplies and services 18% (10%) · educational supplies 7% (6%) · bought-in professional services 3% (2%) · catering 1% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £845,801; in-year balance -£132,663

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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

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
89%
Continuing in education
86%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
1%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
59%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
17%
Any sustained destination
85%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

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

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher20.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications30.3%18.1%
In managerial or professional work15%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways29.9%18.1%
Residents in very good health50.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier40.1%62.3%
Social housing42.5%17.1%
Privately rented17.2%20.5%
Detached houses17.9%22.9%
Flats0.8%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms10.6%21.1%
Households with no car or van30.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01010415 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£189,000212 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£154,500–£236,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (36)£282,000
Semi-detached (103)£190,000
Terraced (56)£170,000
Flat (17)£97,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than three quarters of 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
6an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
12an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
51an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
5an 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