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St Thomas More RC College

Secondary · Manchester · M34 6AF

Data updated

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Good

Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection

Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.

Inspected 30 June 2022

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

797 pupils · 102% of 780 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
26.5% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
5.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
8.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
6.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.stmcollege.org.uk
URN
106271

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 195 families named it first for 149 Year 7 places, 1.31 first choices per place. We hold 14 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2010 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 30 June 2022 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.8% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.31 first-choice applications per place

149 places offered · 195 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.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)

Criterion 13
0.181 miles

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

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
44
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
69.3%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
42%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
3.8
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.

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school44
Median of its 12 closest peers42.3
Tameside average44.2
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with 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
Great Torrington SchoolTorrington · 192 miles awayGood39
Sir John Talbot's SchoolWhitchurch · 41 miles awayGood46.8
Stowupland High SchoolStowmarket · 157 miles awayRequires improvement41.1
The Dean AcademyLydney · 121 miles awayNeeds attention43.1
Bonus Pastor Catholic CollegeBromley · 166 miles awayOutstanding50.7
Acle AcademyNorwich · 162 miles awayExpected standard46.9
Peacehaven Community SchoolPeacehaven · 204 miles awayGood40.1
De La Salle SchoolBasildon · 169 miles awayGood41.8
Stone Lodge SchoolDartford · 170 miles awayGood37.6
Liskeard School and Community CollegeLiskeard · 230 miles awayNo current grade42.8
Chulmleigh Community CollegeChulmleigh · 190 miles awayGood54.1
Cowley AcademySpalding · 88 miles awayGood36.5

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

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision.

Resourced provision
15 of 15 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 77% (Tameside 70%, England 59%) · Black African 6% (Tameside 4%, England 5%) · Any other White background 4% (Tameside 3%, England 7%) · Not recorded 3% (Tameside 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Tameside 1%, England 2%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Tameside 3%, England 3%) · Asian Chinese 1% (Tameside 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Tameside 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Tameside 1%, England 2%) · White Irish 1% (Tameside 0%, England 0%) · other groups together 2%

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)
6.8%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
16.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

41.67 suspensions per 100 pupils and 3 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Tameside: 46.34 suspensions and 0.43 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
16.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

95% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 4% moved to another state school · 1% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% 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)

58.5% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.5 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 £56,126; 7.8% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£8,445
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (77%) · premises 4% (6%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (7%) · supplies and services 11% (10%) · educational supplies 8% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (2%) · catering 4% (3%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £358,986; in-year balance +£77,010

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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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
93%
Continuing in education
88%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
4%

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)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher22.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications21.8%18.1%
In managerial or professional work23.5%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways19.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health44%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier51.7%62.3%
Social housing21.9%17.1%
Privately rented26.2%20.5%
Detached houses1.9%22.9%
Flats18.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms4.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van31.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01005975 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£210,000424 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£175,000–£258,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (32)£380,500
Semi-detached (170)£247,500
Terraced (206)£181,500
Flat (16)£125,000

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
2an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
18an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
8an 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