SchoolFacts.uk

St Thomas' Catholic Primary School, Canterbury

Primary · Canterbury · CT1 1NE

Data updated

⇄ Compare with another school
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: OutstandingPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 19 April 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

210 pupils · 100% of 210 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary aided school
Age range
5–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Free school meals
14.8% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
54.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
8.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
1.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.st-thomas-canterbury.kent.sch.uk
URN
118777

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 38 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 1.27 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 0.057 miles; distance decided places in 4 of the 4 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2023 to 2026. Ofsted last graded it Good on 19 April 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.9% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.27 first-choice applications per place

30 places offered · 38 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. Places by distance, last offered at 0.057 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 0.057 miles

measured in a straight line.

Premium shows the exact distance behind every year back to 2023.

See what a pass includes →

Would you have got in? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed: your postcode against this school's cutoff history. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools you would be inside, and the address check across every school at once.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
80%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
17%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
108
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
112
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 school80%
Median of its 12 closest peers68%
Kent average63.6%
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 Anselm's Catholic Primary SchoolDartford · 39 miles awayGood79%
Our Lady and St John's Catholic Primary SchoolBrentford · 62 miles awayGood90%
St Vincent's Catholic Primary SchoolDagenham · 46 miles awayNo current grade66%
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, SunderlandSunderland · 271 miles awayNo current grade90%
St Gabriel's Church of England Primary SchoolBlackburn · 228 miles awayGood69%
Queen Eleanor Primary AcademyNorthampton · 107 miles awayGood66%
Our Lady & St Edward Primary & Nursery Catholic Voluntary AcademyNottingham · 149 miles awayGood42%
St Felix Roman Catholic Primary School, HaverhillHAVERHILL · 62 miles awayGood45%
St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary SchoolNottingham · 152 miles awayGood55%
Westgate Primary SchoolDartford · 39 miles awayGood90%
Primley Wood Primary SchoolLeeds · 209 miles awayGood67%
Hampden Gurney CofE Primary SchoolLondon · 56 miles awayGood100%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

Any other White background 28% (Kent 7%, England 7%) · White British 21% (Kent 70%, England 60%) · Asian Indian 10% (Kent 3%, England 4%) · Black African 10% (Kent 5%, England 5%) · Any other Mixed background 9% (Kent 3%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 5% (Kent 0%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 3% (Kent 1%, England 3%) · Any other Asian background 3% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Not recorded 3% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Kent 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Kent 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Kent 2%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Kent 0%, 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)
3.9%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
7.1%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Kent: 3.00 suspensions and 0.01 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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
24.4
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

83% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 16% left the state-funded sector

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)

50% of teachers took sickness absence, 2 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 £47,593; 10% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£6,372
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 76% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 10% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (4%) · bought-in professional services 5% (3%) · catering 4% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £266,819; in-year balance -£20,407

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.

Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →

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)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher39.1%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications14.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work28%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways25.5%18.1%
Residents in very good health45.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier28.7%62.3%
Social housing35.3%17.1%
Privately rented35.8%20.5%
Detached houses3.3%22.9%
Flats59.9%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms13.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van50%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01024093 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£275,000539 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£205,000–£365,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (27)£477,000
Semi-detached (59)£300,000
Terraced (210)£309,500
Flat (243)£200,000

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
4an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
11an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
66an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
11an 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