SchoolFacts.uk

St Thomas More High School

Secondary · Westcliff-on-Sea · SS0 0BW

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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 7 March 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,243 pupils · 118% of 1,050 capacity (over capacity)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Boys
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
13.8% of pupils
English as additional language
15% of pupils
SEN support
7.7% of pupils
EHC plan
3.9% of pupils
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.st-thomasmore.southend.sch.uk
URN
137310

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

1.13 first-choice applications per place

179 places offered · 202 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

Applications and offers on national offer day, DfE. A ratio above 1.00 means more families named this school first choice than there were places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every place for 2026 entry went to children who met a higher admission criterion, so distance did not decide any place.

Cutoff distances as published by the local authority. Siblings and other priority groups are offered places first; cutoffs move year to year.

GCSE results (2024/2025)

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

Attainment 8 score
52.3
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
74.9%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
63.7%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
4.3
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+
31.9
England 35

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025. “Suppressed” means the DfE withholds figures for very small cohorts.

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school52.3
Median of its 12 closest peers51.3
Southend-on-Sea average54.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is in line with the schools that teach a comparable intake.

The twelve below are matched on intake alone, from every state school in England, so most are not local. They are the evidence behind the comparison above, not a shortlist. For schools you could realistically apply to, see nearby schools.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Blenheim High SchoolEpsom · 43 miles awayGood (2019)49.4
Blackfen School for GirlsSidcup · 25 miles awayGood44.1
Esher Church of England High SchoolEsher · 47 miles awayExpected standard55.4
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High SchoolAccrington · 199 miles awayExpected standard50.7
Finchley Catholic High SchoolLondon · 37 miles awayGood62.3
The King's (The Cathedral) SchoolPeterborough · 81 miles awayOutstanding63.2
The County High School, LeftwichNorthwich · 178 miles awayExpected standard51.9
The Gryphon SchoolSherborne · 144 miles awayGood46.7
Davenant Foundation SchoolLoughton · 26 miles awayStrong standard56.7
St Thomas More Catholic Academy and Sixth Form CollegeNuneaton · 113 miles awayGood47.5
Launceston CollegeLaunceston · 227 miles awayGood48
Oaklands Catholic SchoolWaterlooville · 87 miles awayExpected standard52.3

The 12 state schools in England whose intake most closely matches this one: same phase and admissions type, and as near as the data allows on size, free school meals, English as an additional language, SEN and the child poverty of the surrounding area (IDACI 2025). Matching uses only characteristics a school does not choose. It is not a ranking, and a close match on intake does not make two schools interchangeable: sixth form, faith character, admissions rules and plain geography all matter and are not in the calculation. Results: DfE performance tables, 2024/2025. How the matching works.

Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.4%
England 6.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
10.8%
England 18.1%

Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
19.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

91% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 5% moved to another state school · 4% left the state-funded sector

School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Spending per pupil

This school£8,344
Typical secondary school£7,798

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, academy finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
98%
Continuing in education
95%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
70%
Apprenticeship
4%
Employment
19%
Any sustained destination
92%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, latest DfE destination measures release.

Inspection history since 2015

Ofsted management information. Ungraded and monitoring visits do not award a new grade. How the two inspection systems work.

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
2/10among the most deprived fifth of England

English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG), decile of the small area the school stands in: 1 is the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. IDACI counts only children in low-income families, which is the measure closest to the intake a school is likely to draw on.

Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher20.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications28.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work23.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways32.3%18.1%
Residents in very good health41.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier51.6%62.3%
Social housing35%17.1%
Privately rented13.4%20.5%
Detached houses3.7%22.9%
Flats19.1%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms7.5%21.1%
Households with no car or van26.6%23.5%

Census 2021 (ONS) for statistical area E01015824 (a lower layer super output area), the neighbourhood of roughly 1,201 adults that the school stands in. These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Children travel in from further away, and for selective, faith and some other schools usually much further. Open Government Licence v3.0.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£375,000478 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to July 2026
Typical range
£299,000–£480,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (80)£500,000
Semi-detached (202)£410,000
Terraced (111)£347,000
Flat (85)£218,000

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

Every residential sale registered with HM Land Registry within 1 km of the school (straight line) since January 2024, market sales of houses and flats only. A sale is dated by completion and registered weeks later, so the most recent months are incomplete. 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
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
5an urban school averages 5.8
All reported collisions
15an urban school averages 30.6
Of those, serious or fatal
2an urban school averages 6.1

Every collision reported to the police within 500 m of the school in 2021–2025, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics (STATS19). "Child pedestrians" counts casualties aged under 16 on foot; "school-run times" means weekdays 07:30–09:00 and 15:00–16:30 outside August. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe: counts rise with traffic and with how built-up an area is, which is why the comparison is with other urban schools. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Nearby schools