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St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School

Secondary · Birmingham · B38 8AP

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 2 May 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,193 pupils · 96% of 1,239 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic
Admissions
Non-selective
Free school meals
48.4% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
17.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
14.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
0.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Sixth form
Yes
Website
www.stacs.org
URN
141835

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 176 families named it first for 209 Year 7 places, 0.84 first choices per place. We hold 6 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2021 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 2 May 2024 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 6.3% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.84 first-choice applications per place

209 places offered · 176 first-choice applications · usually has places

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)

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

Attainment 8 score
49.9
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
68.4%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
49.5%
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+
34.9
England 35

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

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school49.9
Median of its 12 closest peers43
Birmingham average47.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, 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.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Our Lady and St Chad Catholic AcademyWolverhampton · 15 miles awayGood40.4
Dyke House Sports and Technology CollegeHartlepool · 161 miles awayStrong standard49.2
The Victory AcademyChatham · 128 miles awayGood35.5
Trinity Catholic CollegeMiddlesbrough · 150 miles awayRequires improvement42.6
Hodge Hill CollegeBirmingham · 8 miles awayExpected standard45.1
King Edward VI Sheldon Heath AcademyBirmingham · 8 miles awayGood47.4
Archbishop Ilsley Catholic SchoolBirmingham · 6 miles awayNeeds attention41.7
Derby Cathedral SchoolDerby · 40 miles awayGood41.5
Dixons Trinity ChapeltownLeeds · 98 miles awayStrong standard46.6
Lipson Co-operative AcademyPlymouth · 169 miles awayExpected standard43.5
John Henry Newman Catholic CollegeBirmingham · 10 miles awayExpected standard43.6
St John Fisher Catholic Voluntary AcademyDewsbury · 90 miles awayRequires improvement34.8

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 42% (Birmingham 22%, England 59%) · Black African 14% (Birmingham 10%, England 5%) · Not recorded 7% (Birmingham 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 6% (Birmingham 3%, England 2%) · Black Caribbean 5% (Birmingham 3%, England 1%) · Any other White background 4% (Birmingham 4%, England 7%) · Any other ethnic group 4% (Birmingham 7%, England 3%) · Asian Indian 3% (Birmingham 6%, England 4%) · Asian Chinese 3% (Birmingham 1%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Birmingham 4%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 2% (Birmingham 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 2% (Birmingham 2%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 2% (Birmingham 1%, England 1%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Birmingham 25%, England 5%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Birmingham 3%, England 3%) · White Irish 1% (Birmingham 0%, England 0%)

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)
6.3%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
19.2%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

12.10 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Birmingham: 15.08 suspensions and 0.24 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
18.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

86% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 6% moved to another state school · 8% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

53.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 8.7 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 £57,125; 14.7% 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 (2024-25)

This school£8,082
Typical secondary school£7,846

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for secondary schools in brackets: Staff 79% (77%) · premises 4% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (6%) · supplies and services 9% (11%) · educational supplies 5% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 5% (3%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £1,734,000; in-year balance +£456,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
90%
Continuing in education
86%
Apprenticeship
1%
Employment
2%

Where students go after sixth form

To university / higher education
75%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
20%
Any sustained destination
94%

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)
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 higher20.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications26%18.1%
In managerial or professional work15.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways34.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health47.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier23.2%62.3%
Social housing71.5%17.1%
Privately rented4.9%20.5%
Detached houses5%22.9%
Flats29.9%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms11.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van38.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01009117 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£250,000335 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£175,000–£355,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (61)£442,000
Semi-detached (117)£296,500
Terraced (105)£200,000
Flat (52)£125,000

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
5an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
13an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
2an 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