Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School

About Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School

Ss John Fisher and Thomas More Catholic Primary School in Manchester was rated Good by Ofsted in its most recent graded inspection in 2018, and an ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good. That marks a significant turnaround from its previous graded inspection in 2016, when it was rated Inadequate overall. The most telling academic metric comes from the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results: 59% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That is just above the Manchester local authority average of 57%, placing the school in the middle of the pack locally — ranked 53rd out of 122 primary schools in the borough, and in the 43rd percentile. The school’s ranking score of 59 puts it in the bottom 50% nationally, but within its North West region it sits around the 56th percentile, suggesting a broadly average performance for the area.

Digging into the individual subject scores, reading and maths both show solid foundations. The average reading score was 103 and the average maths score was 101, both above the national baseline of 100. However, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher standard in reading was 23%, and in maths just 9%, with no pupils achieving the higher standard in writing. This suggests the school is effective at getting most children to a secure level, but less so at stretching the highest achievers. In writing, 61% met the expected standard, while 70% did so in both reading and maths. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The school’s leadership and management, as well as its early years provision, were both rated Good in the 2018 inspection, and behaviour and attitudes were not separately graded.

The school is a Roman Catholic primary for children aged 2 to 11, with a nursery on site. It is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 intake there were 88 applications for 32 places, and all 32 first-preference applicants were offered a place, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.75. The school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage — 46.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. Facilities include a chapel, music rooms, an ICT suite, a gymnasium, sports hall, playing fields, and an art studio. Sports offered include rounders, tennis, football, cricket and athletics, and clubs include drama, choir, film club and science club. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and physical disabilities. This is a school that has stabilised after a difficult period and now offers a solid, faith-based education for local families, particularly those who value a strong pastoral and community focus.

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