St Thomas More Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy

About St Thomas More Catholic Primary, A Voluntary Academy

St Thomas More Catholic Primary, a voluntary academy in Sheffield, sits within a competitive local primary landscape. In the Sheffield local authority, it ranks 11th out of 106 primary schools, placing it in the top 25% nationally for its Key Stage 2 outcomes. The school’s closest performing peers include Dobcroft Junior School, Totley Primary School, and Angram Bank Primary School, all of which score slightly higher on the same ranking metric. As a Roman Catholic school with a mixed intake of 199 pupils, it serves a community where 21.1% of children are eligible for free school meals, a figure that gives some indication of the socioeconomic mix. The school is oversubscribed: for the 2025/26 academic year, it received 53 applications for 30 places, with 28 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.83. This level of demand suggests strong local reputation, though the nearest Outstanding-rated school, Oughtibridge Primary, lies 3.5 kilometres away.

Academically, St Thomas More performs well above the Sheffield local authority average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 76% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a LA average of 57%. The school’s ranking score of 76 is built on this combined measure, and it sits 12th in the LA when ranked by the same metric. In individual subjects, 83% met expectations in both reading and maths, with average scaled scores of 107 in each. At the higher standard, 21% achieved above expectation in reading, 34% in maths, and 10% in writing. The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection, an ungraded visit in January 2024, confirmed that it remains Good, with leadership and management also judged Good. This is a significant improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2011, when overall effectiveness was rated Inadequate. The school has no sixth form and does not offer nursery provision.

The school’s facilities include a sports hall, playing fields, a forest school area, an ICT suite, a chapel, and a dining hall. Sports offered are athletics, football, netball, and cricket, while extracurricular clubs include science, coding, chess, and drama. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions covering specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate and severe learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With a capacity of 210 and current pupil numbers at 199, there is some headroom, though the oversubscription figures show demand outstrips supply. This school will suit families seeking a faith-based primary with strong academic outcomes relative to the local authority, a broad range of activities, and a clear commitment to inclusion, particularly for children with identified special educational needs.

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