St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden
About St Thomas More Catholic Primary School, Saffron Walden
St Thomas More Catholic Primary School in Saffron Walden is a small state primary that punches well above the local average in its headline academic metrics. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 88% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a local authority average of just 62% for primary schools in Essex. That gap of 26 percentage points is significant and places the school firmly among the strongest performers in Uttlesford, where it ranks second out of 34 schools on this measure. The school also sits in the top 5% nationally for the same metric. Its reading and maths average scores both hit 111, well above the national benchmark of 100, and 56% of pupils achieved the higher standard in reading. With only 2. 4% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the intake is notably less disadvantaged than many schools in the area, which likely contributes to these strong results.
Key Details
The full report on this school
The inspection in plain English, admissions context, and how this school compares to nearby alternatives — all in one full school report.
- Ofsted inspection in plain EnglishStrengths, concerns and what inspectors flagged
- Parent View survey resultsWhat parents told Ofsted — when the school has 10+ responses
- Where Ofsted and parents disagreeGaps to probe + questions to ask at the open day
- Admissions & catchmentAdmission criteria, distance cutoffs (where the LA publishes them)
- Nearby schools comparedBackup options with Ofsted, demand and distance
- Attendance & behaviour dataPersistent absentees, suspensions and exclusions vs national
Ofsted Inspection Breakdown
20 Sept 2023Latest monitoring visit (20 Sept 2023): School remains Good
Source: Ofsted, 11 Nov 2013. Ratings: 1=Outstanding, 2=Good, 3=Requires Improvement, 4=Inadequate.
SEND Support
Source: Department for Education, 2024/25. Support availability based on current student population.
School day
Teaching hours
08:55 – 15:15
Breakfast club
08:00-08:55
After-school care
15:15-18:00
Source: stmsw.co.uk. Extracted automatically — confirm with the school before relying on these times.
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