St Thomas More RC College

About St Thomas More RC College

St Thomas More RC College in Tameside is a state secondary for boys and girls aged 11 to 16, and its headline academic metrics stand out sharply against the local authority average. The school’s Progress 8 score of 0.43 is well above the Tameside average of -0.19, meaning pupils here make significantly more progress between Key Stage 2 and GCSEs than their peers across the borough. That score places it third out of 16 schools in the local authority, in the top 25 per cent nationally, and comfortably ahead of the LA’s overall negative trend. The Attainment 8 score of 49.7 also reflects strong outcomes, and the basics measure — the proportion of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs — sits at 57.6 per cent. With 24.3 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals, these results are particularly impressive and suggest the school is effective at driving progress regardless of background.

Academically, the school’s Ofsted rating is Good, a grade it has held consistently across its two most recent inspections. The most recent graded inspection took place in 2012, and an ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed the school remains Good, with leadership and management also rated Good. The Progress 8 banding is officially classed as ‘Above average’, and the school performs strongly across all subject pillars: English progress is 0.5, maths 0.42, the EBacc element 0.32, and open subjects 0.51. The EBacc entry rate is 43 per cent, and 26.5 per cent of pupils achieved the EBacc at grade 4 or above. In the North West region, the school ranks 60th out of 445 schools for Progress 8, putting it in the top 14 per cent regionally. These figures paint a picture of consistent, above-average academic performance that comfortably exceeds the local norm.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 153 places in 2025/26, it received 423 total applications, with 170 first-preference applications and 144 first-preference offers — an oversubscription ratio of 2.76. Facilities include a swimming pool, theatre, astro turf, chapel, music rooms, and a library, and the sports programme covers hockey, netball, cricket, martial arts, and gymnastics. Clubs range from the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Model UN to choir, orchestra, and eco club. SEND provision is broad, covering specific learning difficulties, moderate learning difficulty, social and emotional mental health, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. There is no sixth form, so families should plan for post-16 transition. This is a Catholic school that delivers strong academic progress well above the local average, and its popularity with families reflects that reputation.

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