St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

About St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School sits above the Surrey local authority average for its key stage 2 headline measure, with 67% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined compared with the LA average of 66%. That one-percentage-point gap is modest but consistent with the school's solid academic profile. In the Guildford local area, it ranks 8th out of 19 primary schools on this metric, placing it in the top half of its immediate competitors. The school's overall Ofsted rating is Good, confirmed in an ungraded inspection in February 2024, though its previous graded inspection in 2013 also awarded Good. This stability suggests a school that has maintained its standards over time rather than one that has recently improved or declined.

Looking deeper into the 2023/24 key stage 2 results, the school performs particularly well in reading, where 90% of pupils met the expected standard and 41% achieved a higher standard — well above the national picture. In maths, 72% reached the expected standard and 26% reached the higher standard, with an average scaled score of 104. Writing is slightly weaker, with 79% at expected and just 10% at the higher level. Only 8% of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects, which is a fairly low figure and suggests that while most children are meeting expectations, fewer are exceeding them. The school has no published progress scores for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to compare how much value it adds relative to pupils' starting points. Its national ranking places it in the 37th percentile among all primary schools.

The school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26, it received 147 applications for 60 places, with 56 first-preference applications and 55 offers made to first-preference families. That works out at 2.45 applications per place, so securing a spot is competitive. Facilities include playing fields, a dining hall, a sensory room, an ICT suite and a chapel, reflecting its Roman Catholic character. The school offers a nursery provision for children aged two and above, and its SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Extracurricular clubs include chess, science club, art club and book club, while sports on offer are cross country, football, netball, dance and athletics. This is a good-fit school for Catholic families in Guildford who want a mainstream primary with strong reading outcomes and a clear set of SEND supports, but who are comfortable with a school that is solid rather than exceptional in its academic stretch.

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