St Thomas More Catholic Academy, Stoke-on-Trent

In its own words: "Christ is at the heart of our community, where everyone is known and loved. In fulfilling our mission we are a school of prayer. We live as a community of love, peace and reconciliation, valuing everyone’s dignity as a child of God to promote and celebrate the growth and achievement of the whole person."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include dance, STEM, cooking, gardening, debating and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at St Thomas More Catholic Academy averaged an Attainment 8 score of 43.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 41.4 in Stoke-on-Trent and 47 across England.

37% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 36% in Stoke-on-Trent and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 43.4.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.21: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 38.5, against 46 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 7.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 197 families put St Thomas More Catholic Academy as their first choice and 436 named it as one of their preferences, for 197 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. 19 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Thomas More Catholic Academy are Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy (1.2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.3); St Peter's CofE Academy (1.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 34.2); Ormiston Meridian Academy (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 40.6); and Discovery Academy (1.8 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 33.5).

St Thomas More Catholic Academy's 2026 results were higher than all 4 of them.

St Thomas More Catholic Academy is one of 64 schools run by St Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 205 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 80% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 41% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

Of the 84 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 57% went on to university or other higher education, 5% to apprenticeships and 20% into work. 8% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

36.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 33.6% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (39%), Asian (29%) and Black (13%).

In 2026, 193 pupils (17.8%) received SEN support and 32 (2.9%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is a moderate learning difficulty.

The nearest railway station is Longton Rail Station, about 720 metres away (roughly a 9-minute walk).

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Thanet Grove (adjacent), 100 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Thomas More Catholic Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, St Thomas More Catholic Academy issued 182 suspensions, 16.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 4 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Thomas More Catholic Academy are St Paul's CofE (C) Primary School (0.4 miles), St Gregory's Catholic Academy (0.4 miles), Co-op Academy Clarice Cliff (0.6 miles) and The Meadows Primary Academy (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.