St Thomas More High School, Westcliff-on-Sea

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is with great pleasure that I introduce our school to you. St Thomas More is a vibrant learning community with a strong family ethos, a distinctive Catholic identity and part of the Assisi Catholic Trust."

In 2026, pupils at St Thomas More High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 52.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 55 in Southend-on-Sea and 47 across England.

57% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 59% in Southend-on-Sea and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 52.3.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was 0.32: pupils made above 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 47.3, against 53.8 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 6.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 202 families put St Thomas More High School as their first choice and 569 named it as one of their preferences, for 179 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 59 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Thomas More High School are Westcliff High School for Boys Academy (0.2 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 77.2); Westcliff High School for Girls (0.2 miles, Outstanding, selective, Attainment 8 73.8); The Eastwood Academy (0.7 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 51.2); and Chase High School (0.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 38.5).

St Thomas More High School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.

St Thomas More High School is one of 9 schools run by Assisi Catholic Trust, an academy trust.

Of the 178 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 93% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 28% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 182 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 64% went on to university or other higher education, 6% to apprenticeships and 18% into work. 22% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

13% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 105 pupils (8.4%) received SEN support and 55 (4.4%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Chalkwell Rail Station, about 1.1 miles away in a straight line.

14 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Thomas Moore School (outside), 100 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Thomas More High School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 4th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, St Thomas More High School issued 38 suspensions, 3.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to St Thomas More High School are Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School (0.3 miles), Darlinghurst Academy (0.4 miles), Blenheim Primary School (0.4 miles) and Chalkwell Hall Infant School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.