St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale, Manchester
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Manchester. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in April 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in October 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 174th-highest of the 258 schools in Manchester with published results, and 9,982nd of 14,452 across England. It was 95% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 75 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Rochdale (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 1 Nov 2026
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale in detail
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale in its own words
From the headteacher's welcome: "As the Headteacher of St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School I am delighted to welcome you to our school. Education is a partnership between home, school and parish. We believe that children learn best when all three work together for the benefit of our children. As Servants of God, we follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ."
Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, swimming and cross-country.
The school runs after-school care, from £5.00 per morning.
Headteacher's welcome (school website)Clubs (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale reached the expected standard in reading and 64% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 73% in Rochdale and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 67% in reading and 51% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale
For September 2026 entry, 35 families put St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale as their first choice and 99 named it as one of their preferences, for 38 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale are St Michael's Church of England Primary School, Alkrington (0.2 miles, Requires improvement, 74% reading, 84% maths); Alkrington Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 82% reading, 84% maths); Crosslee Community Primary School (0.4 miles, 57% reading, 71% maths); and St John Bosco RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy (0.5 miles).
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale's 2025 results were higher than 1 of these 3 schools.
St Michael's Church of England Primary School, AlkringtonAlkrington Primary SchoolCrosslee Community Primary SchoolSt John Bosco RC Primary School, a Voluntary Academy
What parents say
118 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale (as of September 2025): 44% would recommend the school, 86% say their child is happy there and 44% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (86%); the weakest, that they would recommend the school (44%).
Who goes there
13.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Moston Rail Station, about 1.1 miles away in a straight line.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Upton Close (near), 170 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale issued 7 suspensions, 2.2 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale are Co-op Academy North Manchester (0.6 miles), Dixons Middleton Academy (1 mile) and Our Lady's RC High School (1.1 miles).
Co-op Academy North ManchesterDixons Middleton AcademyOur Lady's RC High School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from April 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils describe their school as friendly, happy and safe. They know that staff care for them and will resolve any issues between peers effectively.
Pupils know that everyone is welcome at their school, they demonstrate this through the respect they show each other. Staff make sure that they support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well. This ensures that they can meet the high expectations set for all pupils. As a result, pupils achieve well in most subjects.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has made sure that the curriculum provides an appropriate level of challenge to all pupils. Leaders have high expectations of what children will achieve, which is reflected in most of the school's external outcomes.
The school has effective systems for quickly identifying pupils with SEND and for providing the extra support that they need. As a result, pupils with SEND access the full curriculum and are supported to succeed.
From Ofsted's October 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its April 2019 inspection - up from Requires Improvement.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
13.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
118 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 67% to 78% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 51% to 64% (2024 to 2025). Writing has remained stable at around 60% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.8
Avg class size
27.0
Infant (KS1)
29.3
KS2
11
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale.
- Progressive Sports630m away · Not yet graded
Nurseries
The nearest nurseries and pre-schools to St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale, with their latest published grades:
- Alkrington Pre-School CIC - Pre-school, 0.2 milesOfsted, 21 June 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- St Thomas More Play Group - Pre-school, 0.3 milesOfsted, 11 February 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Ducklings Limited - Day nursery, 0.5 milesOfsted, 22 March 2024: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Brighter Beginnings Charlestown - Day nursery, 0.5 milesOfsted, 30 May 2022: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
- Cosy Toes Nursery - Day nursery, 0.6 milesOfsted, 19 May 2023: Good overall; safeguarding is effective
Term dates
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Rochdale's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
You apply to the council where you live. St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale is in Rochdale; for families living there:
- Rochdale's school travel policy: Home to School Transport Policy
- How to apply: Apply for school travel expenses
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 8
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 8 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Rochdale is 10 (the median across 106 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight are DfT estimates (severity adjustment). Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale
Will you get a place at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
For 2026 entry it had 35 first choices for 38 places. The report sets your home postcode against these figures.
£9.99 once (inc. VAT; £19.99 for up to three schools), or Pro £9 a month, every report included, cancel any time. What's in the report
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
95%
Near capacity
299 pupils
315 places
16 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Across Rochdale council
Places available
3,242
Applications
2,831
Got 1st preference
89.2%
Got preferred school
97.7%
All primary applications across Rochdale council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Future places in the local planning area
DfE estimates the Middleton Township Primary planning area (Rochdale) will need 232 more primary places than it is due to have in 2027/28.
Source: Department for Education, School capacity: Academic year 2024/25 (published 19 March 2026), estimates of future school place demand by planning area. Council pupil forecasts against reported places, counting places councils and DfE plan to add or remove; rounded to whole places. Explore Education Statistics
Inspection History(7)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
35
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
14.5%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
311
Total Pupils
163
Boys
148
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
15
Teachers
20.7:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£47,973
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,077
Per pupil
£1671k
Total funding
£64k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.2%
Overall absence
19.9%
Persistent absence
271
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale
Questions parents ask about St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale
What are SATs results like at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
Of the pupils at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 78% reached the expected standard in reading and 64% did so in maths.
What is St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale's Ofsted rating?
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale's most recent Ofsted inspection, in October 2024, was ungraded. At its last graded inspection, in April 2019, it was rated Good.
Is it hard to get a place at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale was close to full in 2025, at 95% of its 315 places.
How big are the classes at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
Classes at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale average 27.8 pupils (2025/26). 1 class has more than 30 pupils.
How many pupils go to St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale has around 311 pupils on roll. 14% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
6.2% of sessions were missed at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale in 2024/25. 19.9% of pupils were persistently absent.
Does St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale: Progressive Sports (630m away, registered, not yet graded).
How many road collisions happen near St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 8 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Rochdale is 10 (the median across 106 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale?
St Thomas More Roman Catholic Primary School, Middleton, Rochdale is at Evesham Road, Alkrington, Manchester, M24 1PY.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)