SCHOOL PROFILE

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 104236
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 288 Published school capacity
Capacity used 102.8% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

18 December 2024
Latest published outcome Improved significantly
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Walsall
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 296 283 full-time · 13 part-time
Female pupils 155 52.4% of pupils
Male pupils 141 47.6% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

23.0%
1.8 pts below England
School 23.0%
Walsall 36.6%
West Midlands 30.6%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

23.3%
3.0 pts above England
School 23.3%
Walsall 24.3%
West Midlands 22.4%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Walsall 0.4%
West Midlands 0.6%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

African
33.1%
98
White British
23.6%
70
Any other White background
17.9%
53
Any other Black background
8.1%
24
Any other Mixed background
5.1%
15
Caribbean
3.0%
9
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 23.7% 70 of 296 pupils
2.8 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 23.7%
Walsall 20.5%
West Midlands 21.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 18.9% 56 pupils
England 14.8% 4.1 pts above
EHC plans 4.7% 14 pupils
England 6.0% 1.3 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Moderate learning difficulty 32
Speech, language & communication 22
Social, emotional & mental health 11
Other difficulty or disability 2
Specific learning difficulty 2
Severe learning difficulty 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

88.0% 27.6 pts above England
School 88.0%
Walsall 58.2%
West Midlands 60.0%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

93.0%

19.2 pts above England

School 93.0%
Walsall 72.1%
West Midlands 73.0%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

88.0%

17.7 pts above England

School 88.0%
Walsall 67.8%
West Midlands 69.9%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

95.0%

23.0 pts above England

School 95.0%
Walsall 70.0%
West Midlands 71.4%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

2.32%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

3.90 pts lower than England
School 2.32%
Walsall 6.88%
West Midlands 6.28%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

2.45%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

13.37 pts lower than England
School 2.45%
Walsall 19.49%
West Midlands 16.42%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.41%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.40 pts lower than England
School 0.41%
Walsall 1.95%
West Midlands 1.82%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

102.8% 14.6 pts above England
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
102.8%
Walsall
97.4%
West Midlands
91.3%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information