SCHOOL PROFILE

St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy

Secondary Academy converter URN 138950
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 750 Published school capacity
Capacity used 101.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 16 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

29 March 2023
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Good
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Wakefield
Trust THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 762 762 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 370 48.6% of pupils
Male pupils 392 51.4% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

29.7%
4.9 pts above England
School 29.7%
Wakefield 25.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber 27.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

36.9%
16.6 pts above England
School 36.9%
Wakefield 12.5%
Yorkshire and The Humber 17.9%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.7%
0.3 pts below England
School 0.7%
Wakefield 0.6%
Yorkshire and The Humber 0.4%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
43.4%
331
Any other White background
12.1%
92
Pakistani
11.0%
84
African
8.3%
63
Any other Mixed background
7.7%
59
Indian
6.2%
47
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 15.1% 115 of 762 pupils
5.7 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 15.1%
Wakefield 21.0%
Yorkshire and The Humber 20.9%
England 20.8%
SEN support 5.6% 43 pupils
England 14.8% 9.1 pts below
EHC plans 9.5% 72 pupils
England 6.0% 3.4 pts above
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder 48
Speech, language & communication 19
Social, emotional & mental health 17
Specific learning difficulty 11
No specialist assessment yet 8
Other difficulty or disability 7

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 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

46.3 7.1 pts above England
School 46.3
Wakefield 37.5
Yorkshire and The Humber 39.9
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 45.3% England 36.0% 9.3 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 65.5% England 51.4% 14.1 pts above England
EBacc entry 56.8% England 30.6% 26.2 pts above England
EBacc average point score 4.32 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.29 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority 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

8.47%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.25 pts higher than England
School 8.47%
Wakefield 6.30%
Yorkshire and The Humber 6.13%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

22.43%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

6.62 pts higher than England
School 22.43%
Wakefield 16.12%
Yorkshire and The Humber 15.55%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

4.31%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

2.51 pts higher than England
School 4.31%
Wakefield 1.99%
Yorkshire and The Humber 1.77%
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 secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

101.6% 9.3 pts above England
St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy
101.6%
Wakefield
90.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber
91.7%
England
92.3%
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