St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 29 November 2022

St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive school is a loving community which is welcoming, safe, forgiving and positive. Pupils deeply respect each other and all the staff. They relish learning and love coming to school. They are happy and safe. Bullying is extremely rare and never tolerated. Pupils work hard to meet leaders' high expectations and achieve highly. Their behaviour in lessons as well as at social times is exemplary. Pupils feel valued as individuals and are proud of the school's diversity. They enjoy the wealth of academic, social, creative and spiritual experiences the school provides. Pupils join in a plethora of extra-curricular activities after school and at lunchtime. Pupils have a real voice in the school and feel that staff listen to them. Through seven different leadership committees, pupils have a say about important issues such as mental health, the environment and how the school promotes equality. All pupils are encouraged to make a positive contribution to the wider society. For example, pupils initiate various charitable activities to promote well-being.

What the school should improve

• Pupils do not study some subjects in key stage 3 in as much depth as other subjects. This affects how well pupils learn in these subjects. Leaders should ensure that pupils have the opportunity to study all subjects in depth across key stage 3. wid
• In most subjects, teachers' expectations are high, and pupils achieve well. However, sometimes, teachers' use of assessment and their expectations of pupils' learning are inconsistent. Where this is the case, it leads to some pupils having gaps in their learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers' expectations are consistently high.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)