School Chooser

St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademyChurch of England205 pupilsNurseryWolverhampton
School Chooser Score
18
Below
similar schools
Likely range 8 to 38
Out of 100. Better than 19% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, January 2023
Reached the expected level at 1143%England 63%
Attendance95.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families33%A bit more than most schools
Places35 spare205 pupils, 240 places
Pupils per teacher26.7School workforce census

St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy is a converter academy in Wolverhampton for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 205 pupils and room for 240. About 33 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 18 out of 100. That puts it below schools like it, ahead of 19% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Mattox Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, WV11 3TG01902 558963stthomasceacademy.comMrs Fiona Beardsley headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 17 January 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

30 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1143%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score103.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score97.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 57%57%20172018: 61%61%20182019: 70%70%20192023: 52%52%20232024: 53%53%20242025: 43%43%2025
Since 2017: -14%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure20252024202320192018†2017†WolverhamptonEngland
Pupils tested303029302830
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths43%53%52%70%61%57%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%0%3%23%18%7%11%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score103.0103.0104.0107.0107.0105.0105.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score97.0102.0102.0108.0103.0104.0104.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score102.0105.0104.0111.0108.0108.0105.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard63%67%69%80%82%73%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard43%60%69%87%64%73%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)63%73%72%80%79%70%
Reading progressReading progress score-1.4+0.9+3.1+0.2
Maths progressMaths progress score-3.4+1.3-0.2-0.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged33%54%50%40%50%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged50%53%52%72%59%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

† These results are for St Thomas' Church of England Primary School, the school this one replaced in September 2018. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 4 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
33%50%
Gap 17 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
39%50%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
50%43%
Gap 7 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%7%
Gap 7 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

A few spare places194 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
92% full

About 16 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 4% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Wolverhampton council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll205Census January 2026
Places24085% full
Pupils from low-income families32%33% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English16%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support15%30 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%8 pupils with a plan
Average class size22.89 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils11%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)34%£97,650 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls106 / 99
White British pupils45%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 23.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (15), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), Moderate learning difficulty (6), emotional and mental health (6), Vision impairment (2), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll205208206203207209
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals32%33%36%34%34%28%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language16%16%16%13%13%15%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support14%19%18%16%17%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans5%5%6%4%3%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school10.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.42024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.8%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence5.0%5.6%6.6%5.3%3.2%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.2%3.5%4.7%4.1%2.5%2.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.8%2.1%1.9%1.2%0.7%1.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence10.2%11.6%18.0%14.9%7.0%7.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.44.42.00.50.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00100

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers7.5full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher26.7Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.6full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,737
Teachers who left in the year38%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher14.32024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,456England £7,128. Total £1.5m
Income per pupil£7,328England £7,587. Total £1.5m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,951England £3,405
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £106k, £522 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out-£26kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£7,456spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m30012 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate76 per 1,000 people16% lower than the England average
Typical house price£217,500Wolverhampton

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Jennie Lee CentreMiscellaneous400 mNot inspectedCompare
Wood End Primary SchoolCouncil450 m221No overall grade 202542Compare
Edward the Elder Primary SchoolAcademy590 m228Not inspected78Compare
Wednesfield Technology PrimaryFree school620 m100Not inspectedCompare
Wodensfield Primary SchoolCouncil750 m457No overall grade 202449Compare
St Patrick's Catholic Primary AcademyAcademy820 m248Good 202454Compare
Long Knowle Primary SchoolCouncil900 m212Not inspected78Compare
D'Eyncourt Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles302Good 202253Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats19%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the bottom quarter of its group. Its score of 18 is 26 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 4 · middle 44 · highest 98100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Ocker Hill AcademyAcademy4.7 miles248Good 202486Compare
St Pauls Church of England AcademyAcademy5.2 miles195Good 202371Compare
Old Hill Primary SchoolFoundation9.2 miles237Report card 202647Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 18 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 18% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 8 to 38. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.17
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 30 pupils
Ofsted inspection18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.7 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.11
DfE progress measure; 30 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.10
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.02
2024/25; 186 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.10
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 30 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy a good school?

The figures are weak. St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy scores 18 out of 100. That is below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 19% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 8 to 38, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy good at its last full inspection on 17 January 2023.

How good are St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 43% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy have?

205 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 240 places, so it is 85% full.

Is St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 16 places were empty in 2024/25 (8% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy?

Pupils were in school 95.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 10% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Thomas' Church of England Primary Academy?

The average class had 22.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 11% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Mattox Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, WV11 3TG
Telephone
01902 558963
Website
www.stthomasceacademy.com
Headteacher
Mrs Fiona Beardsley
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Lichfield
Multi-academy trust
Manor Multi Academy Trust (9 schools)
Local authority
Wolverhampton
Ward
Wednesfield South
Constituency
Wolverhampton North East
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2018 (academy converter)
URN
145396 · LAESTAB 3363016 · UKPRN 10067543
Formerly
St Thomas' Church of England Primary School

Where these figures come from