School Chooser

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedRoman Catholic296 pupilsNurseryWalsall
School Chooser Score
98
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 94 to 100
Out of 100. Better than 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
Reached the expected level at 1188%England 63%
Attendance97.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families24%About the same as most schools in England
PlacesFull296 pupils, 288 places
Pupils per teacher17.3School workforce census
Pupils on roll296Census January 2026

St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) in Walsall for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 296 pupils, 8 more than it has places for. About 24 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, about the same as most schools in England. We give it 98 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it.

Dartmouth Avenue, Coalpool, Walsall, WS3 1SP01922 720712st-thomas.walsall.sch.ukMrs Jadwiga Richmond-Wojtulewicz headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1188%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level24%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score110.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score111.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 67%67%20172018: 77%77%20182019: 77%77%20192023: 63%63%20232024: 77%77%20242025: 88%88%2025
Since 2017: +21%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017WalsallEngland
Pupils tested413940313028
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths88%77%63%77%77%67%62%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths24%13%3%6%3%7%7%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score110.0108.0104.0103.0106.0103.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score111.0109.0105.0106.0105.0105.0104.3104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score110.0109.0107.0106.0107.0106.0105.7105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard93%79%65%81%80%68%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard95%85%88%94%87%81%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)88%82%85%84%83%81%
Reading progressReading progress score+0.2+1.6+3.2+0.9
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.3+3.6+2.4+1.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged81%80%59%73%69%64%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged92%76%65%81%86%69%

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.

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. 2 of the 4 gaps are 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
81%92%
Gap 11 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
75%96%
Gap 21 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
85%88%
Gap 3 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
31%24%
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 Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places270 pupils for 332 places, 2024/25
81% full

62 places were empty (19% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. Pupil numbers have grown by 3% since 2021/22.

How places were given out for September 2026. 39 families put it down as their first choice and 30 of them got in (77%).

EntryPlacesPut it firstApplied at allGot a placeFirst choices who got inHow far the last child livedSource
2026 Primary3039513077%LA

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 roll296Census January 2026
Places288103% full
Pupils from low-income families23%24% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English23%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support19%56 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan5%14 pupils with a plan
Average class size19.315 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)25%£100,750 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls141 / 155
White British pupils24%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 19.2 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 21.9 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Moderate learning difficulty (32), language and communications needs (22), emotional and mental health (11), Other difficulty or disability (2), Specific learning difficulty (2), Severe learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll296294296289294284
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals23%24%21%23%22%19%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language23%28%30%32%35%39%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support19%17%18%22%21%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans6%7%3%2%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 97.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance97.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school2.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.32024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence2.3%2.7%3.5%3.0%1.8%2.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence1.8%2.1%2.9%2.3%1.4%2.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.5%0.6%0.6%0.7%0.3%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence2.5%3.3%6.7%4.2%2.3%3.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.31.41.40.70.7
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions01000

Staff and money

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

Teachers16.7full-time equivalent, 19 people
Pupils per teacher17.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants4.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,260
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.82024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£7,411England £7,738. Total £2.1m
Income per pupil£7,310England £7,697. Total £2.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,793England £3,480
Money in reserve9%A healthy amount put by: £193k, £676 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£29kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£7,411spent 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 m44612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate115 per 1,000 people27% higher than the England average
Typical house price£221,288Walsall

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
Edgar Stammers Primary AcademyAcademy350 m328Good 202310Compare
Goldsmith Primary AcademyAcademy870 m482Report card 202592Compare
North Walsall Primary AcademyAcademy940 m234Good 202445Compare
Christ Church Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles459Good 202346Compare
Sunshine AcademyAcademy0.9 miles150Good 2021Compare
Butts Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles241Good 202466Compare
Croft AcademyAcademy0.9 miles246No overall grade 202477Compare
Leamore Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles236Report card 202545Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School with the 44 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 44 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats96%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 98 is 54 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 6 · middle 44 · highest 100100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 98 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 98% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 94 to 100. 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%above
+0.26
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 41 pupils
Ofsted inspection0%no data
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.14
DfE progress measure; 41 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.36
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.21
2024/25; 245 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.23
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 41 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 of Canterbury Catholic Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School scores 98 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 94 to 100, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

How good are St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 88% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 24% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School have?

296 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 288 places, so it is 103% full.

Is St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 62 places were empty in 2024/25 (19% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School?

Pupils were in school 97.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 2% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School?

The average class had 19.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
Dartmouth Avenue, Coalpool, Walsall, WS3 1SP
Telephone
01922 720712
Website
www.st-thomas.walsall.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Jadwiga Richmond-Wojtulewicz
Type of school
Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Birmingham
Local authority
Walsall
Ward
Blakenall
Constituency
Walsall and Bloxwich
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
104236 · LAESTAB 3353312 · UKPRN 10078182

Where these figures come from