St Thomas More High School

Southend-on-Sea · SS0 0BW

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 1243 pupils, 13.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8.4% on SEN support Behaviour 4.7% absence rate Staff 14% turnover Financials £8,344 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Thomas More High School

General Information

Address: Kenilworth Gardens, Westcliff-on-Sea, SS0 0BW – View on map
Phone: 01702344933
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: G Ackred
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 202 families put it first for 179 places – 11 for every 10 places. 71% of them were offered a place. 45 of the 179 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 11 · 2024 11 · 2025 10 · 2026 11
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Boys
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

1243 pupils out of 1050 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 127
% eligible for free school meals: 13.8%
Pupil mix: 8 in 10 (more mixed than the Southend-on-Sea average)
English as an additional language: 14% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 14% a year (Southend-on-Sea 16.3%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 39% moved to another school, 61% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Southend-on-Sea: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 56 (3.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 20 (1.3 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 8 (0.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 4.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 9.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 8.4%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 29 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 20 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 17 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 13 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 12 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 25 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 12 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 52.3
Compared with the area: 1.3 points below the Southend-on-Sea average (53.6)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (+0.6 points against an expected 51.7)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 75% (Southend-on-Sea 73%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolSouthend-on-Sea averageEngland↘ Falling Down 2.1 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 1.3 points below the Southend-on-Sea average (53.6).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

6th of 12 secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea for Attainment 8

#4Southend High School for Boys73.8
#5St Bernard's High School54.9
#6St Thomas More High School52.3
#7The Eastwood Academy51.6
#8Belfairs Academy45.5

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Westcliff High School for Boys Academy77.6
#2Westcliff High School for Girls75.6
#3Southend High School for Girls75.0
#4Southend High School for Boys73.8
#5St Bernard's High School54.9
#6St Thomas More High School52.3
#7The Eastwood Academy51.6
#8Belfairs Academy45.5
#9Chase High School39.2
#10Southchurch High School38.7
#11Shoeburyness High School37.6
#12Cecil Jones Academy35.1

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 98.0%
Went into further education: 95.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
Religious Studies
English Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
Media Studies
Business Studies
History
Geography
Art & Design
Computer Science
Chemistry (General)
Biology
Physics (General)
Spanish
Sports Studies
Music Studies (General)
Food Technology
Polish
Italian
Astronomy
Russian

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

9th of 10 secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea for Ofsted rating

#7Shoeburyness High SchoolGood
#8St Bernard's High SchoolGood
#9St Thomas More High SchoolGood
#10Belfairs AcademyRequires improvement

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Southend High School for BoysOutstanding
#2Southend High School for GirlsOutstanding
#3The Eastwood AcademyOutstanding
#4Westcliff High School for Boys AcademyOutstanding
#5Westcliff High School for GirlsOutstanding
#6Cecil Jones AcademyGood
#7Shoeburyness High SchoolGood
#8St Bernard's High SchoolGood
#9St Thomas More High SchoolGood
#10Belfairs AcademyRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,344 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

3rd of 11 secondary schools in Southend-on-Sea for spending per pupil

#1Southchurch High School£9,232
#2Chase High School£8,358
#3St Thomas More High School£8,344
#4Southend High School for Girls£7,604
#5Southend High School for Boys£7,504

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Southchurch High School£9,232
#2Chase High School£8,358
#3St Thomas More High School£8,344
#4Southend High School for Girls£7,604
#5Southend High School for Boys£7,504
#6Cecil Jones Academy£7,215
#7Shoeburyness High School£6,953
#8Belfairs Academy£6,795
#9The Eastwood Academy£6,750
#10Westcliff High School for Boys Academy£6,465
#11Westcliff High School for Girls£6,452

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Southend-on-Sea: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered