St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

Guildford · GU1 2SX

General information Primary School · 2-11 years Who goes here 436 pupils, 5% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 8.9% on SEN support Behaviour 3.5% absence rate Staff 11.4% turnover Financials £5,734 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School

General Information

Address: Horseshoe Lane West, Merrow, Guildford, GU1 2SX – View on map
Phone: 01483888388
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Kate Carter
Age range: 2-11 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 47 families put it first for 49 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: Yes

Who goes here

436 pupils out of 420 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 22
% eligible for free school meals: 5.0%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Guildford average)
English as an additional language: 27% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 11.4% a year (Guildford 16%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 17% moved to another school, 83% 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 Surrey: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 10 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 7 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 3 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Surrey (the council area this school is in), 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: 3.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 2.9%
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: 8.9%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 3.0%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 18 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 10 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil

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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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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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.

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 78% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 11% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 11 percentage points above the Guildford average (67%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 71% against an expected 68%)
3-year average (expected standard): 71%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 92% · Writing 86% · Maths 84% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 86%
Average test scores: reading 110, maths 108
Based on: 63 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

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

SATs results over time

This schoolGuildford averageEngland↗ Improving Up 10 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 11 percentage points above the Guildford average (67%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 6th of 22 junior and primary schools in the area

=3Weyfield Primary Academy80%
=6St Joseph's Catholic Primary School78%
=6St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School78%
#8Ash Grange Nursery and Primary School77%
#9Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School73%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1The Raleigh School100%
#2Normandy Village School85%
=3Burpham Primary School80%
=3Sandfield Primary School80%
=3Weyfield Primary Academy80%
=6St Joseph's Catholic Primary School78%
=6St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School78%
#8Ash Grange Nursery and Primary School77%
#9Holy Trinity, Guildford, CofE Aided Junior School73%
#10Pirbright Village Primary School72%
=11Boxgrove Primary School66%
=11St Lawrence Primary School66%
#13Tillingbourne Junior School65%
#14Holly Lodge Primary Academy63%
#15Merrow Junior School62%
#16Northmead Junior School61%
#17Queen Eleanor's Church of England School56%
#18Send CofE Primary School55%
#19Shawfield Primary School54%
#20Guildford Grove Primary School52%
#21Clandon CofE Aided Primary School35%
#22Walsh CofE Junior School25%

View full Ofsted inspection report

14th of 17 primary schools in Guildford for Ofsted rating

#12St Lawrence Primary SchoolGood
#13St Paul's CofE Primary School & NurseryGood
#14St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#15Weyfield Primary AcademyGood
#16Worplesdon Primary SchoolGood

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

#1The Raleigh SchoolOutstanding
#2Ash Grange Nursery and Primary SchoolGood
#3Boxgrove Primary SchoolGood
#4Clandon CofE Aided Primary SchoolGood
#5Guildford Grove Primary SchoolGood
#6Holly Lodge Primary AcademyGood
#7Pirbright Village Primary SchoolGood
#8Sandfield Primary SchoolGood
#9Send CofE Primary SchoolGood
#10Shawfield Primary SchoolGood
#11St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#12St Lawrence Primary SchoolGood
#13St Paul's CofE Primary School & NurseryGood
#14St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary SchoolGood
#15Weyfield Primary AcademyGood
#16Worplesdon Primary SchoolGood
#17Normandy Village SchoolInadequate

Financials

Spending per pupil: £5,734 (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.

14th of 16 primary schools in Guildford for spending per pupil

#12Send CofE Primary School£6,250
#13St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£5,833
#14St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School£5,734
#15The Raleigh School£5,323
#16Holly Lodge Primary Academy£4,675

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

#1Guildford Grove Primary School£9,975
#2Ash Grange Nursery and Primary School£8,369
#3St Paul's CofE Primary School & Nursery£8,281
#4Weyfield Primary Academy£7,872
#5Shawfield Primary School£7,068
#6St Lawrence Primary School£6,989
#7Sandfield Primary School£6,592
#8Boxgrove Primary School£6,575
#9Normandy Village School£6,492
#10Burpham Primary School£6,483
#11Pirbright Village Primary School£6,318
#12Send CofE Primary School£6,250
#13St Joseph's Catholic Primary School£5,833
#14St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School£5,734
#15The Raleigh School£5,323
#16Holly Lodge Primary Academy£4,675

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

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