Thomas More Catholic School

Croydon · CR8 2XP

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 599 pupils, 43.2% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 12.2% on SEN support Behaviour 8.7% absence rate Staff 20% turnover Financials £9,686 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Thomas More Catholic School

General Information

Address: Russell Hill Road, Purley, CR8 2XP – View on map
Phone: 02086686251
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Maryssa Dako
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

599 pupils out of 850 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 254
% eligible for free school meals: 43.2%
Pupil mix: 9 in 10 (more mixed than the Croydon average)
English as an additional language: 33% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 20% a year (Croydon 25.2%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 43% moved to another school, 57% 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 Croydon: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 52 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 2
Suspensions for bullying: 49 (2.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 14 (0.6 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 Croydon, 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: 8.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 25.0%
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: 12.2%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.3%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 24 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 24 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 11 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 7 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
Hearing impairment: 1 pupil
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Specific learning difficulty: 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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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2024 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

Attainment 8 score: 42.1
Compared with the area: 3.3 points below the Croydon average (45.4)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−5.2 points against an expected 47.3)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 55% (Croydon 63%, England 65%) Broadly steady
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 schoolCroydon averageEngland↘ Falling Down 2.0 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 3.3 points below the Croydon average (45.4).

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.

17th of 23 secondary schools in Croydon for Attainment 8

#15Harris Academy Beulah Hill44.4
#16Oasis Academy Shirley Park42.6
#17Thomas More Catholic School42.1
#18The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy39.1
#19Shirley High School Performing Arts College37.7

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Coloma Convent Girls' School57.4
#2Coombe Wood School52.6
#3Harris City Academy Crystal Palace52.3
#4Riddlesdown Collegiate50.7
#5Harris Academy South Norwood48.2
#6Harris Academy Purley46.8
#7Norbury High School for Girls46.4
#8Woodcote High School46.1
#9Ark Blake Academy45.6
#10St Joseph's College45.5
#11Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School45.3
#12Harris Invictus Academy Croydon45.0
#13Oasis Academy Coulsdon44.8
#14Orchard Park High School44.8
#15Harris Academy Beulah Hill44.4
#16Oasis Academy Shirley Park42.6
#17Thomas More Catholic School42.1
#18The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy39.1
#19Shirley High School Performing Arts College37.7
#20Oasis Academy Arena37.6
#21The Quest Academy37.5
#22St Mary's Catholic High School36.5
#23Meridian High School34.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 92.0%
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

English Language
English Literature
Maths (General)
Science Double Award
Religious Studies
Geography
Spanish
History
French Language
Art & Design
Media Studies
Computer Science
Sociology
Sports Studies
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Polish
Portuguese
Russian
Chinese
Turkish
Persian Language
Italian

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £9,686 (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.

4th of 23 secondary schools in Croydon for spending per pupil

#2Meridian High School£9,911
#3Oasis Academy Arena£9,730
#4Thomas More Catholic School£9,686
#5Orchard Park High School£9,429
#6Harris Invictus Academy Croydon£9,397

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

#1St Joseph's College£10,277
#2Meridian High School£9,911
#3Oasis Academy Arena£9,730
#4Thomas More Catholic School£9,686
#5Orchard Park High School£9,429
#6Harris Invictus Academy Croydon£9,397
#7Ark Blake Academy£9,217
#8Shirley High School Performing Arts College£9,130
#9The Archbishop Lanfranc Academy£9,066
#10Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School£8,772
#11Harris City Academy Crystal Palace£8,744
#12Harris Academy South Norwood£8,704
#13Coloma Convent Girls' School£8,615
#14St Mary's Catholic High School£8,594
#15Oasis Academy Shirley Park£8,350
#16Harris Academy Purley£8,178
#17The Quest Academy£8,120
#18Woodcote High School£8,013
#19Coombe Wood School£7,833
#20Oasis Academy Coulsdon£7,717
#21Harris Academy Beulah Hill£7,516
#22Riddlesdown Collegiate£6,921
#23Norbury High School for Girls£728

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 Croydon: 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 ?

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered