St Thomas More RC College
Town Lane, Denton, Manchester, M34 6AF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Huw Brophy
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Gorton and Denton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 780
- Pupils on roll
- 797
- URN
- 106271
- Local authority
- Tameside
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01613362743
About this school
St Thomas More RC College is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Manchester. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 797 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Thomas More RC College, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 30 June 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 152 | 151 | 150 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.3 | 49.7 | 44.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.28 +0.05 to +0.51 | +0.43 +0.20 to +0.66 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 57.6% | 42% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 76% | 78.1% | 69.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 21% | 43% | 36% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.4 | 3.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Thomas More RC College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Tameside average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 49.3 | 42.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 49.7 | 39.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 778 |
| 2023/24 | 782 |
| 2024/25 | 792 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas More RC College compares
St Thomas More RC College ranked 7th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44 | 6.5% | 27.7% | 797 | — |
| Denton Community Academy | — | 15.8% | 42% | 1,107 | 0.7 miles |
| Audenshaw School | 45.5 | 5.5% | 33.4% | 1,077 | 1.2 miles |
| Hyde High School | — | — | — | 1,134 | 1.5 miles |
| Reddish Vale High School | 37.7 | 12.1% | 45.5% | 999 | 1.8 miles |
| Wright Robinson College | 49.1 | 4.7% | 53.7% | 1,781 | 1.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 27.65%
- English as an additional language
- 5.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.48%
- Persistent absence
- 17.73%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Denton Community Academy0.7 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Audenshaw School1.2 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Hyde High School1.5 miles
Secondary · Hyde
-
Reddish Vale High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Stockport
-
Wright Robinson College1.9 miles
Secondary · Manchester
Other schools in Manchester
St Thomas More RC College ranks 42nd of the 59 ranked secondary schools in Manchester.
- Audenshaw School Secondary
- Broadoak School Secondary
- Burnage Academy for Boys Secondary
- Cardinal Langley Roman Catholic High School Secondary
- Chorlton High School Secondary
- CHS South Secondary
- Co-op Academy Belle Vue Secondary
- Co-op Academy Failsworth Secondary
- Co-op Academy Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy North Manchester Secondary
- Co-op Academy Swinton Secondary
- Co-op Academy Walkden Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St Thomas More RC College teach?
- St Thomas More RC College teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Manchester.
- Who is the headteacher of St Thomas More RC College?
- The headteacher of St Thomas More RC College is Mr Huw Brophy, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Thomas More RC College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas More RC College, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at St Thomas More RC College?
- St Thomas More RC College has 797 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Thomas More RC College full?
- St Thomas More RC College has capacity for 780 pupils and 797 on roll (102%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Thomas More RC College a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas More RC College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is St Thomas More RC College a selective school?
- No. St Thomas More RC College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- What SEN provision does St Thomas More RC College have?
- The schools register lists St Thomas More RC College's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Thomas More RC College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.3 in 2022/23 and 44 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Thomas More RC College compare with other schools in Tameside?
- St Thomas More RC College ranked 7th of 13 secondary schools in Tameside for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 53% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 32% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Thomas More RC College's absence rate?
- St Thomas More RC College's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas More RC College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas More RC College's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.