St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
High Street, Carisbrooke, Newport, PO30 1NR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 5 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Margaret Sanderson
- Diocese
- Diocese of Portsmouth (rc)
- Constituency
- Isle of Wight West
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 195
- URN
- 118199
- Local authority
- Isle of Wight
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01983522747
About this school
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Newport. It teaches children aged 5 to 11 and has 195 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 13 July 2023, 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 25 | 27 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 26% | 37% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 72% | 59% | 43% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 48% | 60% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 41% | 47% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -3.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Isle of Wight average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 56% | 51.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 26% | 50.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 37% | 49.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 202 |
| 2023/24 | 203 |
| 2024/25 | 201 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School compares
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School ranked 31st of 36 primary schools in Isle of Wight for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 37% | 7.6% | 15.4% | 195 | — |
| Carisbrooke Church of England Controlled Primary School | 69% | 5.7% | 27% | 351 | 0.2 miles |
| Nine Acres Primary School | 67% | 4.8% | 27.5% | 419 | 0.6 miles |
| Newport Church of England Aided Primary School | 59% | 4.4% | 20.3% | 300 | 0.6 miles |
| Hunnyhill Ormiston Academy | — | — | — | 406 | 1.1 miles |
| Barton Primary School | 42% | 6.4% | 39.7% | 239 | 1.3 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)
- 15.42%
- English as an additional language
- 7.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.63%
- Persistent absence
- 19.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Carisbrooke Church of England Controlled Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Newport
-
Nine Acres Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Newport
-
Newport Church of England Aided Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Newport
-
Hunnyhill Ormiston Academy1.1 miles
Primary · Newport
-
Barton Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Newport
Other schools in Newport
St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School ranks 9th of the 9 ranked primary schools in Newport.
- Arreton St George's Church of England (Aided) Primary School Primary
- Barton Primary School Primary
- Brighstone Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
- Carisbrooke Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Hunnyhill Ormiston Academy Primary
- Newport Church of England Aided Primary School Primary
- Nine Acres Primary School Primary
- Shalfleet Church of England Primary School Primary
- Summerfields Primary School Primary
- Carisbrooke College Secondary
- Christ The King College Secondary
- Medina College Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 5 to 11. It is a primary school in Newport.
- Who is the headteacher of St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is Mrs Margaret Sanderson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School?
- St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School has 195 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 11.
- Is St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School full?
- St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 195 on roll (93%), so it has space against 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 of Canterbury Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Portsmouth (rc).
- Does St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 37% 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 of Canterbury Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School ranked 31st of 36 primary schools in Isle of Wight for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 19% 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 of Canterbury Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School'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 30 June 2026.