St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy
Barnsley Road, Wakefield, WF2 6EQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST
- Acting Principal
- Dr Patrick Caldwell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Leeds (rc)
- Sponsor
- Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Ossett and Denby Dale
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 762
- URN
- 138950
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924303545
About this school
St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Wakefield. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 762 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy, 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 149 | 145 | 148 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.1 | 46.5 | 46.3 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.26 +0.02 to +0.49 | +0.29 +0.06 to +0.53 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 49.7% | 45.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 62.1% | 65.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 29% | 27.6% | 56.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.8 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
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 à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wakefield average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.1 | 38.3 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.5 | 39.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 46.3 | 38.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 756 |
| 2023/24 | 731 |
| 2024/25 | 763 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy compares
St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 46.3 | 8.5% | 26.7% | 762 | — |
| Kettlethorpe High School | 46.9 | 11.5% | 24.2% | 1,616 | 1.1 miles |
| Trinity Academy Cathedral | 48.7 | 8% | 41.5% | 1,028 | 1.5 miles |
| Outwood Academy City Fields | 38.8 | 9.2% | 38.8% | 928 | 1.9 miles |
| Crofton Academy | 46.5 | 10.2% | 32% | 1,045 | 2.2 miles |
| Horbury Academy | 48.7 | 10.1% | 26.3% | 1,070 | 2.6 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)
- 26.74%
- English as an additional language
- 31.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.47%
- Persistent absence
- 22.43%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kettlethorpe High School1.1 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
-
Trinity Academy Cathedral1.5 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
-
Outwood Academy City Fields1.9 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
-
Crofton Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
-
Horbury Academy2.6 miles
Secondary · Wakefield
Other schools in Wakefield
St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy ranks 8th of the 9 ranked secondary schools in Wakefield.
- Crofton Academy Secondary
- Horbury Academy Secondary
- Kettlethorpe High School Secondary
- Outwood Academy City Fields Secondary
- Outwood Grange Academy Secondary
- Rodillian Academy Secondary
- Trinity Academy Cathedral Secondary
- Woodkirk Academy Secondary
- Crigglestone Nursery School Nursery
- The Castle Nursery School Nursery
- Alverthorpe St Paul's CofE (VA) School 3-11yrs Primary
- Blackgates Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Wakefield.
- Who is the acting principal of St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- The acting principal of St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy is Dr Patrick Caldwell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy, 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 à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy?
- St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy has 762 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy full?
- St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy has capacity for 750 pupils and 762 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 à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Leeds (rc).
- Is St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy part of an academy trust?
- St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy is part of THE BISHOP KONSTANT CATHOLIC ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy have?
- The schools register lists St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.1 in 2022/23 and 46.3 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 à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy compare with other schools in Wakefield?
- St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy ranked 11th of 18 secondary schools in Wakefield for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 63% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 14% 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 à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 8.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy'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 1 July 2026.