St Thomas Becket Catholic School
Becket Way, Kettering Road North, Northampton, NN3 6HT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- OUR LADY IMMACULATE CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST LTD
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul McCahill
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Northampton
- Sponsor
- Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Academies Trust (OLICAT)
- Constituency
- Northampton North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,136
- Pupils on roll
- 912
- URN
- 142747
- Local authority
- West Northamptonshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01604493211
About this school
St Thomas Becket Catholic School is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Northampton. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 912 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Thomas Becket Catholic School, 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
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 131 | 141 | 146 |
| Attainment 8 score | 36.9 | 38.7 | 38.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.23 -0.50 to +0.04 | -0.22 -0.48 to +0.03 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 32.6% | 31.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 46% | 50.4% | 50% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 38% | 18.4% | 15.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.4 |
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 Becket Catholic 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 | West Northamptonshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 36.9 | 36.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.7 | 36.8 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.7 | 35.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 872 |
| 2023/24 | 887 |
| 2024/25 | 900 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas Becket Catholic School compares
St Thomas Becket Catholic School ranked 19th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.7 | 9.8% | 29.6% | 912 | — |
| Northampton School for Girls | 54.9 | 6.4% | 16.6% | 1,670 | 0.6 miles |
| Weston Favell Academy | 41.8 | 10.1% | 38.1% | 1,431 | 1.0 miles |
| Kingsthorpe College | 39.6 | 9.7% | 23% | 1,415 | 1.0 miles |
| Northampton School | — | 4.9% | 10.1% | 650 | 1.3 miles |
| Moulton School and Science College | 46.1 | 10.6% | 19.2% | 1,450 | 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)
- 29.55%
- English as an additional language
- 41.7%
- Overall absence
- 9.79%
- Persistent absence
- 29.17%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Northampton School for Girls0.6 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Weston Favell Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Kingsthorpe College1.0 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Northampton School1.3 miles
Secondary · Northampton
-
Moulton School and Science College1.3 miles
Secondary · Northampton
Other schools in Northampton
St Thomas Becket Catholic School ranks 14th of the 15 ranked secondary schools in Northampton.
- Abbeyfield School Secondary
- Campion School Secondary
- Guilsborough Academy Secondary
- Kingsthorpe College Secondary
- Malcolm Arnold Academy Secondary
- Moulton School and Science College Secondary
- Northampton Academy Secondary
- Northampton School Secondary
- Northampton School for Boys Secondary
- Northampton School for Girls Secondary
- Weston Favell Academy Secondary
- Camrose Early Years Centre for Children & Families Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does St Thomas Becket Catholic School teach?
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Northampton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Thomas Becket Catholic School?
- The headteacher of St Thomas Becket Catholic School is Mr Paul McCahill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Thomas Becket Catholic School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas Becket Catholic 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 many pupils are at St Thomas Becket Catholic School?
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School has 912 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Thomas Becket Catholic School full?
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School has capacity for 1,136 pupils and 912 on roll (80%), 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 Becket Catholic School a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas Becket Catholic School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Northampton.
- Is St Thomas Becket Catholic School a selective school?
- No. St Thomas Becket Catholic School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St Thomas Becket Catholic School part of an academy trust?
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School is part of OUR LADY IMMACULATE CATHOLIC ACADEMIES TRUST LTD. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Thomas Becket Catholic School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 36.9 in 2022/23 and 38.7 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 Becket Catholic School compare with other schools in West Northamptonshire?
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School ranked 19th of 22 secondary schools in West Northamptonshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 34% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% 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 Becket Catholic School's absence rate?
- St Thomas Becket Catholic School's overall absence rate is 9.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas Becket Catholic School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas Becket Catholic 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 2 July 2026.