St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy
Palace Fields, Buxton, SK17 6AF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr David Redfern
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Nottingham
- Sponsor
- St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- High Peak
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 450
- Pupils on roll
- 407
- URN
- 146128
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 0129823167
About this school
St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Buxton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 407 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. 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 | 84 | 90 | 89 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.8 | 39.2 | 49.5 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.10 -0.40 to +0.21 | -0.51 -0.81 to -0.21 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 28.9% | 47.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 56% | 51.1% | 80.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 18% | 10% | 23.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.1 |
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 Catholic 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 | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 42.8 | 41.6 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 39.2 | 41.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.5 | 40.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 437 |
| 2023/24 | 426 |
| 2024/25 | 419 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy compares
St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 10th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.5 | 8.3% | 30.8% | 407 | — |
| Buxton Community School | 41.6 | 9% | 29.6% | 954 | 0.9 miles |
| Chapel-en-le-Frith High School | 43.8 | 7.9% | 24.6% | 941 | 3.9 miles |
| New Mills School | 44.5 | 8.1% | 28.4% | 692 | 8.0 miles |
| Tytherington School | 50.1 | 6.6% | 18.7% | 1,421 | 8.8 miles |
| Hope Valley College | 44.4 | 11.3% | 23.8% | 518 | 8.9 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)
- 30.79%
- English as an additional language
- 7.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.31%
- Persistent absence
- 23.2%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Buxton Community School0.9 miles
Secondary · Buxton
-
Chapel-en-le-Frith High School3.9 miles
Secondary · High Peak
-
New Mills School8.0 miles
Secondary · High Peak
-
Tytherington School8.8 miles
Secondary · Macclesfield
-
Hope Valley College8.9 miles
Secondary · Hope Valley
Other schools in Buxton
- Buxton Community School Secondary
- Biggin CofE Primary School Primary
- Bishop Pursglove CofE (A) Primary School Primary
- Burbage Primary School Primary
- Buxton Infant School Primary
- Buxton Junior School Primary
- Dove Holes CofE Primary School Primary
- Earl Sterndale CofE Primary School Primary
- Fairfield Infant and Nursery School Primary
- Great Hucklow CE Primary Primary
- Harpur Hill Primary School Primary
- Hartington CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy teach?
- St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Buxton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- The headteacher of St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy is Mr David Redfern, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas More Catholic 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 big is St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy has 407 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy full?
- St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy has capacity for 450 pupils and 407 on roll (90%), 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 More Catholic Voluntary Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Nottingham.
- Is St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy a selective school?
- No. St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy?
- St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.8 in 2022/23 and 49.5 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 Catholic Voluntary Academy rank locally?
- St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy ranked 10th of 45 secondary schools in Derbyshire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 74% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% 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 Catholic Voluntary Academy's absence rate?
- St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas More Catholic 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 10 July 2026.