Thomas More Catholic School
Secondary · Voluntary aided school · Ages 11–18 · Purley, Croydon
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
4.617 miles
Published by Croydon Council · offers on 2 March 2026
2020–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
Thomas More Catholic School is a secondary school in Purley, Croydon for ages 11–18 (voluntary aided school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Standards maintained, from the inspection on 16 October 2024. Croydon has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2020 to 2026 entry.
Thomas More Catholic School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | 4.617 mi |
| Year 7 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2023 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2021 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2020 | 🔒 With a pass |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- For Year 7 2026, the last child offered a place lived 4.617 miles away, the 7th longest of 15 Croydon secondary schools with a published last distance.
- In 2024/25, 38% got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%), 2nd lowest of 9 schools: this one and the 8 nearest secondary schools in Croydon.
- Year 7 2026 had 60 first-choice applications for 129 offers; every first-choice family was offered a place, and 69 offers went to families who ranked it second or lower.
- 42.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, against a middle figure of 37.3% across the 8 nearest secondary schools in Croydon.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Croydon schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Russell Hill Road, Purley, CR8 2XP
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–18
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Council
- Croydon
- Pupils on roll
- 599 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 42.7% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.2
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Standards maintained Inspected 16 October 2024
Strengths
- “Pupils are courteous and respectful here.”
- “Teachers provide support and guidance to help pupils to succeed in their studies and wider personal development.”
- “Trusting professional relationships encourage pupils to report any concerns they may have and staff act swiftly to resolve them.”
To improve
- “However, on occasion, when pupils’ understanding is not checked carefully, misconceptions and misunderstandings in pupils’ knowledge are sometimes missed.”
- “These gaps make it difficult for pupils to understand some of the more complex concepts later in the curriculum.”
- “However, leaders do not systematically check that these strategies are being well delivered in lessons.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 14 November 2024 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 38% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 42.1 | 46 |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 60 first-preference applications, 129 offers in total, 60 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Croydon.
- Harris Academy Purley 0.8 mi Good Last distance published
- Woodcote High School 1.3 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Riddlesdown Collegiate 1.9 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- Coombe Wood School 2.3 mi Good Last distance published
- Archbishop Tenison's CofE High School 2.4 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Harris Invictus Academy Croydon 2.6 mi School remains Outstanding Last distance published
- St Mary's Catholic High School 2.7 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Ark Blake Academy 3.0 mi Good Last distance published