Goldington AcademySt Thomas More Catholic School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Bedford.
Summary of the comparison
Goldington Academy and St Thomas More Catholic School are secondary schools in Bedford.
Goldington Academy scores 76 out of 100 (grade B, strong) and St Thomas More Catholic School scores 58 out of 100 (grade C, average). Goldington Academy is ahead on our composite score.
Goldington Academy was judged strong and St Thomas More Catholic School was judged Good.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 52.0 for Goldington Academy and 41.0 for St Thomas More Catholic School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at Goldington Academy (54.8 in 2021-22, 52.0 in 2025-26) and has fallen at St Thomas More Catholic School (52.1 in 2021-22, 41.0 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | BedfordGoldington Academy | BedfordSt Thomas More Catholic School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | B76/100Stronger figure | C58/100 | |
| Local ranking | 2nd of 14 in Bedford Stronger figure | 7th of 14 in Bedford | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: StrongStronger figure | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-16 | 11-18 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 958 | 893 | |
| Capacity | 750 | 1,040 | |
| Location | Bedford, MK41 9BX | Bedford, MK41 7UL | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 52.0 Stronger figure | 41.0 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 59.7% Stronger figure | 36.6% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 75.4% Stronger figure | 49.7% | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 191 | 153 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | Not reported | 73 | |
| A-level average points | Not reported | 26.9 | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | Not reported | C- | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | Not reported | 27.3 | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | Not reported | 7.1% | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 942 | 929 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 22.9% | 21.2% | |
| English as an additional language | 18.3% | 36.2% | |
| SEN support | 13.5% | 7.9% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 1.3% | 2.6% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 6.1% Stronger figure | 10.2% | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 16.7% Stronger figure | 34.6% | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
Goldington Academy
St Thomas More Catholic School
Full profiles: Goldington Academy · St Thomas More Catholic School