St Thomas More Catholic SchoolCastle Newnham School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side in Bedford.
Summary of the comparison
St Thomas More Catholic School and Castle Newnham School are secondary schools in Bedford.
St Thomas More Catholic School scores 58 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Castle Newnham School scores 61 out of 100 (grade C, average). Castle Newnham School is ahead on our composite score.
St Thomas More Catholic School was judged Good and Castle Newnham School was judged Good.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 47.0 for St Thomas More Catholic School and 42.7 for Castle Newnham School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has fallen at St Thomas More Catholic School (52.1 in 2021-22, 47.0 in 2024-25).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | BedfordSt Thomas More Catholic School | BedfordCastle Newnham School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C58/100 | C61/100Stronger figure | |
| Local ranking | 7th of 14 in Bedford Stronger figure | 14th of 14 in Bedford | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Academy converter | Academy converter | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-18 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 929 | 750 | |
| Capacity | 1,040 | 750 | |
| Location | Bedford, MK41 7UL | Bedford, MK41 9DT | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 47.0 Stronger figure | 42.7 | 46.0 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 45.6% Stronger figure | 34.2% | 45.4% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 63.3% Stronger figure | 62.4% | 64.8% |
| Entering EBacc | 13.9% | 87.9% Stronger figure | 40.5% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.91 | 4.16 Stronger figure | 4.09 |
| Cohort | 158 | 149 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | 73 | Not reported | |
| A-level average points | 26.9 | Not reported | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | C- | Not reported | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | 27.3 | Not reported | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | 7.1% | Not reported | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 929 | 750 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 21.2% | 20.1% | |
| English as an additional language | 36.2% | 21.1% | |
| SEN support | 7.9% | 12.7% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 2.6% | 6.3% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 10.2% | 7.6% Stronger figure | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 34.6% | 23.7% Stronger figure | 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
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Full profiles: St Thomas More Catholic School · Castle Newnham School