St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy
Palace Fields, Buxton, SK17 6AF
407 pupils · 90% of 450 capacity
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Trust
- ST RALPH SHERWIN CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Free school meals
- 33.4%
Ofsted
No overall grade (2025) — Inspected 2024–2025 — no overall grade under the interim framework
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 3 June 2025, published 8 July 2025. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 49.5 |
| Grade 5 or above in English & maths (strong pass) | 47.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English & maths (standard pass) | 80.9% |
| Entering the English Baccalaureate | 23.6% |
Progress 8 is not published nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26 while KS2 baselines are missing (no SATs in 2020/21). It returns from 2026/27.
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Roughly one first choice per place — 0.99 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 87 | 86 | 176 | 87 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 50 | 50 | 126 | 50 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 79 | 73 | 174 | 78 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 81 | 76 | 209 | 81 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 85 | 75 | 220 | 85 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 88 | 86 | 219 | 88 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 89 | 105 | 276 | 89 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 87 | 84 | 211 | 87 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- Buxton Community School 1.4 km · Good — confirmed 2020 · previous system
- Chapel-en-le-Frith High School 6.3 km · No overall grade (2024)
- New Mills School 12.8 km · No overall grade (2025)
- Tytherington School 14.3 km · Good — confirmed 2022 · previous system
- Hope Valley College 14.4 km · Good (2023) · previous system
- The Macclesfield Academy 14.9 km · Requires improvement (2020) · previous system
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.