St Thomas More Catholic School, a Roman Catholic State school in the west Gateshead catchment area, with its reputation for high academic expectations and strong principles, has a long waiting list.
St Thomas More, which was started in 1967 in a former industrial estate, describes its intake as ‘neither excessively deprived nor excessively affluent’ and as having fewer very able pupils than the national norm, but also fewer of the less able; the teaching of morality is core, as is the monitoring of teachers. It was the first school in the North-East to be awarded Speciality status, for technology.

• 1,550 pupils aged 11–18, co-ed, day
• £0 (for UK residents)