I’d like to thank you all for your support in what I am sure are increasingly difficult times for each of our families. The kind words we have received from so many of you have been much appreciated by myself and our staff and have made our days a little brighter as we work through these uncertain times. Please be assured that our staff will continue to work hard to provide the best home learning packages we can, given the situation.

1st April Newsletter
25th March Newsletter

Please complete this form should you need any support for Google or Google Classroom. Please put as much detail as you can about your issue so that we can better support you. (Please note that should your issue be related to content within Google Classroom, this will be forwarded to the teacher of that subject)

Following recent government advice to prohibit overseas school trips, our working assumption is that the Year 7 trip to France scheduled for the Easter Holiday will require cancellation. We will be in contact with parents affected as soon as we have heard from our tour company.

We’ve started to receive some questions from parents about the school’s response to the coronavirus.

The current situation is that we will stay open as a school until the Department for Health or the Department for Education instruct us to close. If the school did have to close we would ensure our curriculum was delivered through the use of Google classrooms, ensuring pupils were able to access work and feedback from their teachers. If necessary we will share further information on how to access this & support in place for any pupils without IT access at home.

School trips will go ahead as planned unless the areas we are travelling to become designated areas to avoid and/or the transport arrangements are cancelled by the operator.

Click here to read the full letter
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One of our school music ensembles are performing at The Sage over the next few weeks.

Sunday 22nd March 2pm, Northern Rock Foundation Hall
St Thomas More Jazz Band performing in Gateshead International Jazz Festival (this is amazing!) set tbc.

Tickets for the performance are available from The Sage Gateshead Box Office.

Activity days will give you the chance to learn outside of the usual classrooms, they will be character building activities providing you with opportunities to build your confidence and resilience in a different enviroment. They will allow pupils from different year groups to work together in less formal situations, enabling you to build strong relationships with other pupils and with staff. The end of the week will provide you with the opportunity to build upon the sense of identity we already have within our Houses and to showcase your talents by taking part in Sports Day. And finally we will all have an opportunity to come together and celebrate the end of another fantastic year at St Thomas More in the end of year services.

Enrichment Week Leaflet
Enrichment Week Letter

Sixth Form Open Evening at St Thomas More Catholic School

Our Sixth Form open evening will take place on 5th February at 6:30pm. There will be a presentation from our team followed by the opportunity to speak to our Heads of Department. Students from all schools are welcome to come along!

Year 8 Retreat 2020 at St Thomas More Catholic School

What to bring

• 1 change of clothes (for the next day)
• Pyjamas/slippers/dressing gown
• Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, etc)
• Towel
• Appropriate outdoor shoes (They will get muddy!)
• Outdoor clothing (To keep you warm)
• Any necessary medication clearly labeled with your full name (this should be handed to the member of staff staying in your cabin)
• Money for tuck shop

Come to school in non-uniform on the day of your retreat. We’ll leave at the end of the day. Bring luggage to the chapel upon arrival and it will be locked in there until we leave. Come to the chapel immediately after last lesson to collect your bag.

2019 Quiz Winners at St Thomas More Catholic School

WCSQM awards a quality mark to non-selective state schools that offer the best education to young people in the UK. Unlike other national assessment bodies, we assess the student and not the school, against a framework of skills and competencies young people need to flourish in an emerging global economy. Through unique real-life work experiences, access to a lifelong peer support network and cultural opportunities that take them beyond their local community, we give world class students the confidence to overcome socio-economic barriers to recognise and achieve their potential.

Click here to read more

There will be changes to our 861 & 891 bus services starting January 6th 2020. View the document below to get the details.

Some staff members and students of St Thomas More Catholic School participated in the recording of the Saint Mary’s Choir Christmas CD, which is now available for purchase. The compilation of Christmas Music also features guest appearances by children from Saint Mary’s First School and Saint Joseph’s Middle School, with other local musicians.   

Further to the recording of the CD, a competition was also organised to design artwork to use in the CD Booklet and advertising posters. Two of our very own pupils achieved first and second place in the competition in their age group. 

The CD is available at a price of £10 per copy. If you wish to purchase a CD please complete the pro-forma linked here and return it to St Mary’s Catholic Church, Hexham.

Ski Hoodies 2020 store

Consultation on Admission Arrangements for St Thomas More School, 2021 Entry

Consultation Letter.

Please see above letter detailing our proposed amendment to the Admissions Policy for 2021 entry. Where changes to admission arrangements are intended, all schools are required to consult before these are determined and published.

The policy for 2021 entry is available here.

The consultation will run from 15^th October 2019 – 26^th November 2019.

A consultation response form is available by request from the school.

The governing body will consider all comments received before they determine the arrangements for 2021 entry.

On Saturday 9th November 40 Year 5 students, from our feeder primary schools, attended a Languages Day here at St Thomas More Catholic School. Students arrived to a continental breakfast served in our Sixth Form Centre. They then enjoyed one session with our Head of German, Mrs Mackie, (which included a game of lotto!), and one session in the kitchen with our Modern Foreign Languages teacher Mr Young. The students got to enjoy a variety of French and German foods including freshly made crepes, pate, cheese, and even snails!

Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom honours the heroic efforts, achievements and sacrifices that were made in past wars.

As part of our remembrance activities within St Thomas More School, each student was able to attend a Remembrance Assembly with their Pastoral House. Every pastoral class also received a red ribbon on which they could record names of loved ones they wished to remember.

We have also created a remembrance display within the school grounds, with the help of our Year 8 Art Club and some Year 7 Pastoral groups. This display is a sign of our collective faith as a school community.

On Wednesday the 30th of October we will be having a mission family night. We want to celebrate our school mission with family and parishioners and share some of the things that are going on in school that week. Students will be preparing dance, drama, music and other things to showcase that evening. It will be from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm in the Main Hall. Parking will be available down on the yard. If you have any questions please contact our Chaplain, Cody.

There will be taster sessions for LAMDA on the below dates:

Wednesday 6th November for Year 7 – 11.50 – 12.20
Wednesday 6th November for Year 8&9 12.20 – 12.50

Thursday 7th November for Year 10-13
Slot 1 – 11.50 – 12.20
Slot 2 – 12.20 – 12.50

LAMDA is an extracurricular speech and drama class designed to enhance your performance skills and communication skills, with the opportunity to take certified exams up to Grade 8.

See Mrs Olsen to sign up.