The STM Experience

The STM Experience

Being part of the St Thomas More community is an enriching experience for staff and students alike. We pride ourselves on being a caring school that places students wellbeing and academic progress at the heart of everything we do.  

St Thomas More is a civilised community where respect for another underpins all our interactions. 

We recognise that our school is more than just a building, it is a place that offers unique opportunities to our students, staff and wider community.  

Our students experience a calm, purposeful and consistent learning environment. We talk to our students with respect and expect the same from them in all interactions. 

What makes us special?

Relationships and Respect

• Our whole school is based on the notion of community and civilised behaviour. We are a caring community that places significant value on the importance of relationships. We love each other, we respect each other and we care deeply about each others’ personal wellbeing. 
• A key part of our work as a school ensures that all students have someone they can talk to; someone they know will always be there for them. Typically, this is their pastoral tutor. However, it could be anyone in the school.
• Relationships really are what makes St Thomas More special. From the one to one interaction to the House system, we always strive to ensure that all members of the community feel valued and respected.

Classroom Experience

• Every classroom at St Thomas More enjoys a welcoming and academically challenging environment which supports students to grow and thrive.
• Our whole school approach to the curriculum and teaching and learning ensures a consistent experience for all of our students, underpinned by a thorough understanding of individual needs.
• Students tell us that the experience they have in the classroom supports them to acquire new learning, develop their understanding and extend and practise their skills. 

Faith in Action

• Faith in action plays a key role in our personal development framework. We want students to value the importance of helping those  who are in need. One of the key strands within our personal development curriculum is ‘living in the wider world’ and allows our students to consider how they interact with those around them to help create a society with the gospel values at its heart.
• For us, putting our faith into action means loving our neighbours as ourselves, even when they live in a different part of the world or have different beliefs. Much of our faith in action work is centred around the Liturgical calendar, and perhaps the most exciting time of the school year is during Lent when we focus on Almsgiving. 
• All students will experience the joy of giving through our wider curriculum programme and our whole school drive to ensure our faith leads to action that supports others. 

Extra Curricular, Trips and Visits 

• The experience of our students goes well beyond the taught curriculum and fully embraces opportunities to develop wider talents and interests. We have a broad range of extra curricular activities and utilise our pastoral programme to encourage all students to experience this. 

• On top of our fantastic extra curricular programme our students are fortunate to have a wide range of trips and visits available to them each academic year and we are thankful to our staff for making this happen for our students.
• For example, Each year we have our annual ski trip to Austria, with often over 100 students enjoying the adventures it offers. We also have an annual trip to Normandy for our Year 7 students where many pupils get their first opportunity to travel abroad independent of their family and get to experience many European cultural highlights and cement friendships with their peers.
• Within our school calendar we ensure that all students experience whole school events and we pride ourselves on our over 25 year tradition of a whole school sponsored walk in the Autumn Term, our whole school cinema trip as a Christmas treat to students and our Sports Day events in the Summer.