St Thomas More Catholic School, Blaydon

For other schools named after Thomas More, see St. Thomas More School (disambiguation).

St Thomas More Catholic School

File:Stm school badge.jpg
Motto	Regis Servus Dei Prius
Type	Academy
Religion	Roman Catholic
Headteacher	Mr. Jonathan Parkinson
Deputy Heads	Mr. N Wood, Mrs. A Moore
Chair	Prof. Patrick Chinnery
Location	Croftdale Road Blaydon-on-Tyne Tyne and Wear NE21 4BQ England
Local authority	Gateshead
DfE URN	137851 Tables
Ofsted	Reports
Staff	145
Students	1516
Gender	Coeducational
Ages	11–19
Houses	St Bernadette, St Catherine Labouré, St John Fisher, St Theresa
Colours	Royal Blue (Years 7 to 11) and Black (Sixth Form)
Website	www.stthomasmore.org.uk

St Thomas More Catholic school is a voluntary aided Roman Catholic secondary school with academy status in Blaydon, Tyne and Wear, England, providing teaching to 11- to 19-year-olds.

The current headteacher is Jonathan Parkinson, who took over after Michael Zarraga OBE retired in 2005. Its motto is "regis servus dei prius" which translates as, "I am the King's good servant, but God's first". This is a reference to St Thomas More, and his refusal to recognise Henry VIII as the Supreme Head of the Church following the King's split from the Vatican and Catholicism.

The school runs with a headteacher Mr Jonathan Parkinson and deputy heads Mrs. Annmarie Moore, and Mr. Nicholas Wood as well as assistant heads Mrs. Barbara Kamali, Mrs. Jillian Turner, & Mr. David Shield .

The school's current head boy and head girl are Matthew Hardy & Erin White with deputies as Alex Williamson & Elizabeth Gregory.

It is a well-regarded and over-subscribed school, performing well both regionally and nationally. In its last OFSTED inspection (2013) it was described as "an outstanding and inclusive school" and found to be outstanding in all major areas assessed. The school converted to academy status on 1 February 2012.

The school is divided into four houses which every pupil placed into one. Each of the houses are named after saints and are as follows:

• St Bernadette (Mr. Brian Prayle)
• St Therese (Mrs. Deborah Ashdown)
• St John Fisher (Mr. William Burdon-Taylor)
• St Catherine Labouré (Mr. Richard Lennox)

Note: (Heads of houses)

The houses provide pastoral care for each pupil, as well as being the focus of rivalry during inter-house competitions at the start of the year. During the inter-house competitions the houses compete against one another in activities such as football, basketball, chess and scrabble. Catering at St Thomas More Catholic School is provided by Chartwells.

The majority of pupils eventually proceed to sixth form, ran by Mr. J. Davis and Miss. P. Sanderson and then higher education, with a small minority of sixth form leavers achieving places at Oxbridge most years.

As of October 2011, St Thomas More School are constructing a new building which will house new class rooms which will replace ones in the current temporary block. The new building will attach the main part of the school from the I.C.T department to the English department, housing science labs and humanities classrooms. The building was completed for the beginning of the 2013/2014 academic year.

During 2015 the school began an extensive construction project that included building a third floor on top of existing maths classrooms and science labs, as well as refurbishing both the interior and exterior of the maths classrooms and science labs and the interior of the textiles technology classrooms. The new floor meant that a larger maths classroom could be built, along with extensive facilities for learning support and psychology as well as a new general classroom and a designated training room. Also a new area was constructed as an addition to the playground that consisted of tables and benches for students to use.

The school became an academy in August 2012.

Notable former pupils

• Graham Onions, England and Durham cricketer

External links

• Official website
• The School's OFSTED report