St Thomas the Apostle College
Achieving Excellence with Care
St Thomas the Apostle College, Hollydale Rd, Nunhead, London, SE15 2EB
Tel: 020 7639 0106 • Fax: 020 7277 5471 • Email: enquiries@stac.southwark.sch.uk • www.stac.uk.com
Design, photography and print by RH Marketing Tel: 0844 811 6084 Email: info@rhmarketing.co.uk
Welcome
We recognise the need to produce well balanced
individuals fully equipped to deal with the challenges
of life. This means achieving the highest academic
qualifications underpinned by strong moral and
spiritual values.
Welcome to St Thomas the Apostle College
(STAC). We are a Catholic College for boys who live
in a diverse and vibrant inner city environment.
In our school we celebrate the diversity of our local
community and seek to meet the needs of each
individual child. We believe that the relationships we
develop with our children and their families enable
us to create a friendly, caring and supportive
atmosphere, conducive to the best standards of
teaching and learning.
We are a Specialist Maths and ICT College providing
exceptional facilities for teaching and learning for our
students and the wider community. Our committed
teaching and support staff strive to bring out the very
best in our children and equip them with the skills they
will need for the future. All pupils are expected to work
to the best of their ability in all areas of the curriculum.
Learning is enhanced through bright, stimulating
resources and modern technology.
We are committed to the Gospel values of the Church
and, as a Catholic community, our mission is to serve
Christ and one another, by creating a caring learning
environment, where prayer, education and
achievement are celebrated and valued.
At STAC, our pupils say that they feel safe, secure and
happy. We place great emphasis upon the well-being
and personal development of every child and
encourage them to have self-discipline, tolerance and
a sense of responsibility for others in the community
“Students’ spiritual, moral and social development is excellent. They display a clear
sense of knowing what is right or wrong and they work together harmoniously.” Ofsted
and the environment. We expect high standards of
behaviour from all our children and reward positive
behaviour in many ways.
The College’s motto is “Achieving Excellence with
Care” and the staff, boys and parents live this vision
for the five years at St. Thomas’. We have never lost
sight of the fact that we are a community of faith.
We emphasise that it is “our school” and so we pray
together and share a vision in which all of us achieve
our “own level of excellence”.
Our ultimate goal is to produce well qualified young
men who are a credit to their faith, family and society.
“They have a good awareness of what options are available to
them and make good progress in Mathematics and English.” Ofsted
The New STAC
Our College has been totally re-built as part of Southwark Schools
for the Future, a £200 million scheme to transform education in
Southwark. We are very proud of our new state-of-the-art facilities
and our new College buildings are well-equipped with the latest
technology fit for 21st century teaching and learning.
Our new facilities include a brand new sports hall, fully serviced
science laboratories, new art, graphics, food technology and
resistant materials suites and a recording studio. New ICT facilities
have also been integrated throughout the new building to enable
modern teaching and learning.
“The care, guidance and support given by teachers
and managers are good, especially for vulnerable
students. This has enabled those students to achieve
in line with their peers.” Ofsted
Performing Arts
We believe that young people who develop skills in the
performing arts have extra confidence – to be themselves, to
communicate and to achieve success in other areas. At STAC,
we encourage all students to get involved, to discover their
talents and contribute to the cultural life of our community.
“There is always something happening in every corner of the school. It always
has a friendly and buzzing atmosphere where the students enjoy learning.” Pupil
“Students are well prepared for their
life after St Thomas the Apostle.” Ofsted
Learning for Life
Our pupils have a strong grounding in traditional core
subjects (English, Maths, Science and RE) from Year 7
onwards, proving a positive platform for achievement in
other areas. We want them to be excited by their
learning, to recognise its importance and to be proud of
their achievements in every discipline.
By providing a broad and balanced curriculum for all our
children, we are able to recognise and develop individual
talents and interests. Our curriculum is wide ranging
and proactive, designed to meet the needs of everyone’s
abilities, interests and aspirations for the future. By the
time our pupils leave school, we want them to be selfdisciplined and focused young people who are totally
determined to succeed in whatever career they choose
to pursue.
We annually update and review our curriculum in order
to maintain the highest possible academic standards,
prevent our pupils from being disadvantaged and ensure
that every pupil reaches their full potential. To this end,
we have been proactive in ensuring that our pupils who
are able to access the new EBAC (English
Baccalaureate) accreditation are able to do so.
Our priorities for 2012/13 are to maintain our traditional
and disciplined approach to education in order to
achieve greater success in future years, maintain our
focus on monitoring pupil progress to ensure that all
boys receive an appropriately differentiated curriculum
that leads to improved examination success and
improve the quality of behaviour for learning.
We will continue to set our pupils challenging targets for
continual improvement and make sure that they make
the most of their opportunities in each year.
Music is one of the most powerful and beautiful gifts that God
has given us for knowing ourselves and knowing Him, for
experiencing and communicating those deepest levels of our
being which often cannot be expressed in words. Thus, our hope
is that through introducing our young people to the beauty of
music through the varied experiences of Performing, Composing,
Listening and Knowledge & Understanding, they will come to
know the beauty of the Creator.
We have a wide range of ensembles and activities to enrich
our students’ musical experience. All ensembles have regular
opportunities to perform in public and contribute to the life of the
College through providing music to enhance College Masses on
Feast Days and by participating in the four main musical events
of the College’s calendar: Prize Night, Carol Services, Holy Week
Liturgy and Summer Concert. We also take advantage of
opportunities to perform outside of the College in the local
community, local festivals, borough-wide events and national
events.
Pupil progress is assessed regularly throughout the
school year and the results are monitored by senior
staff. Parents are kept well informed of their child’s
progress by a series of formal reports throughout the
school year.
Every term, parents will receive written feedback, either
in the form of interim reports, which monitor the
children’s current level of performance against their end
of Key Stage targets, or by the annual school report in
which staff comment on progress made throughout the
year.
There is also an annual Parents’ Evening for all year
groups and parents are encouraged to contact school if
they have any concerns about issues relating to pupil
progress.
“The College wants you to achieve, if you’re hard working and willing to
overcome hard times, the College will always support you, no matter what.” Pupil
Extended Curriculum
Caring for ourselves and others
At STAC, we strongly believe in offering our pupils opportunities to enhance their
learning. Curriculum enrichment, through after-school clubs and activities, as well as
the various educational trips throughout the year, ensure that every pupil at STAC has
the chance to experience learning outside the classroom.
At STAC, our pupils say that they feel safe, secure
and happy. New pupils participate in a well
structured induction programme which ensures a
smooth transition from primary to secondary
education.
Pupils at STAC regularly visit museums, theatre, take part in residential trips and field
trips as well as travelling to Belgium and Paris on History and Language trips.
We offer a wide range of opportunities within the school day and in addition, many and
varied extra-curricular clubs, including music, cadets, drama, swimming and athletics.
“Older students assume effective leadership and
mentoring roles working as prefects and mentors to
younger year groups. This work is strongly embedded
in the life of the school.” Ofsted
A wide range of difficulties may affect a child's
progress and achievements - such as academic,
emotional, behavioural and medical - and all these
aspects are acknowledged within our pupil support
provision. The early identification of children with
Special Educational Needs by our committed SEN
team, allows us to offer them support from early in
their school life, with cooperation from parents,
for as long as is deemed necessary.
We place great emphasis upon the well-being and
personal development of every child and encourage
them to have self-discipline, tolerance and a sense
of responsibility for others in the community and the
environment.
We expect high standards of behaviour from all our
children and reward positive behaviour in many
ways.
Opportunities for all
St Thomas the Apostle College is very much at the heart of the community, taking part in
sporting and music competitions, charity fundraising events and school partnerships.
We are always looking for innovative ways of extending the range of opportunities
available to our pupils and their families.
Parents are an important part of the successful St Thomas the Apostle College team.
We work in close partnership with parents and encourage them to be actively involved in
their children’s education. Children achieve their best when home and school work well
together and you will always be welcome with our 'open door policy' and inclusive ethos.
St Thomas the Apostle College
Achieving Excellence with Care
St Thomas the Apostle College, Hollydale Rd, Nunhead, London, SE15 2EB
Tel: 020 7639 0106 • Fax: 020 7277 5471 • Email: enquiries@stac.southwark.sch.uk • www.stac.uk.com
Design, photography and print by RH Marketing Tel: 0844 811 6084 Email: info@rhmarketing.co.uk