St Thomas More Catholic Academy is a
mixed secondary school and
sixth form
In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...
located in the
Longton area of
Stoke-on-Trent in the
English county of
Staffordshire. The school is named after
Saint Thomas More
Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...
, a sixteenth century elder statesman who was
martyred
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
for his refusal to accept King
Henry VIII's claim to be the supreme head of the church.
First established in 1980 as a
voluntary aided
A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...
upper school
Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school.
England
The three-tier model
Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority of ...
for pupils aged 12 to 18, in 1983 St Thomas More became a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 18. The school gained a specialism in Maths and Computing in 2004 and became a
Training school in 2009. In 2013 the school relocated to a new building and converted to
academy status, sponsored by the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham.
St Thomas More Catholic Academy offers
GCSEs
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
and
BTECs as programmes of study for pupils, while students in the sixth form have the option to study from a range of
A-levels and further BTECs. The sixth form provision is offered as the Trinity Sixth Form, a collaboration between St Thomas More Catholic Academy,
St John Fisher Catholic College, and
St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy.
References
External links
St Thomas More Catholic Academy official website
Secondary schools in Stoke-on-Trent
Catholic secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham
Educational institutions established in 1980
1980 establishments in England
Training schools in England
Academies in Stoke-on-Trent
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