St Thomas of Aquin's High School is a state-funded

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secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in the

Lauriston Lauriston ( ) is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park. Lauriston is the former location ...

area of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

History

St Thomas of Aquin's College for the training of Catholic teachers was formally established in 1865 by the

Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. In 2019, the institute had about 6,200 Religious sister, sisters worldwide, organized into a number ...

at St Catharine's Convent on Lauriston Gardens, Edinburgh. It expanded its remit and in 1886 the all-girls St Thomas of Aquin's College was established. In 1905, the Higher Grade Department of the college, where ‘Secondary Education’ was provided, was officially recognised by the then Education Department. The college retained its 'Primary' Department until World War II. In 1975, boys were admitted and the school was given its own catchment area in the city. The Sisters of Mercy adapted the ancient coat of arms, given to the original Order of Mercy by King James of Aragon, for the school's badge. The school motto, Sit Nobiscum Deus - God be with us, is taken from the coat of arms. The school is named after

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

, an influential thirteenth century philosopher and theologian. He was born near the town of

Aquino, Italy Aquino () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, northwest of Cassino. The name comes from the Latin Aquinum, probably from ''aqua'', meaning "water" as witnessed by the abundance of water that stil ...

. The school is affectionately known as St. Tam's. Christopher Santini is the permanent Headteacher having been Acting Headteacher since 2016.

Facilities

The school is located in the

area of Edinburgh beside the original convent. The building was upgraded in 1961. In 1997, one of the main staircases collapsed. The new 750 pupil St Thomas of Aquin's High School was opened in August 2002. It was built on the site of the old school following closure of the building in 1998 as it had become unsuitable to meet safety, security and curriculum requirements. It could also not be converted to support the integration of pupils with special needs. It was the first of Edinburgh's £133m Smart School Initiative programme to be completed. The building won the 'SCALA Civic Building of the Year Award', and a 'Designshare Award'. The building was also designed in association with the O.E.C.D. Programme for Educational Buildings, Paris.

Academics

St Thomas has been ranked as one of the top twenty state secondary schools in Scotland.

Associated Primary Schools

The school is associated with four local primary schools. These are: * Holy Cross RC Primary School * St. Mark's RC Primary School * St. Mary's RC Primary School * St. Peter's RC Primary School.

Notable alumni

* Christophe Berra – footballer * Greg McHugh – actor *

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– musician

References

External links

Official School Website
{{authority control Catholic secondary schools in Edinburgh 1886 establishments in Scotland Educational institutions established in 1886