We compete in many different competitions across the Birmingham Catholic Partnership including chess, bake off's, debates and language quizzes  

The BCP runs a variety of sporting competitions across the school year, which St Thomas Aquinas have a proud tradition of competing in, with a great deal of success over the years! Events are held amongst the cluster of Catholic Schools across the city and in recent years this has included the annual swimming gala, football, softball, rounders and golf competitions.  The year of events traditionally culminates in the BCP Multi-Event Sports Day, where pupils compete over the day in basketball, athletics, football, indoor rowing, volleyball and ultimate frisbee, gaining points for overall standings on the day. St Thomas Aquinas won the overall bronze medal for last year's girls' event and gold for the boys!  

All students in Year 7 along with their tutors will spend a day at the Black Country Museum in July. They will get to experience a school lesson as it would have been in 1912 and see how we used to live. This is a great day for everyone and allows students and teachers to develop relationships outside of the classroom.

In July we take 44 Year 7 students to Devon for a fun weeks camping. Students enjoy a week of fun activities including forest school, archery, coastal walks and a trip to a local theme park. Students learn a lot about themselves as this is the first time away for many and devlelop strong friendships.

The school visits 7 local Parishes during the year and provide the music and does the readings for a weekend Mass, students who went to the feeder schools connected to those parishes are invited to take part via a letter home to parents.  

Throughout the school year we attend many different masses celebrating our house patron's feast days or helping out at our MAC primary school's masses  

We complete in many different sports competitions across the city including football, netball, dance, trampolining to name a few.  

Our Key Stage 3 students get the opportunities to visit our feeder primary schools to tell the year 5 & 6 students what being a student is like at Tommies.  

Up to 75 Year 8 students have the opportunity to go to Alton Castle, Staffordshire, on a 2 night, activity based retreat. This retreat is based on students looking at who they are as a child of God.

We compete in many different competitions across the Birmingham Catholic Partnership including chess, bake off's, debates and language quizzes

The BCP runs a variety of sporting competitions across the school year, which St Thomas Aquinas have a proud tradition of competing in, with a great deal of success over the years! Events are held amongst the cluster of Catholic Schools across the city and in recent years this has included the annual swimming gala, football, softball, rounders and golf competitions.  The year of events traditionally culminates in the BCP Multi-Event Sports Day, where pupils compete over the day in basketball, athletics, football, indoor rowing, volleyball and ultimate frisbee, gaining points for overall standings on the day. St Thomas Aquinas won the overall bronze medal for last year's girls' event and gold for the boys!

The History visits to London in recent years have been for year 8 to enthuse and prepare them for GCSE History. We have visited Westminster to learn about the trial and execution of Charles I; the Tower of London to find out more about its role in WW1, the Imprerial War Museum, learning about the Holocaust, WW2 and Britain's role in WW1. The trips are taken in the summer term and are always popular with students. They get to experience the hustle and bustle of the 'Big Smoke' by riding the Tube and taking in the world-famous sights and sounds of our capital city.

The school visits 7 local Parishes during the year and provide the music and does the readings for a weekend Mass, students who went to the feeder schools connected to those parishes are invited to take part via a letter home to parents.

Throughout the school year we attend many different masses celebrating our house patron's feast days or helping out at our MAC primary school's masses

This bi-annual trip run for KS4 and KS5. No previous skiing experience required. A great opportunity to spend 6 days having skiing lessons in the natural alpine countryside, with a mixture of cultural activities in the evenings. A great chance to learn how to ski in a safe and controlled environment. A great trip with hoodies, evening activities, food and accommodation all included.

We complete in many different sports competitions across the city including football, netball, dance, trampolining to name a few.

Our Key Stage 3 students get the opportunities to visit our feeder primary schools to tell the year 5 & 6 students what being a student is like at Tommies.

This is a long-standing residential trip which has moved from the well renowned Ogwen Cottage (which closed in 2013), many ex-students will reminisce about this trip with fond memories with tails of how it changed their lives for the better. We take Year 9 students for a 5 day residential to Snowdonia to part take in a range of outdoor education experiences. They complete activities which challenge and take them outside of their comfort zones, tailor made to the group, giving them the skills to persevere and uncover talents they did not know they have. It builds on their team building and leadership skills and introduces them to activities that they will rarely be able to experience in everyday life in a setting far removed from the city life we are used to. This is a fantastic trip which I highly recommend everyone apply to come on.

We compete in many different competitions across the Birmingham Catholic Partnership including chess, bake off's, debates and language quizzes

The BCP runs a variety of sporting competitions across the school year, which St Thomas Aquinas have a proud tradition of competing in, with a great deal of success over the years! Events are held amongst the cluster of Catholic Schools across the city and in recent years this has included the annual swimming gala, football, softball, rounders and golf competitions.  The year of events traditionally culminates in the BCP Multi-Event Sports Day, where pupils compete over the day in basketball, athletics, football, indoor rowing, volleyball and ultimate frisbee, gaining points for overall standings on the day. St Thomas Aquinas won the overall bronze medal for last year's girls' event and gold for the boys!

Students in Year 9 have the opportunity to begin the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award when they reach the age of 14. The Award is offered as an extra-curricular activity and is a good opportunity for students to develop their personal skills, face new challenges and have fun, whilst also gaining an extra qualification, which will make them stand out when applying for college, university and job applications. The award takes 6 months to complete and is divided into four sections: volunteering; physical; skill and expedition. Students must complete the volunteering, physical and skill aspects for 3 months and then choose one of these to carry on for a further 3 months. The aim of the expedition is to inspire students to develop initiative and a sense of adventure by planning, training for and completing a 2 day 1 night hike. Students meet regularly to work on teambuilding, learning camp-craft skills, navigation, route planning and emergency and first aid procedures. Students complete a practice expedition in Earlswood and then their final expedition in the Clent Hills for their qualifying expedition.

Years 8–11 Forward Thinking Forward Thinking is a progressive programme we run with groups of local schools. Each year the schools involved select five Year 8 students to take part in the programme.  They are all Gifted and Talented students who meet Widening Participation criteria.  The students take part in a programme of activity through to Year 11 supported by a range of information and advice materials.  

The school visits 7 local Parishes during the year and provide the music and does the readings for a weekend Mass, students who went to the feeder schools connected to those parishes are invited to take part via a letter home to parents.

Throughout the school year we attend many different masses celebrating our house patron's feast days or helping out at our MAC primary school's masses

This bi-annual trip run for KS4 and KS5. No previous skiing experience required. A great opportunity to spend 6 days having skiing lessons in the natural alpine countryside, with a mixture of cultural activities in the evenings. A great chance to learn how to ski in a safe and controlled environment. A great trip with hoodies, evening activities, food and accommodation all included.

We complete in many different sports competitions across the city including football, netball, dance, trampolining to name a few.

Role-play competition. We take 2 students from Y7 French and 2 from Y8 French. We sometimes also take 2 from Y9 German. The students prepare a short role-play on a set topic and perform against students from other schools. Our Y7 students won last year. The competition takes place in the Summer Term.

We compete in many different competitions across the Birmingham Catholic Partnership including chess, bake off's, debates and language quizzes

The BCP runs a variety of sporting competitions across the school year, which St Thomas Aquinas have a proud tradition of competing in, with a great deal of success over the years! Events are held amongst the cluster of Catholic Schools across the city and in recent years this has included the annual swimming gala, football, softball, rounders and golf competitions.  The year of events traditionally culminates in the BCP Multi-Event Sports Day, where pupils compete over the day in basketball, athletics, football, indoor rowing, volleyball and ultimate frisbee, gaining points for overall standings on the day. St Thomas Aquinas won the overall bronze medal for last year's girls' event and gold for the boys!

The Battlefields trip to Belgium and France is for GCSE and A-Level students studying History. Students learn about the impact of war in the Flanders region and gain an understanding of the importance of remembrance. The trip has been running for several years now and remains a very popular trip! Many students come on the trip year after year!

Students explore rivers on their trip to Carding Mill Valley. Measurements are taken of the width, depth and speed of the river at several points from the source heading downstream. This is vital work ahead of their examinations.

We have over the years worked with 'IntoFilm' an organisation that provides free tickets for K3-K5 students in order to support their curriculum studies using film. In particular we have visited several cinemas (MAC, Rubery, Odeon) to expand the GCSE students' knowledge of Action-Adventure films; one of the main components of their terminal exam in Y11. As well as this we visit the Electric Cinema with Y12 each year to view a film and have 'exclusive' use of the cinema. The film is one of the case studies that students must include in their AS exam. Additionally, the visit is crucial for the students' understanding of institutional practice-especially distribution and exhibition, which is supported by a pre-film discussion/Q&A with the cinema manager.

The school visits 7 local Parishes during the year and provide the music and does the readings for a weekend Mass, students who went to the feeder schools connected to those parishes are invited to take part via a letter home to parents.

Throughout the school year we attend many different masses celebrating our house patron's feast days or helping out at our MAC primary school's masses

Each year at the start of the Easter holidays, we take a group of approximately 45 students from Year 10 and 11 to Paris for 4 days. We travel by coach and stay at the beautiful Château de Grande Romaine, a PGL centre to the East of Paris. We spend two days sightseeing in Paris, including going to the top of the Eiffel Tower (for those who are brave enough!), a boat trip on the River Seine and a morning in a picturesque market town, Brie Comte Robert, where students complete a town trail and practise their French. For some, the highlight of the trip is our day at Disneyland, where students enjoy the rides, the parades and meeting the Disney characters.

This bi-annual trip run for KS4 and KS5. No previous skiing experience required. A great opportunity to spend 6 days having skiing lessons in the natural alpine countryside, with a mixture of cultural activities in the evenings. A great chance to learn how to ski in a safe and controlled environment. A great trip with hoodies, evening activities, food and accommodation all included.

Up to 35 year 10 students have the opportunity to go to Soli House retreat centre, now based in Alton, Staffordshire, for a 3 night retreat. Where they look at their relationships with family and friends and their faith and relationship with God in more depth

We complete in many different sports competitions across the city including football, netball, dance, trampolining to name a few.

All of Year 11 have the opportunity to go to Aztec Adventure for a day of activities. The purpose of the day is to show students that with encouragement and support they can achieve anything that they set their mind to. This is an important lesson to learn ahead of an important year in school.

We compete in many different competitions across the Birmingham Catholic Partnership including chess, bake off's, debates and language quizzes

The BCP runs a variety of sporting competitions across the school year, which St Thomas Aquinas have a proud tradition of competing in, with a great deal of success over the years! Events are held amongst the cluster of Catholic Schools across the city and in recent years this has included the annual swimming gala, football, softball, rounders and golf competitions.  The year of events traditionally culminates in the BCP Multi-Event Sports Day, where pupils compete over the day in basketball, athletics, football, indoor rowing, volleyball and ultimate frisbee, gaining points for overall standings on the day. St Thomas Aquinas won the overall bronze medal for last year's girls' event and gold for the boys!

The Battlefields trip to Belgium and France is for GCSE and A-Level students studying History. Students learn about the impact of war in the Flanders region and gain an understanding of the importance of remembrance. The trip has been running for several years now and remains a very popular trip! Many students come on the trip year after year!

We have over the years worked with 'IntoFilm' an organisation that provides free tickets for K3-K5 students in order to support their curriculum studies using film. In particular we have visited several cinemas (MAC, Rubery, Odeon) to expand the GCSE students' knowledge of Action-Adventure films; one of the main components of their terminal exam in Y11. As well as this we visit the Electric Cinema with Y12 each year to view a film and have 'exclusive' use of the cinema. The film is one of the case studies that students must include in their AS exam. Additionally, the visit is crucial for the students' understanding of institutional practice-especially distribution and exhibition, which is supported by a pre-film discussion/Q&A with the cinema manager.

The school visits 7 local Parishes during the year and provide the music and does the readings for a weekend Mass, students who went to the feeder schools connected to those parishes are invited to take part via a letter home to parents.

Throughout the school year we attend many different masses celebrating our house patron's feast days or helping out at our MAC primary school's masses

Each year at the start of the Easter holidays, we take a group of approximately 45 students from Year 10 and 11 to Paris for 4 days. We travel by coach and stay at the beautiful Château de Grande Romaine, a PGL centre to the East of Paris. We spend two days sightseeing in Paris, including going to the top of the Eiffel Tower (for those who are brave enough!), a boat trip on the River Seine and a morning in a picturesque market town, Brie Comte Robert, where students complete a town trail and practise their French. For some, the highlight of the trip is our day at Disneyland, where students enjoy the rides, the parades and meeting the Disney characters.

Students in Year 10 have the opportunity to begin the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award when they reach the age of 15. The Award is offered as an extra-curricular activity and is a good opportunity for students to develop their personal skills, meet new people, discover their potential, learn new skills and face new challenges. Above all, successful participants will gain an extra qualification which will help them stand out when applying for college, university and job applications. The award takes 12 months to complete for direct entrants and 6 months for those who have achieved their Bronze award. In order to complete the award, students must undertake volunteering, participate in a physical activity, learn a new skill and complete a three day, two night expedition.

This bi-annual trip run for KS4 and KS5. No previous skiing experience required. A great opportunity to spend 6 days having skiing lessons in the natural alpine countryside, with a mixture of cultural activities in the evenings. A great chance to learn how to ski in a safe and controlled environment. A great trip with hoodies, evening activities, food and accommodation all included.

We complete in many different sports competitions across the city including football, netball, dance, trampolining to name a few.

Students visit a number of different theatres to watch a variety of performances. This helps students studying perfoming arts.

The Battlefields trip to Belgium and France is for GCSE and A-Level students studying History. Students learn about the impact of war in the Flanders region and gain an understanding of the importance of remembrance. The trip has been running for several years now and remains a very popular trip! Many students come on the trip year after year!

The Sixth Form trip to Berlin is in it's second year. The trip is  a History one, however it is open to all students in the Sixth Form. Students learn about Nazi Germany and the Cold War, as well as finding out about European Politics in their visit to the Reichstag. Students also visit the TV Tower, the 1936 Olympic Stadium, sample the local cuisine of Bratwurst and Currywurst and experience a little of Berlin at night. They also see the Brandenburg Gate and experience riding around on the U-Bahn. The Berlin trip is a very special one in that for most, it is the last residential trip taken by our students.

We have over the years worked with 'IntoFilm' an organisation that provides free tickets for K3-K5 students in order to support their curriculum studies using film. In particular we have visited several cinemas (MAC, Rubery, Odeon) to expand the GCSE students' knowledge of Action-Adventure films; one of the main components of their terminal exam in Y11. As well as this we visit the Electric Cinema with Y12 each year to view a film and have 'exclusive' use of the cinema. The film is one of the case studies that students must include in their AS exam. Additionally, the visit is crucial for the students' understanding of institutional practice-especially distribution and exhibition, which is supported by a pre-film discussion/Q&A with the cinema manager.

Our A Level students have compulsorary field work trips to a variety of loactions in and around Birmingham.

The Sixth Form trip to Krakow is relatively new to our trip calendar. The trip is a History one, however it is open to all students in the Sixth Form. Students learn about the Holocaust and the Nazi Occupation of Poland, and visit Auschwitz extermination camp. The Krakow trip is a very special one in that for most, it is the last residential trip taken by our students. 

The school visits 7 local Parishes during the year and provide the music and does the readings for a weekend Mass, students who went to the feeder schools connected to those parishes are invited to take part via a letter home to parents.

Throughout the school year we attend many different masses celebrating our house patron's feast days or helping out at our MAC primary school's masses

This bi-annual trip run for KS4 and KS5. No previous skiing experience required. A great opportunity to spend 6 days having skiing lessons in the natural alpine countryside, with a mixture of cultural activities in the evenings. A great chance to learn how to ski in a safe and controlled environment. A great trip with hoodies, evening activities, food and accommodation all included.

Students visit a number of different theatres to watch a variety of performances. This helps students studying performing arts.

The Battlefields trip to Belgium and France is for GCSE and A-Level students studying History. Students learn about the impact of war in the Flanders region and gain an understanding of the importance of remembrance. The trip has been running for several years now and remains a very popular trip! Many students come on the trip year after year!

We have over the years worked with 'IntoFilm' an organisation that provides free tickets for K3-K5 students in order to support their curriculum studies using film. In particular we have visited several cinemas (MAC, Rubery, Odeon) to expand the GCSE students' knowledge of Action-Adventure films; one of the main components of their terminal exam in Y11. As well as this we visit the Electric Cinema with Y12 each year to view a film and have 'exclusive' use of the cinema. The film is one of the case studies that students must include in their AS exam. Additionally, the visit is crucial for the students' understanding of institutional practice-especially distribution and exhibition, which is supported by a pre-film discussion/Q&A with the cinema manager.

Our A Level students have compulsorary field work trips to a variety of loactions in and around Birmingham.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award at Tommies began with enrolment in 2006, with a cohort of 13 6th Form students. The two groups undertook their practice expedition in the very challenging Dark Peaks and were successful enough to be put forward for their Qualification in the Brecon Beacons. During their time on expedition the weather became inclement and both groups on the 3rd day found challenging weather in the form of thick fog with one group ending up camping up on the hills overnight. The very 1st person to complete the whole of the Gold Award was Naomi Austin who received her Award at St James’ Palace in the presence of the Duke of Edinburgh himself. From that initial cohort of 13 we have had 4 successful finish the Award as a whole and just this year (2016) some eight years after their expedition, Mr O’Sullivan finally completed all his sections and will be going to the Palace also this year to pick up his well-earned Award. To date, we have had 12 students complete their Gold Award and are hoping to put forward another 10 students to head off to the Palace. Last year we enrolled another 28 students – twice as big as any cohort before, with the expectation that we will have 20 pick up their Award next year. All these achievements would not be so successful without all the staff, who have given up their time and effort, from Bronze through to Gold – I thank you all.

Every year, the Sixth Form have the opportunity to join the Birmingham Diocesan annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Southern France. Millions of pilgrims visit Lourdes each year since the apparitions in 1858 where Mary appeared to St Bernadette 18 times. Lourdes has since become renowned as a place of healing and the Catholic Church has recognised a total of 69 miracles having taken place there. Students travel to Lourdes during the May half-term, where they volunteer serving sick and elderly pilgrims. Students have the opportunity to live out their faith in a very direct way and work in a privileged position supporting and caring for those who are less fortunate than themselves. Students often find working with the pilgrims a humbling and rewarding experience. Throughout the week there are also many opportunities to visit other places of interest and meet young people from across the Diocese.

The school visits 7 local Parishes during the year and provide the music and does the readings for a weekend Mass, students who went to the feeder schools connected to those parishes are invited to take part via a letter home to parents.

Throughout the school year we attend many different masses celebrating our house patron's feast days or helping out at our MAC primary school's masses

This bi-annual trip run for KS4 and KS5. No previous skiing experience required. A great opportunity to spend 6 days having skiing lessons in the natural alpine countryside, with a mixture of cultural activities in the evenings. A great chance to learn how to ski in a safe and controlled environment. A great trip with hoodies, evening activities, food and accommodation all included.

The Skills Show is the UK’s leading experiential skills and careers event for young people. It takes place from 19 to 21 November. The event provides students with hands-on experiences that inspire them about the world of work.  A wide range of leading employers and training organisations, including Toyota, Jaguar Landrover, BAE Systems, High Speed Two, IBM and NHS Careers, as well as colleges, training providers and careers advisers, will be on site for students to talk to. The show features five skill sectors: Engineering and Technology, Media and Creative, IT and Enterprise, Hospitality and Lifestyle, Construction and Infrastructure.

Students visit a number of different theatres to watch a variety of performances. This helps students studying perfoming arts.