News

• Wednesday 11 February 2026 Maths Challenge - Olympiad Qualifiers We are so proud to share that two of our wonderful Y11 students Luca and Farhan have performed so incredibly in the recent UKMT Intermediate Mathematics Challenge that they have qualified for the upcoming Maclaurin Olympiad. We wish them the best of luck as they prepare for this next stage in the competition. Committed learners, exceptional people!
• Friday 6 February 2026 Sports Results - Week Beginning 2nd February A massive well done to our girls basketball team who last week won the Birmingham Under 15s Basketball League. They were unbeaten in tehri tournament last week. Well done to Mary, Aniya, Livia, Michaela, Anyahlaa, Yorkabel and Ziana.
• Thursday 5 February 2026 Maths Challenge - Grey Kangaroo We are so proud to share that Nandan in Y9 has performed so amazingly in the recent UKMT Intermediate Mathematics Challenge that he has qualified for the next round, the Grey Kangaroo. We wish him the best of luck as he prepares for this next stage in the competition. You are a committed learner and exceptional person!
• Thursday 5 February 2026 Year 8 Retreat - Thursday 5th February On Thursday Year 8 students were following a different timetable for their Retreat Day. We were delighted to welcome back Barry and Margaret Mizen who were sharing their story about forgiveness.
• Wednesday 4 February 2026 UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge At the end of January, 20 of our best mathematicians in Y9-11 took part in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge competing against over 200,000 students across the UK.
• Friday 30 January 2026 St Thomas Aquinas Day Mass - Jan 2026 On Wednesday we celebrated our annual feast day with a whole school mass. We were joined by Father Jonathon who led the school in a wonderful mass. As usual all students showed great respect and fully emerged themselves in the Mass.
• Friday 23 January 2026 UCAS Applications Year 13 students have been working hard on their UCAS applications, 75 applications have been submitted so far, and between them already 109 conditional offers or invitations received, including:1 from Warwick University,3 from University of Nottingham,10 from University of Manchester,2 from University of Liverpool,2 from University of Leeds,4 from University of Bristol,1 from Edinburgh University,1 from University of Bath,1 from Loughborough University,3 from University of Birmingham,... and another 77 offers from everywhere between Stirling and Southampton, for courses ranging from Artificial Intelligence to Virology, and everything in-between!
• Friday 16 January 2026 30th Anniversary of Born for This
• Monday 5 January 2026 Prayer Service for Cathy Doyle On Monday morning we held prayer services in remembrance of Cathy Doyle. The school day started with all staff coming together along with former members of staff and members of her family. Once the students arrived we held another short service on the playground, whilst the sun shone.
• Friday 19 December 2025 Christmas Hampers - December 2025 Over the last few weeks we have been collecting donations for our Christmas Hampers. We are pleased to announce that we have made numerous Hampers.. These will be given to families both within our school community or within our local community. Thank you to everyone that has donated.
• Wednesday 17 December 2025 Evening of Carols and Readings - 17th December 2025 On Wednesday evening we held our annual Evening of Readings and Carols. It was lovely to see so many parents, staff, ex-members of staff, Lumen Christi parents and members of our extended family. It really is the start to the Christmas season.
• Tuesday 16 December 2025 Sixth Form Revue - December 2025 On Monday our Year 12 students carried on the grand tradition of putting on a variety show for our Year 7 students and it really was a spectacular! Hosted by 'Bobby Dazzler' and 'Amazing May' our show was a mixture of games, challenges, a chaotic antics. We had a mischievous Grinch, a reindeer hoop toss, a yule log eating challenge, a build-a-snowman competition and a Masked Singer round (won by Snowman AKA Mr. Foley!). We finished with a big sing-a-long of Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody.
• Monday 15 December 2025 Smart Cities Challenge On Monday 15th Heidi, Juan, Flynn, Ivy, Tilly, Olivia and Sadie represented STACS in the Ahead Partnership Smart Cities challenge at Swanshurst school. Despite competing against many schools across the West Midlands, the year 8 students presentation and ideas were fantastic and awarded them first place in the competition. They are now in the national finals which will take place in January. Such an excellent achievement, and wonderful role models for our school virtues of being intentional and eloquent. We wish them the best of luck for January.
• Friday 12 December 2025 Advent Charity Day Last Friday we held our annual Advent Charity Day. This year we were raising money for Cancer Research. With a non uniform day, cake sales, raffles, races and so many more activities we managed to raise over £3500. there is still time to donate and every penny really does help this amazing charity. If you would like to donate you can either do this via Parent Pay (Advent Charity Day) or using our Gift Aid Page.
• Friday 12 December 2025 VIP Festive Afternoon Tea On Wednesday we invited members of our local community to join us for a festive afternoon tea, hosted by our Sixth Form students. Under the guidance of Mrs McGinley, Miss Doyle and Mrs Fluke, they made cakes, scones, sandwiches, sausage rolls and even smoked salmon bellinis! Our special guests were also treated to a round of Bingo, hosted by Sophie & Shojas in year 13; and spectacular performances from our Sixth Form vocal group led by Meryll in year 12. A huge 'THANK YOU' to the army of students who baked, cooked, served and entertained our VIPs, and special 'Thanks' to them for coming and being such fantastic guests!
• Monday 8 December 2025 Year 13 Career Ready Graduation Celebration This week our Year 13 Career Ready students 'graduated' from their programme, and we held a celebration event to mark the occasion! Career Ready deliver structured mentoring, workplace visits, masterclasses and even paid internships, as well as access to an alumni network, to increase young people's social mobility and give them a taste of the real world. Our students have benefitted immensely from participating in the programme, growing in maturity, confidence and mastering skills essential for their future work. We are so proud of how far they have come. A huge 'Thank You' to our co-ordinator, Caroline Emery and all the mentors who supported our students.
• Friday 5 December 2025 Macbeth Performance Being part of the cast of our school's production of Macbeth has been one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences we've ever had. Many of us took on multiple roles, which was both a challenge and a chance to stretch ourselves as performers. Switching between characters helped us understand the play on a deeper level and made every rehearsal feel fresh and energetic.
• Friday 5 December 2025 Year 9 Aquinas Experience at the Birmingham Rep On Wednesday the whole of Year 9 went to the Rep Theatre in Birmingham to watch their Christmas show ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Days of Christmas' for their Aquinas Experience. All students were wonderfully behaved and really enjoyed the show. It really has got everyone into the Christmas spirit. Thank you to everyone involved in this trip.
• Thursday 4 December 2025 Year 11 Breakfasts in the Library This week our Year 11 breakfasts got underway in the Library. Over pastries and fruit juice, student in Year 11 were able to quiz Year 12 and 13 on their experiences of Sixth Form, and their aspirations for the future. The Year 11's asked plenty of probing questions about subjects, university applications and Sixth Form life, and the demands of A Levels and Vocational subjects on offer.
• Thursday 27 November 2025 Catholic Schools’ Chess Tournament at St Peter's It was my privilege to accompany four of our year 11 students to the annual Catholic Schools' Chess Tournament on 27th November. We have been taking part for a long time now and this competition, at St Peter's in Solihull, was by far the largest to date with 7 schools competing.
• Tuesday 25 November 2025 Geography Fieldwork in Longbridge As part of our preparation for the GCSE Geography Paper 3, Year 11 students visited Longbridge to investigate the regeneration of the former Rover/MG factory site. The aim of the enquiry was to assess how successful regeneration has been in transforming the area.
• Thursday 20 November 2025 KS4 Catholic Schools Team Maths Challenge at Cardinal Newman On Thursday 20th November, 8 of our Mathematicians travelled to Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Coventry to compete in the annual KS4 Catholic Schools Team Maths Challenge.
• Wednesday 19 November 2025 Red Wednesday - November 2025 On Wednesday we participated in Red Wednesday with Aid to the Church in Need. Students were allowed to wear red items of clothing or accessories. We started the day hearing from Fr Stephen Ojapah who was kidnapped and beaten in Nigeria for his faith. Our school choir also went to St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham for the Red Wednesday service along with students from all of Lumen Christi primary schools.
• Friday 14 November 2025 Odd Sock Day
• Wednesday 12 November 2025 Walk of Witness for Aid to the Church in Need STACS Sixth Formers joined students from Bishop Challoner to take part in a Walk of Witness, raising awareness and funds for Aid to the Church in Need. We began the day with Mass at St. Dunstan's, offered for those around the world who are not free to worship or practise their faith openly.
• Tuesday 11 November 2025 Geography Trip to Longbridge The Year 11 Geography students recently visited Longbridge to investigate the area's regeneration as part of their fieldwork studies. During the trip, they carried out a range of data collection activities, including environmental quality surveys and pedestrian counts, to help them better understand the social and economic changes taking place in the area. The students conducted themselves in an exemplary manner throughout the day, showing maturity, enthusiasm, and genuine interest in their work. They represented the school with pride, engaging respectfully with members of the public and working diligently to collect accurate data. Their excellent behaviour and positive attitude made the trip both enjoyable and highly productive.
• Friday 7 November 2025 Speed Networking event with Ahead Partnership Last Friday students in Year 12 took part in a Speed Networking event with Ahead Partnership. Nine different providers of Higher Education and Apprenticeship programmes came in to engage with students in small groups so that they could ask questions about future options. Representatives from Aston University and BCU spoke to groups about finding and applying for university courses, whilst several other companies offering degree apprenticeships in Law, Conveyancing, Finance, Construction, Engineering and even more spoke about the process involved in finding an apprenticeship. Students found the experience beneficial and it has really got them thinking about post -18.
• Friday 7 November 2025 Senior Maths Challenge In October, 20 of our Y11 and Y13 Mathematicians competed in the UKMT Senior Mathematics Challenge. This is a test of problem solving and logic, going beyond the curriculum, where students are tested against others from across the UK. We are so proud of all of our students that took part, many of whom have placed in the top 66% of participants. You are all committed learners and exceptional people, well done!
• Thursday 6 November 2025 Year 8 Trip to Birmingham University On Thursday, 14 of our year 8 students visited Birmingham University for an audience with the teenage horror author Darren Shan, as part of The National Literacy Trust's Haunted Birmingham. He read aloud extracts from some of his books and talked about what inspires him to write. STACS students asked lots of questions at the end of the session and had the chance of a photo opportunity. Well done to all who attended you did our school proud!
• Thursday 6 November 2025 Year 5 Retreat - Fan the Flame On Thursday 23rd October, the Year 5 children from seven of our Lumen Christi schools joined together for our Fan the Flame retreat led wonderfully by One Life Music. The children sang beautifully and prayed reverently. A wonderful coming together of our family of schools.
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