News

• Tuesday 5 May 2026 Year 11 Celebration Mass - May 2026 On Tuesday this week it was wonderful to have parents in school for our annual Year 11 Celebration Mass. Thank you to Fr Srinu for encouraging the students to have courage as they begin their exams and move on to the next stage of their education and the vast majority who will be joining our Sixth Form!
• Friday 1 May 2026 UKMT Junior Maths Challenge
• Friday 24 April 2026 Pilgrims of Hope Relay Race We kickstarted our Lumen Christi relay race from St Thomas Aquinas school with a beautiful prayer service. We prayed for Peter Vince and Jo McAleenan and the two charities we have been supporting – Ovavcom and The Brain Tumour Charity. As they prepared to run, we remembered the four Gospel values: Kind hearts, hunger for justice, questioning minds and thirst for justice. Students and staff ran to SJF school on the first leg of the journey.
• Friday 24 April 2026 MP Laurence Turner visit Today we were delighted to welcome our MP Laurence Turner into school. Our campaign champions for ‘Send my Friend to school' Saoirse and Renee presented statistics on how many children globally don't receive an education and asked what his government is going to do to improve the situation and when they are going to increase the aid to poorer countries. Chaplaincy change-maker students challenged him on what he is going to do to improve the situation for asylum seekers and refugees. We are a school of sanctuary and believe that it is important to welcome the stranger. Laurence listened and said he would do everything he could to take our questions to parliament.
• Friday 24 April 2026 Year 12 Trip to Birmingham University - String Theory Just before Easter some of our year 12 Physics were lucky enough to take part in a trip to Birmingham University to see a lecture on the exciting branch of Physics known as ‘String theory'. The pupils were able to experience university life by not only watching a lecture but also able to taste culinary delights the university had to offer. The students were also told what could await them if they decided to join the Maths department at Birmingham.
• Wednesday 22 April 2026 UOB Discovery Day This week our Year 12 students got to experience workshops and lectures in world class setting. After seeing ‘Old Joe' the worlds tallest freestanding clock tower, they were separated into various subject sessions.
• Wednesday 22 April 2026 Year 12 Geography Fieldwork in Bournville and Selly Oak On Wednesday 22nd April, the Year 12 Geography class visited the Bournville and Selly Oak areas to begin developing their data collection and fieldwork skills in preparation for an independent geographical enquiry. The students carried out a variety of surveys, a people count, questionnaire and other data collection sheets designed by themselves in the classroom. They explored the effectiveness of these methods and studied how Bournville, as a place, reflects both continuity and change. I know this work will result in an outstanding piece of coursework when we get back to the classroom.
• Monday 13 April 2026 Year 7 and 8 British Science Week British Science Week was a brilliant success, with Year 7 and Year 8 students exploring the question, “Could we live on Mars?” Pupils thoroughly enjoyed a wide range of practical investigations, developing key STEM skills as they examined how astronauts might land safely, survive, travel, and even grow food on the Red Planet. Students applied scientific knowledge and engineering thinking to realistic Martian scenarios, including testing different tyres for a Mars rover, planting seeds in tubes with filters to simulate lower light levels on Mars and investigate how this affected germination, and designing and testing parachutes to support a Mars landing. The week concluded with our fantastic Mars Geodesic Dome competition—check out the incredible entries, where the most innovative designs were rewarded with delicious chocolatey prizes.
• Monday 30 March 2026 Paris 2026 At the start of the Easter holidays, 45 students from Year 10 enjoyed a wonderful trip to Paris, seeing lots of the sights and soaking up the atmosphere of this beautiful city. They enjoyed visiting Notre Dame cathedral, climbing the Eiffel Tower, taking a boat trip on the Seine and looking back over Paris from Montmartre. They put their French speaking skills into practice at the market in Brie Comte Robert and even tried snails with their Sunday evening meal. Our final day was spent at Disney before travelling home overnight. It was such a pleasure to spend these 4 days with such a wonderful and appreciative group of students. It wouldn't have been possible without a great team of staff who were constantly making sure that our students were safe and enjoying themselves, so a huge thank you to Mrs Devlin, Mrs Stait, Miss Browne and Mr Eburah.
• Monday 23 March 2026 Easter Services This week we celebrated Easter with six separate Easter services. Well done to everyone that has been involved. We would like to wish all our STACS family a very happy Easter.
• Thursday 19 March 2026 Maths Challenge at STACS Our marvellous mathematicians are hard at work in the UKMT Mathematics Challenge follow on rounds. We wish them the best of luck!
• Tuesday 17 March 2026 St Patrick’s Day On Tuesday we celebrated St Patrick's Day in school. Students were allowed to wear something green as part of their uniform. It was lovely to see so many students and staff taking part.
• Monday 16 March 2026 Ski Trip to Andorra 30 students from Year 8 to Year 11 spent the week in Andorra enjoying fantastic skiing conditions under sunny skies. All students successfully completed a blue run, with some even progressing onto red runs.
• Thursday 5 March 2026 World Book Day - March 2026 Thursday 5th March was World Book Day and 7MO, 7TE, 7JP and 7FI had sessions with local poet Jasmine Gardosi throughout the day in the library. Jas performed some of her beat box poetry, talked about what has inspired her to become a poet and how to overcome barriers to achieve goals in life. The year 7s behaviour was impeccable and Jas was really impressed with our students questions.
• Friday 27 February 2026 What Uni, What Career Live On Friday 27th February, Year 12 students visited the 'What Career What Uni?' event at the NEC, exploring their post 18 options. Students engaged with a wide range of different providers, including universities, apprenticeships and employers, and also participated in specialist talks to help them prepare effectively for their future destinations. Students were a credit to the Sixth Form and many thanks go to Mrs Lavin for organising the event, and to Mrs Cranage and Miss Turner for their support on the day.
• Tuesday 24 February 2026 Arete - 2026 "Students are getting stuck in with their outdoor activities in Arete, starting with rafting on the river followed by rock climbing, abseiling and rambling. They are a credit to themselves!"
• Friday 13 February 2026 Warwickshire Lawn Tennis Association Success Our very own Lola was awarded the WALTA (Warwickshire Lawn Tennis Association) YoungPerson of the Year Award 2026. This award goes to a young person who has shown greatdedication to their local tennis club, and in particular to the Youth coaching programme over the last 12 months. Lola currently volunteers 3 times a week at Youth sessions, working with a mix of ages from 5-year-olds up to 10-year-olds.
• 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.
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