St Thomas the Apostle College wins UK Secondary School of the Year Award

St Thomas the Apostle College in Southwark has just won the UK Secondary School of the Year Award at the prestigious 2017 TES Schools Awards.

The incredible turnaround of St Thomas the Apostle College is an inspirational tale of hard work and belief. Turning around a school is difficult. The obstacles in your path when you are the lowest-ranking school in your local area are numerous and complex – public perception, difficult recruitment and a legacy of underachievement are just a few of the issues that need to be addressed.

So quite how St Thomas the Apostle College managed to go from this difficult situation in 2012 to ranking 11th in the national league table for Progress 8 in 2016 intrigued the judges. What has happened over the last four years at this unique school is a story of commitment, hard work and a steadfast belief in not just improving students academically, but personally.

The judges observed that “this outstanding school manages to nurture the unique talents of its students alongside rigorous teaching and high expectations, which resulted in the school achieving its best ever results in 2016”. This is a rare achievement that all the judges felt deserved huge congratulations and that ultimately got the school the award in this category.

St Thomas the Apostle College received unanimous praise from the judging panel who observed that “the school’s commitment – not just to improving outcomes, but also to acting inclusively and reaching out to the community – sets it apart from the rest”

On receiving the award, Head teacher Eamon Connolly said: “We are incredibly proud to receive this award which represents the achievements of the entire school community. Excellent academic outcomes are never taken for granted and are supported by the commitment and hard work of all involved.”

Eamon Connolly has been head teacher at St Thomas the Apostle College since September 2012. On his appointment St Thomas the Apostle College sat bottom of the Southwark secondary school league tables facing the possibility of being put into Special Measures with only 42% of students achieving 5 A*-C with English and Maths. In 2014 Ofsted recognised a remarkable turnaround in the school and judged it Outstanding in all categories. In the summer of 2016 the College achieved its highest ever results placing it 11th in the entire country for Progress 8 with a score of 0.91 and 82% of students achieving 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths.

The TES awards, now in their ninth year, recognise outstanding contributions made by education teams and individuals to help students around the country to succeed, both inside and outside the classroom.

Read more about St Thomas the Apostle College here: www.stac.uk.com