The school: St Thomas Aquinas converted to an academy on 1 April 2015. It takes boys and girls from 11 to 18 and has 1,242 pupils on the school roll, an above-average number. The school was rated “Outstanding” by Ofsted in 2011. Non-Catholic pupils and staff are welcome but the school states that they expect everyone “without exception” to support their mission statement: “Christ is at the centre of our school community, where we live, love and learn.” A large majority of students are from white British or white Irish backgrounds, with the rest from a range of minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of students eligible for free school meals is above average. The school has an inclusion unit, called the Manion Centre, which supports vulnerable students.