History
In August of 1959, His Excellency Matthew F. Brady, Bishop of Manchester, opened the fund raising drive for St. Thomas Aquinas High School. When Bishop Brady suddenly died, Richard Cardinal Cushing of Boston kept his last project alive. Cardinal Cushing greeted the new bishop, His Excellency Ernest J. Primeau, with the advice, "Go on with St. Thomas Aquinas."
The Diocesan co-educational school opened in 1960 with a freshman class only. Serving seventeen parishes in southeastern New Hampshire, the school was staffed by two Diocesan priests, seven School Sisters of Notre Dame and one layman. When STA graduated its class of 219 in 1964, the faculty had grown to six priests, twenty-one sisters (requiring a new convent) and four lay teachers.
By the late sixties, enrollment topped nine hundred students, making St. Thomas a Class L power in athletics. A nationwide trend toward declining enrollments, combined with the higher cost of salaries as the number of teaching sisters fell, brought St. Thomas a series of financial challenges throughout the 1970’s.
The solid support of the Diocese, combined with the dedication of the local community and faculty, helped St. Thomas maintain a quality program amid financial difficulties in the early 1980’s. Through the 1990’s St. Thomas showed a steady and dramatic increase in enrollment. During this period the school enhanced and expanded the academic and extracurricular programs available to students. The convent, named Notre Dame Hall, was converted to provide additional classroom space and to house the Guidance Department, which includes offices, a library, and a conference area. Today the school is at its maximum enrollment. Admission has become competitive and many classes have waiting lists. Additional plant facilities, parking, and playing fields have enabled the school to accommodate today’s student population.
The school celebrated its 40th anniversary year in 2000. At this milestone, the school has achieved a solid reputation of excellence within our tri-state region. St. Thomas is proud of its traditions and looks to the future with vigor and purpose.