St. Thomas Aquinas High School (New Jersey)

Catholic high school in Edison, New Jersey, United States

The school has an enrollment of 561 students and 59 classroom teachers, for a student–teacher ratio of 9.7:1. Students attend the school from Middlesex, Union, Monmouth, and Somerset counties in Central New Jersey. The administration and teaching faculty hold B. S. or B. A. degrees; a significant percentage have M. A. degrees; and some hold a Ph. D. degree. St. Thomas Aquinas High School is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and is accredited by AdvancED.

The school opened in 1969 as St. Thomas Aquinas High School. For the first year, the building was occupied by St. Thomas Aquinas High School on the first floor and St. Pius High School on the second floor, as St. Pius was still under construction. Originally a part of the Diocese of Trenton, St. Thomas Aquinas High School joined the newly formed Diocese of Metuchen in 1981. The school was renamed Bishop George Ahr High School in 1983, in honor of George W. Ahr, Trenton's longest serving bishop. In fall 2006, a multi million dollar addition opened, which featured a second gymnasium, two computer labs, a weight room, a new music room, and several classrooms and conference rooms. On July 1, 2019, as part of several significant changes in honor of its 50th anniversary, the school reverted to its original name.

St. Thomas Aquinas High School offers courses at the College Prep, Accelerated, Honors, and Advanced Placement levels. Advanced Placement courses are offered in AP 2D Art & Design, AP Art History, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP United States History, AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Physics B, AP Psychology, and AP Statistics.

The St. Thomas Aquinas High School Trojans compete in the Greater Middlesex Conference, which comprises public and private high schools in the Middlesex County area and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Sports offered for men include: baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, wrestling, and winter and spring track. Women's sports include: basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross country, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and winter and spring track. The football team competes in Division 2B of the Big Central Football Conference, which includes 60 public and private high schools in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Warren counties, which are broken down into 10 divisions by size and location. The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Non Public Group B (equivalent to Group I for public schools) for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 64 to 223 students. The football team won the Non Public A South state sectional championship in 1984, 1985 and 1986. The 1984 team won the Parochial A South state sectional title with a 17–0 victory against Holy Cross Academy in the championship game. The 1985 team finished the season with a 9–2 record after defeating Holy Spirit High School by a score of 10 6 by scoring a fourth quarter touchdown in the Parochial A South championship game. The team was champion of the Middlesex County Blue Division in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009. The girls' gymnastics team has won the team state championship in 1992, 1994, 1995, 2003–2007, 2010 and 2013; the 10 titles are the second most of any school in the state. The boys bowling team won the overall state championship in 1995. The girls swimming team won the state Non Public A South sectional championship in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The school's swimming team won the Greater Middlesex Conference in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011. The baseball team won the 2006 Non Public South A sectional championship over St. Augustine, 16–15. The wrestling team won the Parochial B South state sectional title in 2007 and the PArochial A South title in 2011. The team won the 2007 Non Public South B sectional championship with a 46–27 win over Holy Cross. The softball team took the 2009 Non Public South A sectional title, shutting out both Holy Spirit High School and Camden Catholic High School, and won the tournament final over Gloucester Catholic High School to win the team's first sectional title for nine years. The girls soccer team won the Non Public A state championship in 2013 with a 1–0 win in the tournament final against Immaculate Heart Academy, which came into the game ranked fourth in the state by The Star Ledger. The varsity cheerleading team won the National Championship and best overall Grand Champion in Myrtle Beach, S. C. on March 11, 2017.

The St. Thomas Aquinas Drama Department oversees production of at least three full length performances each school year with opportunities throughout the year both onstage and offstage. Fall opportunities include the “Shakespeare and the Classics” program which begins rehearsals In late summer to produce a play in mid September. Then, in November, the department puts on another full length play or musical. Recent Fall Productions include "Into the Woods," "Noises Off!" and "Little Shop of Horrors." In the spring, the department presents a large scale musical. Recent performances include "Something Rotten," "The SpongeBob Musical," and "Legally Blonde: The Musical." The Music Department includes a Marching Band with Color Guard (the Marching Trojans), a symphonic band (the Concert Band), a mixed chorus (the Concert Choir) an a cappella group (the Director’s Select Chorus), a Liturgical band, and a jazz ensemble (the Jazz Band).