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.[citation needed] St. Thomas Aquinas High School is overseen by the New Jersey Department of Education and is accredited by AdvancED.[4]
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.[9]
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.[10]
The St. Thomas Aquinas High School Trojans[3] 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.[13] 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.[3] With 510 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group II for public schools).[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]
The football team won the Non-Public A South state sectional championship in 1984, 1985 and 1986.[17] The 1984 team won the Parochial A South state sectional title with a 17–0 victory against Holy Cross Academy in the championship game.[18] 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.[19] The team was champion of the Middlesex County Blue Division in 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009.[20]
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.[21]
The boys bowling team won the overall state championship in 1995.[22]
The girls swimming team won the state Non-Public A South sectional championship in 1996, 1997 and 1998.[23] 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.[24]
The wrestling team won the Parochial B South state sectional title in 2007 and the PArochial A South title in 2011.[25] The team won the 2007 Non-Public South B sectional championship with a 46–27 win over Holy Cross.[26]
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.[28][29]
The varsity cheerleading team won the National Championship and best overall Grand Champion in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on March 11, 2017.[30]
The St. Thomas Aquinas Drama Department oversees production of at least three full-length performances each school year[31] 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).[32]
^Tuition and Financial Aid, St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Accessed March 12, 2024. "All tuition payments for the 2024-2025 school year will be processed through the FACTS Management Company..... Plan A: August 1, 2024: $16,975"
^"St. Thomas Aquinas High School". www.stahs.net. Retrieved August 1, 2019. As of July 1, Bishop George Ahr High School will once again be known as St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Bishop Ahr was founded as St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1969, and although the name was changed to Bishop George Ahr High School in 1983, we have always proudly remembered the school's beginnings.
^Tufaro, Greg. "Bishop Ahr High School renamed St. Thomas Aquinas again", Courier News, Jul 1, 2019. Accessed September 24, 2020. "The leadership of Bishop George Ahr High School announced Monday that the diocesan school will return to its original name, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, effective immediately. A co-educational college preparatory school within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, founded in 1969, was renamed Bishop George Ahr High School 14 years later."
^Kinney, Mike. "Big Central revises 2020 football schedule for its shortened inaugural season", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, August 12, 2020. Accessed April 18, 2021. "The newly formed Big Central Football Conference has released a revised 2020 schedule for its inaugural season.... the BCFC is comprised of schools from Middlesex, Union, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties."
^Viggiano, Bob. "Bishop Ahr rolls to convincing win over Holy Cross", Courier-Post, December 2, 1984. Accessed February 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "It didn't take Bishop Ahr High School football coach Tony Aschettino long to figure out that a break or two was going to decide yesterday's South Jersey Parochial A championship game. For the first 24 minutes Bishop Ahr and Holy Cross slugged it out toe to toe. with neither giving an inch. But the second half was a different story as the visitors took advantage of a couple of breaks and rolled to the championship with a convincing 17-0 victory."
^Wagner, Lee. "Doctor's prescription gives Bishop Ahr championship", Courier-Post, December 8, 1985. Accessed February 21, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Junior running back Mike Doctor's 48-yard touchdown reception with 9:32 left led defending champion Bishop Ahr to a hard-fought 10-6 win over Holy Spirit here yesterday as the Trojans captured the South Jersey Parochial A championship. Doctor's reception brought Bishop Ahr (9-2) back from 6-3 half time deficit in a game that featured hard-hitting defense on the part of both squads."
^Iezzi, Bill. "Plate call pulls plug on Rams' hopes"Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 3, 2009. Accessed October 3, 2011. "Ahr (24-2), the second seed, won its first sectional trophy since 2000, when its coach, Missy Magyar, was a junior playing shortstop for the Trojans.... The Trojans, who shut out Holy Spirit, 13-0, and Camden Catholic, 2-0, to advance to the final, demonstrated that they could get their bats on the ball one through nine."
^"Girls soccer: Unranked Bishop Ahr knocks out No. 4 Immaculate Heart, 1-0, for first Non-Public A title", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, November 20, 2013, updated August 25, 2019. Accessed September 24, 2020. "Sophomore Jill Vassallo scored in the 47th minute and Foster made sure it stood up as the game winner with five saves and countless other defensive stops as unranked Bishop Ahr topped Immaculate Heart, No. 4 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, 1-0, to win the first ever NJSIAA/Sports Authority Non-Public A title in program history on Wednesday at The College of New Jersey in Ewing."
^Drama Department, St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Accessed September 23, 2023.
^Music Department, St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Accessed September 23, 2023.
^BiographyArchived February 9, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Ed Kalegi. Accessed December 24, 2011. "Some years later, Ed's acting abilities were first cultivated at Bishop George Ahr/St. Thomas High School in Edison, NJ during the early 1980s under the tutelage of Drama Director Gordon Inverno."
^"Woodbridge Mayor Challenges BGAHS"Archived April 28, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Bishop George Ahr High School. Accessed April 26, 2017. "Mr. John McCormac, the mayor of Woodbridge Township, also happens to be a BGA/STA Class of 1976 alumnus."
^About Mayor McCormacArchived July 4, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. Accessed July 4, 2018. "After graduation from St. Cecelia's grammar school in Iselin and St. Thomas Aquinas High School (class of 1976) Mayor McCormac went on to earn a BA in Accounting from Rutgers University and a Master’s Degree in Finance from St. John's University."
^Staff. "D.C. Law Firm Names Morrisey as Partner"Archived July 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains - Fanwood Times, March 11, 2004. Accessed July 4, 2018. "The former Westfield resident grew up in Edison, where he graduated from Bishop Ahr/St. Thomas Aquinas High School."
^"Edwards-Williams", Home News Tribune, November 3, 2002. Accessed January 23, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Edwards is a graduate of Bishop George Ahr High School, Edison, and Columbia University, New York, with a bachelor's degree in Spanish language and literature."
