St. Thomas' Episcopal School

Saint Thomas' Episcopal School (STE) is a private, co-ed Episcopal institution serving Pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It is located in the Meyerland area of Houston, Texas. The school has 553 students and 111 faculty members. It is accredited by the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools and is a member of the Houston Association of Independent Schools (HAIS) and the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS).

History
The school opened in September 1955, under the guidance of founder T. Robert Ingram as an outreach mission of Saint Thomas' Episcopal Church. Its first high school class graduated in 1967.

Founding principles
The school's mission is "to form honorable men and women through a classical education grounded in a Christ-centered worldview." Starting at the kindergarten level, the school offers a structured, classical education.

Transportation
The school has a student bus service from and to Pearland.

Awards and recognition
The school offers a wide range of extracurricular and co curricular activities for students at all levels.

These include a Mock Trial team that has won 14 regional championships and a state championship, and a yearbook program that has won two Silver Crown and four Gold Crown Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, most recently in 2012. The yearbook has also won multiple National Pacemaker Awards, the highest national recognition for American student publications.

STES finished in third place overall at the 2006 TAPPS State Academic Meet. Two STES students tied for 1st place in the overall science category, making top scores in biology, physics, and chemistry.

Twenty-six percent of the Class of 2008 are National Merit semifinalists or commended students.

STES students have won many accolades in sports competitions as well. The boys' soccer program has placed first in the TAPPS state championships five times, including winning the 2019 and 2020 championships. The current head coach is Christopher White, who has compiled a 122-25-3 record. The girls' varsity soccer team won the TAPPS state championship in 2020. The boys' varsity cross country team won 5 TAPPS 3A state championships from 2009 to 2012 and again in 2014 while the varsity girls won their first championship in 2010. The varsity girls' swim team also won the state championship from 2010 to 2013 and again from 2015 to 2017. The high school orchestra has also competed at the State level competition, including winning first place among its division as one of the smallest groups competing (2013).

In 2011 and 2014 the school won the Henderson Cup. The Henderson Cup is an overall champion award determined by the points each school earns in the 24 TAPPS championships held throughout the school year. That same year, St. Thomas' Episcopal had two of its students named 3A Division Athletes of the Year.

Bagpipe program
The school has a bagpipe band. The bagpipe and drum band and highland dancing team have been to Scotland on several occasions to compete in the World Championship Pipe Band Competition in Glasgow, Scotland. The band placed first in the Championship five times and individual dancers have received numerous accolades. Recently in 2017, the band won the U.S. Pipe Band Championships in Norfolk, Virginia. As of 2019, the school's Alumni Pipe Band is ranked 2nd in the world.

In the school year of 2011–2012, the school allowed female musicians to play in the bagpipe and drum band. Resulting from BLM protests in 2020, there was a proposal to change the band kilt (the McPherson Hunting tartan) to move away from colors rumored to have been based on the Confederate States of America.