Since its inception, the University of Santo Tomas High School has been shaping young men and women into competent, compassionate, committed, and functional members of the society. The School is cognizant of its role to share in UST’s characteristic Catholic nature of formation. Its mission is geared toward the integral formation of students, cultivation of Christian values necessary for the formation of a right social conscience, development of professional sound expertise in guiding, counseling, and nurturing the students’ passion for knowledge, appreciation, preservation, enrichment, and propagation of Filipino cultural heritage rooted in a sense of history and tradition, and the recognition of the role of individuals in the University, local, community, country, and the environment.

In order to realize its vision “to live up to its vocation as a Christian, Catholic, evangelizing, Flipino, and educational community, with its tradition of excellence, involving its academic and non-academic staff,” the School inculcates in its stakeholders the distinct Thomistic formation, the noble Dominican ideals and its characteristic core values of competence, commitment and compassion. To steadily achieve this, the School implements an enhanced curriculum based on the mandates of the Department of Education. It puts into effect a comprehensive Student Activity Program, a comprehensive Community Service Program and a total spiritual formation firmly grounded on Catholic creed, code and cult. Further, its discipline system is based on correction and restoration principles, while its Guidance and Counseling Program stresses home-school collaboration.

To look back at the roots of the UST High School is to gaze upon the origins of the University of Santo Tomas. Interestingly, the University supervised the General Secondary Education Programs in the Philippine Islands during the Spanish Period. UST High School was formally founded in 1928 as a laboratory school for student teachers, opening its doors to 110 male students on June 6, 1928 with Fr. Silvestre Sancho, O.P. as Director and Dr. Rafael Acosta as Principal.

In October 2008, the school, under the leadership of Mrs. Eden G. Tolentino, M.Ed. applied for a preliminary visit by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) to determine the school’s level of preparedness for the accreditation process. In November 2010, a team of PAASCU accreditors composed of administrators from well- known high schools in the country conducted the first Formal Visit of UST High School. By January 2011, the school was happily informed that it is granted Level 1 Accreditation Status of PAASCU for three years, 2010-2013.

In June 2012, the K to 12 Program, with its spiral progression approach was implemented in the grade 7 curriculum. To address collaboration and creativity in student’s learning, independent and cooperative learning sessions became an integral part of the learning process in all learning areas. Gradual implementation of the K to 12 curriculum framework was undertaken, in anticipation of the impact of ASEAN 2015 and also in line with the University’s internationalization effort.

In 2013, which is the second year of implementation of the K to 12 program, several projects were introduced to further strengthen the foundation of the 21st century skills development among the learners. These include a) introduction of the a new sectioning scheme for grade 7 and grade 8, which follows the heterogeneous grouping, b) introduction of the TOEFL Junior (Test of English as a Foreign Language) as a new assessment tool in determining students’ proficiency in the English language with the inclusion of intervention tools to address specific learning difficulties, and c) pilot implementation of mobile learning project called Learning Anytime Anywhere (LAA) where tablet is used as a teaching-learning tool in a blended learning environment. Considering a culture of continuing professional development among teachers, Mentoring Program was extended to all faculty members: newly-hired, mid-career, and seasoned faculty members. With the availability of e-learning Access Program (eLeAP) as learning management portal, all faculty members underwent training for the optimization and integration of technology in the teaching-learning process through the assistance of the Educational Technology Center. Teachers started developing their respective coursewares that are carefully designed for their instructional needs via the Blackboard as learning management system. Online resources are likewise utilized such as EBSCO, Science Direct, JSTOR etc. for the continuing knowledge management and production among teachers. Classroom Action Research (CAR) was revitalized for more focused and responsive inquiries on problem spaces on classroom instruction such as method, motivation, matter and mastery. Creative intervention designs in addressing said problem spaces were targeted to be tried out towards meaningful and relevant learning among the students and at the same time, to be shared among the academic community. In terms of students’ activities and exposures, students were given more opportunities to participate in contests, seminars and trainings outside the university, namely, leadership and talent fair, business planning, debating, national robotics competition, participation in international choir festival, among others. Towards developing another pillar of education, learning to live together, the UST HighSchool warmly welcomed foreign students from ASEAN countries and was graciously welcomed by prestigious secondary schools in Metro Manila through the School’s benchmarking efforts. In 2014, the UST High School, under the leadership of Assoc. Prof. Marishirl P. Tropicales is granted Level II Re- Accredited Status of PAASCU for 6 years (2013 – 2019).

In school year 2015 – 2016, UST JHS became a member of SEAMEO Schools’ Network of Sharing and Development, an organization among ASEAN elementary and secondary schools that promote sharing and development between schools across Southeast Asia. In the same academic year, the UST JHS was the first high school in Manila to use the global TOEFL test. The school also introduced the Project SOAR to address the needs of students who grapple with academic challenges or encounter learning difficulties. It consists of three (3) levels: Project SOAR 1 (peer coaching); Project SOAR 2 (intervention); and Project SOAR 3 (remediation).

Like a diamond slowly being cut into perfection, UST Junior High School will definitely withstand the challenges of the times and pervade in the trends of the educative milieu. It shall do this by prudently incorporating sound pedagogic principles, reasonably maximizing available material, technological and human resources, and diligently employing effective teaching methodologies in order to facilitate authentic, constructive, practical and globalized learning among its millennial clients. In this way, the UST Junior High moves forward… ascending ever.