St Mary's School, Cambridge

St Mary's School, Cambridge
Established 1898
Type Independent day and boarding school
Religion Catholic
Headmistress Miss Charlotte Avery
Location 6 Chaucer Road(Junior Sch)
Bateman St (Senior Sch)
Cambridge
CB2 1LY
England
Coordinates: 52°11′43″N 0°07′37″E / 52.195225°N 0.126891°E / 52.195225; 0.126891
Local authority Cambridgeshire
DfE number 873/6001
DfE URN 110912 Tables
Students 613 (2010)
Gender Girls
Ages 4–18
Former pupils Old Pastonians
Website www.stmaryscambridge.co.uk

St Mary's School, Cambridge is an independent Christian school run in the Catholic tradition, offering day and boarding provision for girls aged four to 18. The school occupies two sites within walking distance of Cambridge city centre, close to the University Botanic Gardens, with sports fields a short distance away. There are approximately 160 junior school pupils, 400 senior school pupils and 100 sixth-form students.

History

St Mary's School, Cambridge was founded 1898 by the sisters of the Venerable Mary Ward and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who had also founded a school of the same name in Ascot, Berkshire 13 years earlier. The Sisters started out with two day girls and two day borders. In 1904 the swelling numbers necessitated a change of venue and the Elms on Bateman Street was purchased for £6,000. The house had a tradition which was very much in keeping with Mary Ward's vision. It had previously belonged to Dr B H Kennedy, former Regius Professor of Greek at the University. As the school continued to grow other premises were added. Paston House was purchased in 1909.[1]

The junior school was part of St Mary’s School, Cambridge until it closed in 1987, when it reopened as St Catherine’s Prep School and was governed by a group of parents who became the board of directors. In 2006 St Catherine’s became St Mary's School, Cambridge's junior section. Both schools are governed by a single Board.

Academics

St Mary's School, Cambridge has an excellent academic record. In 2016, 90% of GCSE results were at grades A*-B, an increase from the previous year's 84%. Over a third of all examinations taken were awarded an A*, and over two thirds at A* - A. 29% of students achieving straight A* - A grades, excelling across subjects often perceived to be ‘boys’ subjects’: 89% of grades achieved in Physics were A* - A, and 85% of both Chemistry and Biology grades were equally high. In creative subjects including Art, Textiles and Music a remarkable 92% of A* - A grades were awarded, and humanities subjects continued to be areas of strength, with almost all students achieving grade A* - B in History (98%) and Geography (97%).

The school's Sixth Form students performed well in 2016 too and across a remarkably broad range of subjects: 50% of students’ results were awarded at A* - A grade and 75% at A* - B grade – across 25 subjects. In the Performing Arts, two thirds of both Music and Drama students gained A* - A grades; over half of the students taking Mathematics, 67% of those taking Further Mathematics, and 57% taking Biology, earned A* - A grades; 100% of Art and Design students achieved A* - B grades; 100% of students taking Chinese, Russian and Italian at A Level achieved grade A* - A; and 60% of Geography and 75% of Theology students achieved A* - A grades.

Boarding

The school offers a full, weekly, or flexi boarding programme for Years 7 to Upper Sixth.[2] Approximately 20% of Senior School pupils board.[3] In 2016 the school purchased a new dedicated boarding house on Brooklands Avenue, 'Mary Ward House', to replace the two buildings previously used: Bateman House for Sixth Formers and The Elms for girls from Years 7-11.[4]

Old Girls

Former pupils are known as Pastonians, named after Paston House.[5]

References

  1. ↑ History
  2. ↑ Boarding Options
  3. ↑ Boarding at St Mary's
  4. ↑ Accommodation at St Mary's
  5. ↑ Alumnae
  6. ↑ "Archers actress visits her old school". ITV Anglia. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  7. ↑ Greene, Dana. "Ward, Mary Josephine". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/45905. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
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