St Mary's School,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, England, is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Christian school run in the Catholic tradition, offering day and boarding provision for girls aged three to eighteen. 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

Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to: Scientists and academics * Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways * Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...

and the

Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose members are commonly known as the Loreto Sisters, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women dedicated to education founded in Saint-Omer by an Englishwoman, Mary Ward, in 1609. The cong ...

, who had also founded a school of the same name in

Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meeting, ...

13 years earlier. The sisters started out with two day girls and two day boarders. 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 that was very much in keeping with Mary Ward's vision. It had previously belonged to

Benjamin Hall Kennedy Benjamin Hall Kennedy (6 November 1804 – 6 April 1889) was an English scholar and schoolmaster, known for his work in the teaching of the Latin language. He was an active supporter of Newnham College and Girton College as Cambridge University ...

, former Regius Professor of Greek at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. As the school continued to grow, other premises were added. Paston House was purchased in 1909. 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 2007 St Catherine's became St Mary's School, Cambridge's junior section. Both schools are governed by a single board. The school sees the 17th-century nun Mary Ward as a role model for pupils because of her radical vision for social justice, in the form of education for girls in the sixteenth century. It aims to give the girls self-belief and confidence, able to cope with set-backs in life (as experienced by Mary Ward) alongside an academic education. The girls are trained to have supportive and trusted networks of friends, as experienced by Mary Ward. The hope is that they will make a positive difference to society after they leave school.

Boarding

The school offers a full, weekly or flexi boarding programme for years 7 to upper sixth. Approximately 20% of senior school pupils board. 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 form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

ers and 'The Elms' for girls from years 7–11.

Old girls

Former pupils are known as Pastonians, named after Paston House. *

Emerald O'Hanrahan Emerald O’Hanrahan (born 1986) is an English actress known for playing Emma Grundy in ''The Archers'' on BBC Radio 4. Early life She was born and grew up in Cambridgeshire. Educated at St Mary's School, Cambridge until 2002, where she took p ...

, actress *

Maisie Ward Maisie Ravier is a fictional character, the leading character of ten films (1939–1947) and the radio show ''The Adventures of Maisie'' (broadcast 1945–1947, 1949–1953). She was played by actress Ann Sothern (1909–2001). Eight of the ten ...

, writer and publisher

References

External links

School WebsiteProfile
on the

ISC #REDIRECT ISC {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...

website *2010 ISI Inspectio
Report
(Senior School) *

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

Social Care Inspectio
Reports
* ISI Inspectio
Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's School, Cambridge Roman Catholic independent schools in the Diocese of East Anglia Catholic boarding schools in England 1898 establishments in England Girls' schools in Cambridgeshire Boarding schools in Cambridgeshire Independent schools in Cambridgeshire Member schools of the Girls' Schools Association Educational institutions established in 1898 Schools in Cambridge Sisters of Loreto schools Catholic Church in Cambridge