St Mary's School, Worcester (also known as Worcester's Girls' School and colloquially as The Convent) was a
private day school for girls aged 0–18 (and boys aged 0–5) in
Worcester,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The school was located at a
Victorian mansion centered on a 15-acre campus. Following a surprise announcement that the school had become impossible to run partly due to recession, the school ceased operations at the end of the summer term 2014.
History
Building
The building which the school occupied, Battenhall Mount, dates back to the Victorian period and was built during the 1860s. It was taken over by Sir Percy Allsopp who extended the building, modeling it after the
Italianate style popularised by
Prince Albert. His family business went bankrupt and the house was sold off. It was one of many stately mansions used as a convalescent home-cum-hospital during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
School
In between the wars, the house was put on sale. The Sisters of St Marie Madeleine Postel from
St Joseph's Convent School in
Reading bought the property in 1934 and turned it into a school. Among its early pupils was Margaret Elgar, great-grandniece of composer
Sir Edward Elgar.
History
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The school comprised three divisions: Early Years (3 months – 4 years), the Preparatory School (4 – 11 years) and the Senior School (11 – 18 Years).
Notable former pupils
* Charlotte Jones, playwright and actress
* Helen Lewis, deputy editor of the '' New Statesman''
* Rachel Campbell-Johnston, art editor of ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''
References
External links
School WebsiteProfile
on MyDaughter
Profile
on the ISC website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's School, Worcester
Defunct schools in Worcestershire
Girls' schools in Worcestershire
Defunct Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Birmingham
Schools in Worcester, England
Educational institutions disestablished in 2014
2014 disestablishments in England