As part of the Business Level 3 course, the students are required to plan and deliver an event in school. The group of students, Jayde, Olivia, Destiny and Tallie, decided they wanted to plan an event that would entertain our staff as a thank you for all the hard work they undertake for the students.

They decided to plan and deliver ‘St Mary’s Quiz night’. The students put together a quiz of several rounds, planned the itinerary of the evening to ensure it was fun and ran smoothly, promoted, and hosted the evening. What started quite daunting for them, turned out to be an invaluable experience and a great insight into what it takes to be an event manager. The money they raised that evening will be going to the school supported charity. The were able to raise £70 to go to Haven House Children’s Hospice.  All staff that attended were truly dazzled with the event and the way the young ladies carried themselves. Even the losers had fun saying what an enjoyable evening it was, and requested an encore!

The group of young ladies did incredibly well, leaving staff impressed in what they had achieved. A big congratulations to them all for their achievements and completing the project with excellence.

On Friday, 12th July, St Mary’s hosted its highly anticipated Annual Summer Concert, an evening brimming with exceptional performances from our talented Phoenix Singers choir, soloists, and a professional band. This event is a cherished tradition that showcases the incredible musical talent within our school community, providing an invaluable opportunity for our performers to shine.

The concert featured a diverse array of musical pieces, highlighting the dedication and hard work of our students and the supportive guidance of their tutors. The atmosphere was electric as the Phoenix Singers choir opened the evening with the classic ‘Blame it on the Boogie’ , setting the tone for a night to remember.

A highlight of the evening was the spirited sing-a-long performance of “Wonderwall,” where members of our guitar club joined in, creating a wonderful ensemble. The audience enthusiastically participated.

We were also privileged to have a special guest in attendance—Ose, an ex-St Marian, and it took very little encouragement to persuade him to grace the stage for an impromptu performance of “Easy Like Sunday Morning.” His rendition was met with rapturous applause, a testament to the lasting impact of St Mary’s musical legacy.

The success of the concert would not have been possible without the dedication of our performers, the support of our professional band, and the enthusiastic participation of the audience. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to making this event a resounding success.

Here is just a small sample of the Year 8 drawstring bags students have made in their textiles lessons.

Students were given a design brief and specification asking them to design and make a zoo themed drawstring bag, which included two decorative textiles techniques, a fastening and be made from natural fabric.

They developed their skills on the sewing machine and learnt what a seam allowance is and why it is important in textiles products.

Ms Southgate

Our latest Scholars cohort, which consisted of 26 students from Year 7 and Year 9, graduated on 1st July at The Bayes Business School London. Our Year 7 students studied War and our Year 9 students studied Horror-Comedy . They received weekly tutorials from a PhD tutor and had to submit a final assignment which was graded at university levels. All students excelled in their final assignment and consistently worked hard with several students receiving a 1st. During the graduation visit students had a tour of the university, worked with students from other schools to market a new brand where they worked together as a team to gather new ideas and gave a presentation at the end. They got to hear from other students studying at the university and some who have just graduated. We also got to hear from the universities associate dean Dr Ioannis Moutzouris.

We are immensely proud of all students that took part. Well done Scholars!

2023/24 has been a busy year for the two Young Enterprise teams where they have won 5 awards, participated in multiple trading events, primary school summer fairs and delivered outstanding presentations at the final event at the University of Hertfordshire.

As part of the programme in line with our Christian ethos both teams have one share allocated to a charity of their choice which receives profits the same as their own shares and this year both of our teams ensured that the Christoforos Charity Foundation was selected in honour of their friend and peer Christopher who they all miss very much.

In addition, the teams carried a donation bucket to every event to help where they explained all about the charity to the public so more money could be raised and some students were able to donate all of their share and profits to the charity.

In total they raised £435.32 which was presented to Christopher’s parents George and Areti in our remembrance garden where we also planted a beautiful yellow rose bush. We are very proud of all of our students in both the Young Enterprise teams and we would like to thank them for representing our community so professionally and respectfully.