Garden Guardians Give Back to the Community

During the last academic year, our student ‘Garden Guardians’ worked incredibly hard, digging, sowing, planting and tending the seedlings in our school garden.

This year, growing our vegetables has been particularly challenging. The extremely hot weather created difficult conditions for our young plants, with the intense heat and lack of rainfall making it much harder to keep everything healthy and thriving.

Despite these challenges, we have been able to enjoy a good harvest and the students should be incredibly proud to see the fruits – and vegetables – of their labour!

It is always our vision to share this fresh, organic produce with the local community and, as a result, we have been delighted to donate vegetables from our school garden to our local foodbank.

Supporting our local community is an important part of who we are as a school. We believe that our responsibility extends beyond the school gates and that we have a part to play in caring for the people and places around us. Donating our organic, home-grown produce to the local foodbank gives our students a tangible opportunity to serve others and reminds them that we are all part of a wider community in which we can support and encourage one another.

This project has been a wonderful opportunity for our students to develop practical gardening skills while learning valuable lessons about teamwork, perseverance, sustainability, responsibility, compassion and service. It has shown them that giving to others is not simply something we talk about; it is something we can actively do.

We are extremely proud of our Garden Guardians and their commitment to making a positive difference — both in our school garden and beyond. Their hard work is a wonderful example of our Christian values in action.

 

 

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Supporting Student Wellbeing

As a school, we are committed to ensuring that every young person has the opportunity not only to achieve, but to flourish. We know that academic success and wellbeing are intrinsically linked; students learn most effectively when they feel safe, secure, valued and ready to engage.

With this in mind, we are delighted to have recently refurbished our Student Wellbeing Area, creating a calm and purposeful environment where students can pause, reflect, reconnect and access support when they need it.

The space has been thoughtfully designed around the 5 Ways to Wellbeing: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. These simple but powerful principles encourage our students to develop positive habits, strengthen their resilience and take greater ownership of their emotional wellbeing.

The environment itself matters. Amid a busy school day, having somewhere that feels calm and welcoming can provide an important opportunity to reset. Whether a student needs a quiet moment, a conversation with a trusted adult, or support to develop strategies for managing a particular challenge, the space provides an additional layer of care within our wider pastoral provision.

Most importantly, we want our students to understand that looking after their wellbeing is an essential part of success. We want them to develop the confidence to recognise when they need support, the resilience to navigate life’s challenges and the skills to care for themselves and others.

Our new Wellbeing Area represents more than a refurbished room; it reflects our commitment to creating a school where every student feels that they belong, that they matter and that they have the opportunity to thrive.

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Whole School & Performing Arts Technician

SCALE: H3 (5-6) 30 hrs per week, Term-Time only

We are looking to appoint an enthusiastic, organised and proactive Whole School Performing Arts Technician.

This is an exciting and varied technician role; you will support students and assist teachers with delivery of the curriculum to contribute to the provision of high-quality teaching and learning in Performing Arts. You will be involved in preparation of materials for lessons, be responsible for creating and maintaining displays throughout the school and photographing and filming whole school events.

We welcome applications from candidates with relevant skills, qualifications or experience in a related field. Experience of working in a school environment would be an advantage but is not essential.

St Mary’s CE High School is committed to providing a safe and caring learning environment, founded on our Christian principles. We continue to develop an excellent standard of education for all students, allowing everyone to achieve their full potential regardless of ability or background in a safe and inspiring community.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All appointments are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, including references, enhanced DBS, online searches and other checks required by Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE 2026)

St Mary’s is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

Closing date: 23rd September 2026

Interview date: TBC

We reserve the right to interview and appoint suitable candidate before the application deadline.

 

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