Sports Day 2025 brought the heat and the heart as students from Years 7 to 10 gave it their all in athletics, football, volleyball, basketball, and rounders! From fast feet to fierce teamwork, this year’s event was one for the history books — with multiple school records shattered across events!

The competitions were full of excitement, and here are your year group champions:

📚 Year 7 🥇 1st – 7F1 (218 points)
🥈 2nd – 7T2 (210)
🥉 3rd – 7T1 (209)

📚 Year 8 🥇 1st – 8F2 (203)
🥈 2nd – 8T2 (186)
🥉 3rd – 8K1 (184)

📚 Year 9 🥇 1st – 9S1 (209)
🥈 2nd – 9T1 (184)
🥉 3rd – 9F2 (167)

📚 Year 10 🥇 1st – 10T2 (227)
🥈 2nd – 10F2 (162)
🥉 3rd – 10S2 (156)

And now… 🥁

🏅 HOUSE SPORTS DAY CHAMPIONS 2025 🏅
With a massive 1,475 points, this year’s ultimate sports day champions are… TURING HOUSE! 🎉👏

🏠 Final House Standings:
🥇 Turing – 1475
🥈 Franklin – 1367
🥉 Seacole – 1335
🏅 King – 1291

A huge congratulations to all competitors for their energy, sportsmanship, and sheer determination. You made this day unforgettable!

Let the countdown to next year begin…

There are few better ways to mark the end of a school year than with sunshine, music, and a real sense of community—and St Mary’s Annual Summer Concert delivered all three in abundance this past Friday. Set against the picturesque backdrop of the school courtyard, bathed in summer sunshine, the event was a true celebration of talent, togetherness, and joyful farewells.

The concert opened with an exciting performance of Come Alive from The Greatest Showman, perfectly setting the tone for an afternoon full of energy and emotion. Backed by a live band of professional musicians, the Phoenix Singers Choir captivated the audience with a set of crowd-pleasing hits, each one performed with heart and harmony. The concert closed on a poignant yet uplifting note with These Days—a fitting farewell for the choir’s older members as they prepare to take their next steps beyond St Mary’s.

A particular highlight was the opportunity for soloists to take centre stage, gaining invaluable experience performing with live musicians—an opportunity championed by Mr Crosby and Miss King, who continue to foster a love of music and performance in their students. Their guidance and encouragement were evident in the confident, heartfelt performances throughout the afternoon.

Another standout moment was the sing-a-long of Weather With You, led by Harry on lead guitar and supported by staff members, all strumming along with him. With the sun shining and the audience in full voice, it was a moment of pure joy and connection.

The atmosphere was nothing short of magical—sunshine, ice creams, great company, and the shared love of music made this year’s concert a truly memorable one. It was more than just a performance; it was a celebration of community, creativity, and the spirit of St Mary’s.

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting our annual Key Stage 3 Prize Giving event – a truly memorable evening celebrating the outstanding progress and achievement of our students across all subject areas. The hall was filled with St Mary’s parents/carers, students and staff as we proudly recognised the hard work, growth, and determination of our learners throughout the academic year.

Students were commended not only for academic excellence, but also for qualities that speak to the heart of our school values. Special awards were given for dedication and commitment, resilience in the face of challenges, and contributions to the wider community – reminding us that success takes many forms.

The evening was expertly hosted by Megan and Ben, whose confident and warm presentation set the perfect tone for the event. Their professionalism and charm kept the evening flowing seamlessly.

This week, our Year 10 Spanish students took part in the traditional Quinceañera cultural celebration. A festive highlight that gave them taste of the most important celebration for young people in many Spanish-speaking countries. Students enjoyed some delicious Spanish tapas, danced to lively Latin rhythms, and took part in fun and engaging speaking activities. It was a wonderful opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture while having a great time with their classmates.

Our Year 7 students recently had the exciting opportunity to take part in an Employability Skills Workshop delivered by the team at Tesco. This interactive session gave students a valuable insight into the world of work and the key skills that employers look for — even at this early stage of their education.

The workshop began with Tesco staff sharing their own career journeys and experiences, giving students an understanding of the wide variety of jobs available within one of the UK’s biggest employers. It was a great way for students to see how important transferable skills such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving and resilience are, not only in the workplace but also in everyday life.

Students were then set a real-life challenge by Tesco: to work in small teams and design a brand-new breakfast meal deal. Each team had to decide their own job roles, with students taking on positions such as Project Manager, Product Developer, and Presentation Leads. Throughout the task, students had to demonstrate creativity, teamwork, communication, decision making and time management, all skills that are highly valued by employers in the modern workplace.

The challenge concluded with students presenting their ideas to the whole room, where they were marked against a set of criteria. For many students, this was their first experience of standing up and presenting to a large audience, and they rose to the challenge brilliantly. The confidence and enthusiasm shown by all was fantastic to see.

Two winning teams were chosen from each session, but all students should be proud of the way they engaged, worked together and showcased their ideas.

Events like these are so important for our students to take part in. Building employability skills is just as vital as gaining qualifications when it comes to preparing for future success. The students also asked lots of insightful questions and reflected on the wide range of new skills they felt they had developed during the workshop.

A huge thank you to the Tesco team for delivering such a valuable experience. We look forward to offering more opportunities like this to help our students develop the skills they’ll need for the world beyond school.