A Warm Welcome To St Mary’s.

At St Mary’s you will always find a welcome that is built on a strong Christian ethos and excellent relationships between adults and students.

Our vision, as a school with a Christian ethos, is founded on The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4: 3-9), where

Through God’s love, we are the rich soil where seeds flourish and roots grow

This is the foundation of our motto, Aspire, Challenge, Succeed.

We have the very highest aspirations for our students, their families, our local community, and ourselves. In September 2019 Ofsted said we ‘are increasingly ambitious for pupils’. We challenge students by having a rich and exciting curriculum provision and by making learning practical, engaging and enjoyable (‘There is a broad choice of subjects for pupils to study in Years 10 and 11′ – Oftsed 2019). At St Mary’s ‘…learning is purposeful because teachers plan carefully in order to challenge the pupils they are working with. Teachers’ subject knowledge is good.’ (Ofsted inspection 2018). We enable students to succeed by providing the best possible personalised support (including literacy, numeracy, careers and life skills that underpin personal, social and academic development) to ensure students progress to the next stage of their education. In September 2019, Ofsted said ‘Pupils are confident in their plans for the future’. We ensure that ‘Staff know pupils well; pupils who arrive from outside of the local area settle quickly because routines are well established and expectations are clear.’(Ofsted inspection 2018)

We are a happy and inclusive school – in January 2020 the ‘SAIMS’ inspection said St Mary’s is ‘An exceptionally inclusive and caring community’. Central to our success is an ethos where we all work together and where individual skills, talents and cultural heritage are respected and valued; where students say they feel very safe and well cared for and where they enjoy their learning. The Parable of the Sower teaches us that, in fertile soil the word of God will flourish; we believe that at St Mary’s we provide ‘fertile soil’ for all members of our community to flourish:

‘The Christian vision for the school providing a ‘fertile soil’, where all are enabled to flourish, results in an exceptionally inclusive and caring community.’ SIAMS inspection January 2020

At St Mary’s we pride ourselves on the very highest standards for everyone in the community. Our work, and the achievements of our students, are regularly recognised as being outstanding and reflecting excellent practice. We enjoy taking a role in leading education practice locally and nationally for the benefit of our learning community. Student Voice is an important part of our school and every student is expected to take advantage of the many enrichment and leadership opportunities that will be provided as part of their learning journey.

We look forward to working with you and your family and sharing our exciting future with you.

Nicholas Simms
Headteacher