Charlotte Avery, Head of St Mary’s School, Cambridge, discusses what attracted her to what is now the only single-sex school in Cambridgeshire.
I was the first female deputy head in Highgate School’s 400+ year history. My role was to oversee the introduction of girls into the school. My whole career has been spent in education including both the state and independent sectors.
There are many different aspects of life at St Mary’s which remain as attractive and important 16 years later as they were for me on appointment! As a passionate feminist, teaching in an all-girls’ space was, and is, deeply important. As a Christian, teaching in a Christian school in the Catholic tradition is equally important. Cambridge as a location was also a draw. Intellectual life in the city affords our young women so many experiences and events. The remarkable legacy of Mary Ward was also key.
The balance we strike between achieving outstanding academic results and delivering equally exceptional pastoral care. Our teaching is based on the philosophy of High Performance Learning (HPL) and we are a designated HPL World Class School. Our pastoral work is based on gospel values and reinforcing the unique importance of every individual.
We’ve adopted the vision and values of Mary Ward, who said that “by God’s grace, women in time will do much”. She was correct, of course, but the challenge for women is not over. Our values are Freedom, Joy, Justice, Love and Truth. In terms of our ethos, we’ve recently introduced a HEART acronym, which helps us live our values and develop curious, creative, and compassionate young women: Hard work: We show perseverance and sustain focus. Empathy: We are kind, joyful, generous, value friendship and celebrate diversity. Adaptability: We adjust to difficult situations, are open minded, discerning and take calculated risks. Responsibility: We act justly and strive to uphold truth and lead by example. Thoughtfulness: We are creative, reflective, attentive, show gratitude, hear others, and disagree well.
At St Mary’s, pupils embrace the demands of being part of a Catholic school with understanding and confidence. Moral, spiritual, ethical and theological development is carefully planned for and embedded in the learning opportunities and ethos of the school. All pupils are called to live out the principles of Catholic Social Teaching and take a leading role in making a difference locally and globally, seeking justice and fairness for everyone. They have an excellent understanding of vocation and are passionate about using their gifts in the service of others. These principles permeate through the school and were praised in our most recent Diocesan inspection report (2022), which judged us as outstanding in all areas of Catholic Life, Religious Education (RE) and Collective Worship.
St Mary’s is now the only single-sex school in Cambridgeshire. All other former boys’ and girls’ schools in the local area have gone co-ed. Our faith also sets us apart and the fact that we accept students across a wide ability range. This is an import-ant part of our ethos and reflects our belief in the value of each individual. Every girl invited to join our community has access to excel-lent, dedicated teachers, who help ensure she will achieve her aspirations and can pursue her university and career ambitions. Another wonderful and unique feature is our internat-ional “boarding” element which enables us to welcome girls from across the globe to complement the local and international families who constitute our “day” provision.
We are particularly strong in STEM subjects, our most popular A-level choice. We’ve recently opened a STEM Learning Lab in our Junior School that gives pupils every-thing they need to experiment, explore, design, test and perfect their innovation ideas. We are exceptional at creative and perform-ing arts – with students regularly winning national awards and going on to prestigious art and drama schools and music conservatoires. Our sports are also growing. In partnership with Homerton College, part of the University of Cambridge, our Long Road sports site offers athletics facilities for track and field and astroturf pitches for hockey, rugby and football, plus cricket nets. This year our Rowing Club, which rows out of our superb boat-house on the River Cam, was officially recognised as British Rowing Affiliated.
Admissions are by assessment, interview and school reference. We have a wide range of feeder schools across the state and independent education sector. We also have international students who board with us. We offer a wide range of enrichment scholarships focused on art, creative writing, dance, design, drama, music and sport. We also have established high performance and community scholarships that are awarded once girls have joined the school. Bursaries are available for senior school day students and our Magnolia 125 fundraising campaign aims to enable us to provide a greater range of bursaries in the future.
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