A guide for Prospective Parents

This is intended just as a starting point for exploring St Mary’s School. Please come and visit to see what we have to offer your child.

Early Years (age 2-5), a foundation for life

The first day at school can be a big step for young children and we believe that St Mary’s allows these children to grow and develop into confident, successful learners from day one by providing them with a strong foundation for learning that continues throughout their school life.  We value and build on the skills children bring with them to St Marys and as they develop, so does the curriculum.  Teachers encourage and promote active learning by helping children to develop their independence and confidence, allowing them to make choices and take risks within a happy, secure environment. Children take part in music, French, and P.E.sessions ,adapted to the needs of their age group and enjoy a two-course lunch freshly cooked by the school chef offering more  fun-based learning and personal skills development.

The Early Years Foundation Stage is based on six key areas with specific early learning goals:

• Personal, social, and emotional development
• Knowledge and understanding of the world
• Physical development
• Creative development
• Communication, language and literacy
• Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy

With small class sizes, every pupil benefits and no pupil is left behind

Here, all children are taught in much smaller classes than you find in local state schools. This is simply because small class sizes and separate year groups mean that every pupil gets the individual attention they need. Experienced subject teachers can focus their time equally on children who need extra help and support, and those who need more stimulation or challenge. St Mary’s children are taught by specialist teachers most subjects and are encouraged to participate in every aspect of the curriculum.

A broad and balanced curriculum

St Mary’s offers a rich and balanced curriculum that seeks to develop the whole child. One of the advantages of the independent sector is that schools can retain their flexibility and objectivity whilst still respecting national guidelines on education.  Specialist subject teachers introduce children of all ages to a world of learning that is broader than just the National Curriculum, yet prioritises the core skills of literacy and numeracy at its heart. This approach ensures that every child reaches his or her full potential and is one of the key factors in the school achieving such consistently good results at the end of Year Six

The performing arts

St Mary’s has a particular strength in the performing arts. Specialist music learning begins at Nursery level and all children benefit from generous time allocated to lessons and clubs in music, art and drama. Pupils perform in an array of plays, musicals, and festivals both in school and in the vibrant Henley community which develops their confidence and self-awareness. Art is equally strong with a wide range of activities and techniques geared towards a careful progression of skills.  The youngest children develop their creative talents and fine motor skills through painting, cutting, sticking and construction whilst older pupils tackle wide-ranging challenges often involving problem-solving and technical knowledge.

Sport and clubs

We take sport seriously at St Mary’s with three sessions of games timetabled per week plus many clubs for all ages to join. We have access to a floodlit all weather pitch, tennis courts, athletics pitch and indoor training pool and regular fixtures at local schools and tournaments ensure all pupils have the chance to represent their school. To balance out their academic workload , there are plenty of fun clubs and activities to join in with after school. St Mary’s runs a popular Tea Club until 5.30pm for parents who need to pick their children up later in the day, after work.

Achieving a place at the senior school of their choice

We believe that St Mary’s offers all its pupils a combination of strong academic grounding and confidence building which gives them a flying start in winning a place at their chosen senior school.

The children have an outstanding record for gaining places at independent senior schools and grammars. This year, all our leavers are heading to the senior school of their choice, many with high-ranking scholarships awarded. Destinations include:

The Abbey School, Abingdon School, Cranford House, Magdalen College, Leighton Park, Queen Anne’s School, Reading Blue Coat School, Shiplake College, Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School, and The School of St Helen and St Katharine.