History of St Mary's School Cambridge: the 1950s

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About St Mary’s

The 1950s

new cloister

1952

The strip of land between The Elms and Paston House is purchased from the Botanical Gardens and the Cortile is built around the magnolia tree.

1955

“The hall and dining room have been in use since the beginning of the Michaelmas term and this has been an invaluable help to the organisation in general. The hall is used for singing, musical appreciation, dancing and above all for morning assembly when over 300 are present including the staff. ... It makes a most impressive gathering of which we are all proud as we are of the hall itself, which is spacious and dignified. The rich wine–coloured front stage curtains against the blue–grey walls, and the half–stage silver grey curtains give a pleasing effect that is enhanced by the soft blue window curtains in the hall itself with their strong white pattern. The floor is mahogany which gives a warm tone and everyone admires the curved wooden steps leading to the stage across the entire proscenium. Another pleasing feature is the panelled ceiling in ice blue (though the reflection from the floor has, alas, absorbed much of the blue). The architect is to be congratulated on the excellence of the acoustics. The dining room with its well–equipped servery attached is a beautiful room facing south and looking on to a lawn with the Botanic Garden beyond. As I write, the cloister and covered way are nearing completion. The cloister makes a dignified approach to the hall and surrounds what is to be a grass court containing the magnolia tree which we have carefully preserved from the original entrance to the Botanic Garden” M. Paul, IBVM, from letter in The Pastonian
“The name of the school, as you have already heard, has been changed to St Mary’s Convent since the two properties, Convent and Paston, are now one. When this decision was announced at the General Meeting of Pastonians last June, the first reaction was naturally one of regret, but after some discussion, everyone saw its appropriateness. The Old Girls’ Association is still to be known as Pastonians (without the Old) and we are pleased to keep the name in our history in this way. The connection between Paston House and the famous Paston Letters would make very interesting reading and I shall try to get an article on the subject in next year’s News–Letter.” M. Paul, IBVM, from letter in The Pastonian
The school becomes known as St Mary’s Convent School and the amalgamation of Paston House and the boarding house is complete.
Dec 9: new school extensions officially opened by the Bishop of Northampton.

1958: Golden Jubilee Year

Nov 8: “Rehearsals for The Merchant of Venice began, the first big school production of a Shakespeare play.” The Pastonian
Dec 1: “Reverend Mother’s Feast Day and also the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of the IBVM in Cambridge. A Dialogue Mass was celebrated in the school hall, by special permission of His Lordship the Bishop, in honour of the occasion. All the Catholics and some parents attended. After this Reverend Mother visited each class, who had brought her a variety of presents, which included lovely flowers. Later in the morning, inter–form netball matches were played, and, after lunch, Reverend Mother gave the school a wonderful treat — we had a film show which everyone enjoyed.” The Pastonian
Dec 16: “The Christmas Fair. About £70 was raised. Each form had its own attraction. The items included such old favourites as ‘The Ghost Train’ (Upper VI) and ‘Tuck Shop’ (III). The Lower VI gave a puppet show performance of Cinderella, which was especially enjoyed by the Juniors.” The Pastonian

1959

Jan 22: “Mary Ward Week began. An exhibition in the cloister depicted Mary Ward’s Journey — showing places where our foundress stopped on one of her long journeys on foot across Europe. At many of these places there are now convents of the IBVM and these also featured in our exhibition.” The Pastonian
Mar 16: “The School Religious Certificate was taken by the Lower VI. This is the first time that the School has been entered for this examination.” The Pastonian
May 5: “Ascension Thursday — a whole holiday. Some girls made a pilgrimage to Walsingham, in association with London schools. They walked in procession to the Slipper Chapel and heard Mass in the field beside it.” The Pastonian
May 28: “Corpus Christi — Sports Day. As usual, everyone enjoyed the afternoon, the climax of which was the Parents’ match.” The Pastonian
July 17: “Sister Christopher’s Feast Day was celebrated. This was a very happy occasion. We gave her flowers and money for the Building Fund. Some of Lower V, under the direction of Sister Pauline, produced a short play — The Stolen Prince — in the garden for the entertainment of Sister Christopher and a select audience. Inter–House tennis matches and the Senior and Junior singles final were played off in the course of the day. The school then broke up for the Summer holidays.” The Pastonian
A 4th house added (to the original 3): St John’s (green).
Oct 5: “The school mock–elections were held in the school hall. Four parties were voted for — the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal and Independent. The candidates spoke very eloquently and there was much heated argument on all sides. ... The Independent party were rather original, relying not so much upon argument as upon a humorous animal story. The result gave the Conservative party a majority of 158 votes to the Independent’s party 18. Liberal were next, and Labour last, with only 16.” The Pastonian
Further building work underway to provide a library and specialist rooms for Needlework and Art.
Two–form entry to be introduced so as to meet the increased demand for places.

St Mary's School, Bateman Street, Cambridge, Cambs, CB2 1LY, UK
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