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About St Mary’s

Headmistress’s Letter: 14 December 2005

Dear Parents,

We are reaching the end of a busy and exhausting term and all the staff and pupils are looking forward to their three week break. The new term starts for pupils on Tuesday 10 January 2006.

St Mary’s Junior School

I am aware that some St Mary’s parents were surprised at our recent announcement about St Mary’s Junior School. The Governors of St Mary’s have been discussing this idea for some time and we feel it is an appropriate response to the changing educational landscape in Cambridge expected in the next few years. We are keen to secure the future of St Mary’s for many years to come and we feel that expanding the feeder network to include our own junior school is the best way to do this. Please read the enclosed joint statement produced by St Mary’s School and St Catherine’s School which explains the details of our continuing close relationship with St Catherine’s. I am also enclosing the Information about St Mary’s Junior School which is being sent to prospective parents. Please be assured that this new venture will not in any way compromise the education being offered at St Mary’s School to girls aged from 11–18.

Help from current parents needed

Many prospective parents visit St Mary’s as a result of talking to current parents and we are grateful for this wonderful word of mouth advertising. Some of you have helped us in the past at exhibitions and we value your enthusiasm enormously. We would like to have a list in the back of our prospectus which contains the names of parents who are willing to be contacted by prospective parents. We have done this in the past and it has proved very helpful. If you are interested in helping us in this way please could you email me at jtriffitt@ and our marketing department will make contact with you.

Other news

Another very successful event was the PTA Christmas Fair. We made a profit of almost £3000. The Fair was packed with people, stalls and other activities. A big thank you to Mrs Helen Jackson (mother of Sophie and Emma) and her helpers who organised the Fair. We are also grateful to the support from the parents, staff and children from St Catherine’s at the Fair. The excellent variety of stalls was remarked upon this year and in total the fair went on for over two hours! Mrs Meg Jackson informs me that the final total from the Fun Run now stands at almost £7,000. This is a fantastic achievement. Thank you for your continuing support of the girls’ efforts.

In November five students entered the Classical Association’s Intermediate and Senior Latin and Greek reading competition. Each won a first or second prize which was a fantastic achievement. At Intermediate Level, the Latin prose section was won by Becky Shercliff, with second prize to Emilie Foster. The Latin verse section was won by Alessia Lee with second prize to Zahra Malik. In the Senior section Sian Clark was awarded second prize for Latin Verse reading. Congratulations to all the girls.

On Tuesday 15 November we enjoyed a wonderful school concert with a great variety of ensembles, soloists and groups. The concert was ended by the lights being dimmed as Dr Jackson brought a birthday cake in for Mr Benziger who was celebrating a very special birthday. The girls cleared the cake extremely quickly. It was a very happy occasion.

Sports news for this term

Hockey and Netball
The Under 16 Hockey Squad played in the District Schools’ annual tournament. In the final after full and extra time they drew 1–1 and were unlucky to lose their title on penalty flicks.
The Under 13 Hockey Squad were semi–finalists in the District Schools’ annual tournament.
The Under 14 Netball team has successfully qualified to represent Cambridgeshire County at the Anglian Championships. The successful team consists of Amani Ashraf, Lydia Birch, Emilie Foster, Charlotte Henderson, Sarah Johnson, Jessica Lupson, Millie Moore, Abi Oliver, Emma Pope and the Captain, Sara Horrell.
Inter–Schools Dressage competition
Sara Horrell, Molly Smith and Olivia Wilkinson beat 14 other schools to be this year’s champions.
County Selection: hockey
Under 17 County Hockey Squad: Ellie Herbert and Philippa Markley.
Under 15 County Hockey Squad: Alexa Smit.
County Selection: netball
Under 16 County Netball Squad: Harriet Arbuckle, Abigail Erian, Caroline Haines, Philippa Markley, Kate McDonald.
Under 14 County Netball Squad: Sara Horrell.
Individual sports successes
On Sunday (13th November) Emilie Foster, Sara Horrell, Marie McHugh and Anna McHugh took part in Modern Biathlon Championships at Thetford. All of the girls ran and swam really well. Medals are presented to Marie McHugh who achieved 5th place in the Year 9 girls’ competition and to Anna McHugh who was placed 6th in Year 8. Mr Mitchell entered the teachers’ race and won the competition. Kathryn Gilbert (yr 9) won the Junior Girl’s Recurve Bow Kestrels Archers Tournament.
Laura Martin competed at the Eastern Counties Tumbling and Trampette Championships representing City of Cambridge Gymnastics Club and successfully achieved a bronze medal in the tumbling category: well done. Isabel Edmundson represented the Under 18 Eastern Counties Team at the British Three Day Event.
Rowing
On Thursday 1 December 18 members of the sixth form competed with Cambridge University college crews in the novice division of the Fairbairn Rowing races on the River Cam. This is a timed race where once all 56 crews in their rowing VIII’s had lined up in order in front of the boathouses (imagine the chaos!) each crew was started one behind the other and crews raced for the best time over a fixed course. The A crew coxed by Harriet Woodward and stroked by Sally White (rest of crew: Lucy Brock, Aisling Crapnell, Emily Hayes, Tabitha Cassells, Hannah Frost, Laura Whaley and Emily Hallinan) finished 13th which is a fantastic result. The B crew coxed by Sophie Davidson and stroked by Anna Mcphater (rest of crew: Vicki Jarman, Lottie Bagley, Alex Belaski, Ellie Hickling, Kate Stuart, Georgia Cormack and Sarah Sheppard) finished a respectable 46th out of 56 crews.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Yours sincerely,

Jayne Triffitt
Headmistress