Admission to St Mary's
Welcome to the Admissions section of our website. Here we aim to provide clear and comprehensive information for current and prospective applicants, parents, teachers and overseas Agents. These pages are intended to provide you with all the information you will need in order to make an informed decision about applying to St Mary's.
If you have particular questions or concerns that remain unanswered once you have browsed this section of our site then you are warmly invited to contact us directly, and we will be pleased to answer your queries and assist you with the application process.
The main entry points to the Senior School are at 11+ (Year 7), 13+ (Year 9) or 16+ (Lower Sixth). We are able to consider applications for entry to other Years, but it is advisable to contact us in advance of making an application to confirm whether or not we have space available. We do not admit girls into Year 11 or the Upper Sixth, or part-way through the Lower Sixth. Boarding places (full or weekly) are available for girls in Year 9 or above.
Click below to access the Senior School Admissions Policy, which incorporates the Policy and Procedure for Sixth Form entry and for transition between AS and A2.
Admissions Policy
Scholarship to reward scientific ability
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Request a Prospectus
Please click here for a copy of our prospectus, or click below to download a pdf version.
Visiting the School
Parents and their children are warmly invited to visit the School prior to submitting registration forms. If you would like to make an appointment to see the School and meet the Headmistress, please telephone us on 01223 224167 and we will be delighted to arrange this for you.
Application Process
The application process usually begins at least twelve months prior to joining the School. After visiting us and deciding that you would like to apply, a Registration Form must be completed and submitted to the Registrar, accompanied by the £75 registration fee.
Entrance Examinations
All applicants to the Senior School must sit Entrance Tests. The table below provides further detail regarding the number, content and duration of the papers for each Year group.
UK applicants for entry to Year 7 and 9 will be expected to attend the School on the morning of examination day (usually the last Saturday in January), and during the morning they will also have a short interview with either the Headmistress, or a senior member of the Teaching staff. Applicants for Sixth Form entry will either come in to School at a mutually convenient time to sit the papers, or alternatively they will make arrangements with their current School and will sit the tests there.
Overseas applicants must supply us with the contact details of the person who will invigilate the tests on our behalf, under strict exam conditions. This can be the Agent who is dealing with their application, a senior member at their current school, or an official at the local British Council offices. Once we have those details, a date can be arranged for the tests to be sat. We email scanned papers across to the invigilator the day before the exams, along with a certificate that must be completed certifying that the tests have been taken under strict exam conditions.
Sample papers - Sample paper of our Year 9 Exntrance Examinations can be found at the bottom of this page. This examination is the format that will be used for Year 9 entry for September 2012.
Fees
Scholarships
St Mary’s offers girls a wonderful education in a warm environment. The school is renowned for its friendly motivated pupils and caring staff, allied with an enviable reputation for bringing out the best in girls, whatever their talents and abilities.
Scholarships celebrate excellence and provide students with opportunity to develop their talents. At St Mary’s, in keeping with the ethos of the school, scholars are also expected to act as role models in their chosen field, and to work positively to promote their subject to their peers, thus fostering a love of learning amongst the wider school community.
This year, greater financial reward has been attached to our scholarship provision and we are delighted to announce that all scholarships will be awarded at up to 20 per cent of the day school fees. Successful applicants will also receive a one-off payment of £250, which the award holder may use to further their enrichment in the subject.
Students are able to apply for any number of scholarships, but successful applicants may hold a maximum of two scholarships. The overall number of awards made each year is dependent on the standard of candidates, and is at the discretion of the Headmistress.
At 11+, the following scholarships are available:
• Academic (all-round)
• Creative Writing
• Creative: Art, Dance, Design and Enterprise, Drama, Music, Textiles
• Sport
• Mary Ward Scholarship for Contribution to the Community
Scholarships awarded to students joining at 11+ are awarded for a two-year period i.e. for the duration of Years 7 and 8, after which time students may apply for 13+ scholarships. In order to retain a scholarship, students must maintain high standards of behaviour and academic achievement. The Headmistress reserves the right to withdraw the scholarship at any time based on these criteria.
At 13+, the following scholarships are available:
• Academic (all-round); Academic (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; STEM)
• Creative Writing
• Creative: Art, Dance, Design and Enterprise, Drama, Music, Textiles
• Sport
• Mary Ward Scholarship for Contribution to the Community
Scholarships awarded to students joining at 13+ are awarded for a five-year period i.e. for the duration of Years 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. In order to retain a scholarship, students must maintain high standards of behaviour and academic achievement. The Headmistress reserves the right to withdraw the scholarship at any time based on these criteria.
At 16+, the following scholarships are available to external applicants:
• Academic; Academic (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; STEM)
• Creative Writing
• Creative: Art; Dance; Design and Enterprise; Drama; Music; Photography; Textiles
• Sport
• Mary Ward Scholarship for Contribution to the Community
At 16+, the following means-tested scholarship is also available:
• The Ogden Trust Mathematics and Physics Scholarship* Click here for more information.
* Please note that this scholarship is means-tested and is available to external applicants from the state sector only.
Scholarship Application Forms
Please down load the appropriate Scholarship application form below:
Bursaries
A Bursary is means-tested financial support towards the payment of
school fees. Assistance is awarded on a sliding scale up to 100% of the
school fees.