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Headmistress's Open Morning Speech

"Welcome to St Mary's during this very special year. This year we celebrate the 400 th anniversary of the founding of the Mary Ward Order. Mary Ward was something of a visionary, who firmly believed that women had an important role to play in society." Read more...(pdf 67k).

 

Commemorating The 400th Year of Mary Ward's Institute

The Year 2009 marks the four hundredth anniversary of the founding of Mary Ward’s Institute. The Institute was founded to enable young women to serve God in the apostolic religious life, with the same freedom as men to preach the gospel and engage in ministries such as teaching girls and the pastoral care of adults. Mary Ward was also a pioneer in the education of women, something that was considered highly radical in the seventeenth century.

St Mary’s is marking the 400th anniversary year with a large number of events, centred around Mary Ward Day itself on 23 January 2009. You will find details of all these events here...(pdf 125k).

Pupils, parents, staff, friends of the School and members of the local and wider communities are all welcome to each and every event, to join the School and the CJ community in celebrating a very significant anniversary. Read more...(pdf 1.4MB)

 

St Mary’s Celebrates A Significant Anniversary

St Mary’s is celebrating the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Mary Ward Order, which started a number of girls’ schools including St Mary’s, Cambridge in 1898. 17th Century pioneer of female education, Mary Ward, had a vision that ‘women in time to come will do much’, believing that there was no difference between what women and men might achieve, given equal opportunities for education.

Recent results seem to prove that Mary Ward was right. Academic success at GCSE and A Level continues to be astonishing with 100% pass rate and grade A the most common grade again this year. Two GCSE students were placed in the top 10 nationally for Biology with one of them also in the top 10 for Chemistry. Our former Head Girl gained full marks in both A Level History and English and one of our Art students received full marks at both AS and A2. Read more...(pdf 141k)

 

Nine Exam Results Which Place St Mary's In The Top 10 in The Country

‘Thrilled, utterly thrilled’ was how Headmistress, Charlotte Avery described her reaction to the news that St Mary’s students were placed at the very top nationally for their exam results. She said ‘I would like to offer my particular commendation to the very remarkable Elizabeth Davies for having achieved 3 GCSEs, whilst suffering from a very serious illness and undertaking charitable work for CLIC Sargent. And, of course, none of these results would have been possible without the exceptional guidance and support of the school’s superb teaching staff and the enthusiasm and energy the girls continue to bring to their studies. What a truly marvellous first year as Headmistress’. Read more...(pdf 95k)

 

Parents' Reading Group

Our first meeting of the new term was held on Thursday 16 th October when we discussed The Goldsmith's Daughter by Tanya Landman and Against the Storm by Gaye Hicyilmaz. Although classified as Junior Fiction, and therefore perceived to be suitable for girls in years 7-9, we felt that the subject matter of both books lent themselves to mature and confident readers, although they may still not be the best books to 'read at bed-time!' Read more...(pdf 52k)

Our next meeting will be on Thursday 4 th December at 4.30pm when we will be discussing Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and Montmorency by Eleanor Updale. We look forward to seeing you again then.

 

St Mary's Eco Day!

For its first dedicated eco-day, students came to School dressed in green and/ or recycled clothes! Over 400 students and staff managed to reach school by 8.35 am by public transport, on bikes or on foot, and received muffins as their reward. During the day there was an eco-fair, with stalls selling second hand clothes, DVDs, games and books, Fairtrade and Organic food, a stall selling St Mary's own canvas eco-bags, as well as a collection point for old mobile phones to raise money for the Woodland Trust. A total of £280 was raised with collections still coming in! Read more...(pdf 113k).

 

Get Cooking!

Sixth Formers have been testing out our brand new cooking facilities by learning how to make a simple macaroni cheese dish with a white sauce, whilst Year 11 pupils have been making dips and vegetable dippers... Read more...(pdf 380k).

 

The Fastest Women at 1000 metres

Maths teacher and former Olympic rower, Mrs Sue Brown, recently achieved outstanding success at the World Masters Rowing Championships on beautiful Trakai Lake in Lithuania . She won an amazing four gold winners medals! Read more...(pdf 37k).

 

Celebrating Success

St Mary's is celebrating its successes with a presentation evening this week.

St Mary's was the first independent school in Cambridge to participate in the nationwide Arts Award scheme back in 2005. Three years later, in the academic year 2007-08, 47 girls took part in and passed the Award across the three levels; an impressive 36 students attained Bronze awards, 10 attained Silver, and one student attained the prestigious Gold award. Read more...(pdf 61k)

 

Charity Founder Speaks At Prizegiving

The founder of Cambridge-based charity Camfed International was the guest speaker at the Senior School prizegiving.

Ann Cotton, OBE, founder and Executive Director of Camfed International (Camfed is the CAMpaign for Female EDucation) handed out prizes and commendations to over 100 pupils at the ceremony.

Headmistress Charlotte Avery said: "We are very proud to have such a distinguished guest as Ann Cotton as our prizegiving speaker. Ann was considered a very appropriate speaker, since St Mary 's is an all girls' school, and providing much-needed education for girls in Africa is what Camfed focus on..." Read more...(pdf 83k)

A parent remarked: 'Many congratulations on the prize giving ceremony and the choice of the guest speaker - what a moving and inspirational talk!'

Click here to download Headmistress Charlotte Avery's prizegiving speech. (pdf 109k)

And finally, why not catch up on the 'Highlights of 2007-8 School Year'. (pdf 416k)

 

The Magic Of Midsummer

The school gardens provided a magical setting for open-air performances of Shakespeare's ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream', with a cast of over 80 performers, from the Year 6 drama club up to Year 9.

Due to the overwhelming numbers at the original auditions, some of the key parts – such as Puck and the four Athenian Lovers - were split and performed by different actresses on different nights of the performance, so that people weren't disappointed. The play was performed in the original text, but with a modern twist: a pop song soundtrack and choreography, with songs played that illustrated the plot, such as Kylie Minogue's ‘Two Hearts' and Duffy's ‘Mercy'. Read more...(pdf 154k)

A parent remarked: 'Congratulations on a brilliant performance of A Midsummer Night's
Dream! All the girls were so good in acting it was mesmerising and at many points I forgot that these were St Mary's girls and not the real characters! Bottom stole the show. What a play - masterly performed!'

 

Year 10 Disco Raises Funds For Teenage Cancer Trust

The Year 10 disco took place on Friday 20th June, raising £330 for the Teenage Cancer Trust's Addenbrooke's Hospital appeal. The main organisers were three Year 10 students: Maeve N, Yvonne T and Daisy M, with help from other Year 10s and Lower Sixth student Charlotte C. Read more...(pdf 86k)

 

Parents' Reading Group

We met for the last time this academic year on 19th June to discuss two books set in the Middle Ages: The Wool Pack by Cynthia Harnett, a former Carnegie Prize winner; and the new book by Philip Reeve Here Lies Arthur , which has just been awarded this year's Carnegie Prize. Read more...(pdf 74k)

Our meetings continue next term and we have chosen two books for the first meeting: Against the Storm by Gaye Hicyilmaz and Aztec (The Goldsmith's Daughter) by Tanya Landman. We have not yet set a date for our first meeting but it is likely to be in the two weeks before half-term. Look out for the letter of invitation to new parents in the first mailing of next term.

 

Cooking Up A Storm!

This year, many students have approached Headmistress, Charlotte Avery, about having the facilities that will allow them to learn to cook. Now that wish will be made a reality, starting from September.

Charlotte Avery remarked on the new scheme: “We at St Mary's think cooking is a really important life skill. The pupils will be learning all about food and nutrition, healthy eating and having lots of fun learning how to cook. Read more...(pdf 65k)

 

GCSE Art Exhibition

The annual ‘private view' GCSE art exhibition again showed the Year 11 students' creative talent, breadth of artistic influences and range of chosen artistic forms. Read more...(pdf 87k)

 

PE Teacher Undertakes 10 Hour Charity Exercise Marathon

St Mary 's PE teacher Miss Erin Hunt has undertaken an impressive 10 hour exercise marathon for charity, exercising non-stop on 5 June from 7am - 5pm on aerobic equipment. She is raising money for a foundation called ‘Rainbows for Kate'. Read more...(pdf 92k)

 

National Year Of Reading Events: Author Celia Rees Visits

The National Year of Reading began in April, but at St Mary's School, every year is a year of reading. Popular children's author Celia Rees, who was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book Award with her book ‘Sorceress', visited to talk to Year 8 and 9 students, read from her latest book and for a book-signing. Read more...(pdf 92k)

 

County Golf Champ

Head of PE Miss Jackie Gregg has won her tournament to become the 2008 Ladies Cambs & Hunts County Golf Champion. Read more...(pdf 50k)

 

Parents' Reading Group

The latest meeting was held in the library on Thursday 8 th May and we discussed two crime novels with a view to considering if they could be recommended to the KS3 age group: Agatha Christie: Peril at End House and Lindsey Davis: A Dying Light in Corduba. Read more...(pdf 76k)

We have agreed to meet next on Thursday 19th June, still at 6.15 in the library, and have chosen two books set in medieval England: Philip Reeve: Here Lies Arthur, shortlisted for this year's Carnegie Prize; and Cynthis Harnett: The Wool-pack, a previous Carnegie winner. We look forward to seeing you then.

 

Winning Throws

Year 9 pupil Susannah B has won the U15 Discus event at the Cambridgeshire Athletic Association Track & Field Championships.

Susannah achieved a winning throw of 19.34 metres, beating the nearest competitor, who threw 15.68, by over three and a half metres. Read more...(pdf 73k)

 

Poet Anne Stevenson Visits

Sixth Form English Literature groups were treated to a visit and talk by the poet Anne Stevenson, who read some of her poems and held a question and answer session with the girls. Read more...(pdf 63k)

 

Fundraising to Support Burma

St Mary's is renowned for its extensive charitable fundraising, and in the wake of the devastation and loss of over 100,000 human lives that Cyclone Nargis has caused in Burma, the school could not stand by and not offer support. The students held a home clothes day, which in total raised over £1,000 for the Yangon Disaster Relief Fund, to provide immediate aid relief.

 

St Mary's Boarding Judged ‘Outstanding' by OFSTED Inspection

St Mary 's boarding has received the highest accolade by the Government's inspection body, providing ‘an outstanding level of care to boarders' by an independent OFSTED (government's Office for Education) inspection undertaken in March 2008. The school's Governing body was judged as placing ‘great importance on the boarding provision.' Read more...(pdf 103k)

 

St Mary's Student Wins National ‘Boarder Of The Year' Competition

Lower Sixth (Year 12) student Lina A has won her age category (Year 12-13, or Lower - Upper Sixth) in the Hobson's International Boarder of the Year competition, organised by the publishers of The Hobson's UK Boarding Schools Guide. Read more...(pdf 50k)

 

Sporting Excellence Award Winners

Congratulations must go to Zahra M, Marianne O and Sara H in Year 11. They attended the Roy Burrell Awards evening, where they were presented with their medals by Lucy Pearson from the England Women's Cricket Team.

The Roy Burrell Awards are given annually, in recognition of excellence, participation and an exemplary attitude to school sport, as well as the recipient's chosen sporting sphere. Read more...(pdf 43k)

 

Fundraising Fortnight For Lourdes

St Mary's has been holding its annual Fundraising Fortnight, with the perennial Dog Show amongst the many events. Big dogs and little dogs, long-haired and short-haired, with floppy ears and wagging tails, all were in evidence. Read more...(pdf 97k)

Pupils have already raised over £1,500 from the first week of the fundraising fortnight, and the school is looking to top £3,000 by the end of this week. The money raised helps sick children from the Glanfield Children's Group to accompany the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes in France . Every year, a large number of St Mary 's Sixth Formers and teachers help the infirm and elderly at the Lourdes hospital during the summer.

 

Rowing: Schools' Head

Two Sixth Form crews travelled to London to compete in the Schools' Head. The race is an annual event, held over the famous Boat Race course, from Chiswick to Putney on the Thames. Read more...(pdf 86k)

 

Young Enterprise - Eternelle

This year’s Lower Sixth Young Enterprise Company, Eternelle, started up in October 2007 and since then has been running steadily throughout the year. The group started the year by choosing a name and a product list, electing
managers of various functions (the Managing Director, for example) and bought shares in the company. Read more...(pdf 64k)

 

Talented Musicians Win Top Honours

St Mary 's musicians have won top honours in the Cambridge Young Musician of The Year competition.

Year 10 oboe player and St Mary's Music scholar, Tally J, won the Wind instrument category in the 13-15 year group. Tally also plays in the National Youth Orchestra. In addition, Year 7 pupil Dharaa P was highly commended for her flute playing in the Wind category for 10-12 year olds.

 

Speech and Drama Showcase

Over fifty performers from Years 7 to Lower Sixth took part in the annual Speech and Drama Showcase, acting out their LAMDA examination pieces for an audience of parents, pupils and staff. The performances were a combination of solo verse or prose recital, as well as acting duologues. Read more...(pdf 53k)

 

Classical Reading Competition Success

St Mary 's achieved significant success in the Classical Association Latin and Greek reading competitions this term.

In the Senior competition, held at St Mary 's in January, Lower Sixth student Susanna G won both first prizes in the Open Greek verse section and in the Senior Latin verse reading. Read more...(pdf 42k)

 

Parents' Reading Group

The Reading Group met again on 6th March, as World Book Day was being celebrated in Great Britain , to discuss two books set against the Russian Revolution of 1917: Blood Red Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick and The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson. Read more...(pdf 72k)

For our next meeting we have chosen two classic detective novels with a view to considering their potential interest to readers in our age group: Agatha Christie's Peril at End House and A Dying Light in Corduba by Lindsey Davis.

We have agreed to meet on Thursday 8 th May again at 6.15 in the library and look forward to seeing you then.

 

Talented Musicians Win Top Honours 

St Mary 's musicians have won top honours in the Cambridge Young Musician of The Year competition.

Year 10 oboe player and St Mary's Music scholar, Tally J, won the Wind instrument category in the age 13-15 year group. Tally also plays in the National Youth Orchestra. In addition, Year 7 pupil Dharaa P was highly commended for her flute playing in the Wind category for 10-12 year olds.

 

St Mary's Achieves The Right Chemistry When It Comes To Science

This week marks National Science & Engineering Week, organised by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Cambridge University Science Festival is also demonstrating the importance of science.

At St Mary 's, the sciences are flourishing. The school is due to welcome Dr Hugh Shercliff from Cambridge University Department of Engineering to give a talk next week, while Lower Sixth Physics students visit the Department annually, to spend a half day undertaking Engineering experiments.

Sixth Form student Fiona B has been awarded the prestigious Nuffield Bursary, which is an over-subscribed nationwide award. Fiona, who wants to apply for a Natural Sciences degree at Cambridge University , will undertake a four week Physics project in the theory of condensed matter at Cambridge University 's Cavendish Laboratory this summer. Fiona said of the Bursary: “I'm really thrilled to have this opportunity to learn from experts in the field that I want to study.” Read more...(pdf 64k)

 

Investigating Careers - It's Your Future!

The biennial St Mary 's Careers Fair saw pupils in Year 9 and above invited to talk to professionals representing nearly 30 different careers. The professions represented included: architecture, civil & structural engineering, marketing & sales, interior design, biotechnology and veterinary medicine. Read more...(pdf 69k)

 

Celebrating World Book Day

On 6 th March, World Book Day, St Mary 's undertook a number of activities. There was a ‘book swap' where pupils were given a voucher for each book they brought in to swap for another book.

Teachers were encouraged to write about their favourite books and why they would recommend them. These reviews were put on display and students were invited to match the novels to the teachers, with a prize for the pupils who had matched the most!

To read some of the teachers' recommendations, alongside extracts from their reasons for choosing the book as a particular favourite, click here...(pdf 89K)

 

Boarders’ Concert in Aid of Shelterbox

St Mary’s boarders showed their musical and performing talent in their annual concert, which involves all of the boarding students, led by the Head Boarders.

All kinds of musical and dance traditions were represented: from classical piano solos and duets, to traditional Korean, Mexican, Russian and Albanian dancing. Read more...(pdf 141k)

 

Carnivale: Year 11 Ball

St Mary 's was transformed into Venice at carnival time, at a masked ‘Carnivale' ball for Year 11 students and their guests.

The students were treated to a red carpet entrance, with golden ‘living statues' guiding them in. Mr Jeans in the Art department had made a number of larger-than-life Venetian statues to decorate the entrances and halls, which along with multi-coloured ‘harlequin' drapes, water fountains and Venetian carnival mask streamers, transformed the school. Read more...(pdf 52k)

 

Headmistress Interviewed by BBC

Senior School Headmistress Charlotte Avery was interviewed on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, about the Archbishop of York's visit to St Mary's and gave her views on what makes St Mary's such a special place.

Read more...(pdf 40k)

Click here to hear the interview using RealPlayer.

RealPlayer can be downloaded via the BBC web site by clicking here.

 

Archbishop of York Speaks at St Mary's

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, held a question and answer session at St Mary's School with Year 11 and Sixth Form students from schools and colleges around the city, alongside those who had made the trip from London to hear him speak.

The event, entitled ‘Your Answers Questioned', was one of a series of talks and appearances by the Archbishop in Cambridge , given as part of the ‘World to Believe In' conference.

Read more...(pdf 43k)

 

Artists are on Form

Artists at St Mary 's are showing their versatility and skills in different forms, with three students winning or being highly commended in art competitions in the last month alone.

Read more...(pdf 91k)

 

More Than Just a Talk

The bestselling author and expert on Russian history, Professor Orlando Figes, came to St Mary's to speak to a packed audience about ‘Life Under Stalin'. Professor Figes, whose most recent book, The Whisperers, has been widely praised, visited the School as part of our ongoing enrichment programme and he is one of many visiting speakers this year in the ‘More Than Just a Talk' series.

Read more...(pdf 54k)

 

Going Green for CAFOD

Pupils have been ‘turning green' by holding a home clothes day in aid of CAFOD, coming to school wearing green or recycled clothing. The students and staff also brought in their DVDs, CDs and videos and held a sale, where these could be recycled by going to a new owner.

Read more...(pdf 49k)

 

Technicolour Dream

The all-singing, all-dancing production of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat lit up January, with a cast of over 100 pupils, from Year 6 to Lower Sixth. Countless other pupils took roles behind the scenes helping with lighting, sound, scenery and props.

Read more...(pdf 103k)

 

If the Shoe Fits…

As part of their 2D and 3D Art work this year, Year 9 pupils have been researching the work of famous shoe designers including Manolo Blahnik and Patrick Cox, alongside illustrations of shoes by Andy Warhol and sculptural shoes by Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine and Ellen Bell.

The students created a 2D design for their own shoe, going on to make the shoe in 3D, using cardboard, papier mache and poster paints.

Read more...(pdf 117k)

 

Gymnastics and Dance Display

St Mary's again hosted the annual GSA (Girls' Schools' Association) Gymnastics and Dance Display, with teams from Peterborough High and The Perse Girls' School competing.

Read more...(pdf 83k)

 

Sixth Form Millinery Workshop

The milliner Abigail Crampton ran a workshop with Sixth Form students at St Mary's who are studying AS and A Level Art and Design Textiles. Abigail has her studio in Cambridge, designing unique hats, headpieces and bridal headwear for special events including those such as the Ascot races.

Read more...(pdf 42k)

 

Netball Win Attracts Academy Talent-Spotters

St Mary's School Under 14 ESNA (English Schools' Netball Association) squad have successfully qualified to represent Cambridge County at the Anglian Championships taking place in February at Hassenbrook School in Essex .

Read more...(pdf 47k)

 

Students Honoured at the Palace

Four former Sixth Form students travelled to St James' Palace to receive their Duke of Edinburgh Gold award from the award's founder, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. Read more...(pdf 70k)

 

Christmas Cheer

There was plenty of Christmas spirit in evidence at St Mary's as the term drew to a close. Read more...(pdf 43k)

 

Giving Big

St Mary's pupils helped those at Milton Children's Hospice near Cambridge have a brighter Christmas by giving them the present of a giant teddy bear and huge Christmas card. Read more...(pdf 49k)

 

Iceland Trip

Sixth Formers undertook the biennial trip to Iceland during the October half term. Read more...(pdf 72k)

 

Hockey Champions!

Congratulations to the Year 8 Hockey team, who were winners of the Cambridge & District Under 13 Tournament.Read more...(pdf 72k)

 

Head of the River

Four of our Upper Sixth rowers competed in the Winter Head race on the River Cam. They were third in their category (CRA novice) which is a very respectable performance. A few seconds faster and they would have won! Read more...(pdf 40k)

 

Riding High

The second annual Inter-Schools Dressage Competition, hosted by St Mary's, took place at Manor Farm Equestrian Centre, St Ive's.

The competition had 6 individual levels, with a pupil from St Mary's coming first in two sections on her horse Windel Amazon. St Mary's also came second overall in both the Senior and Junior Team score tallies. Read more...(pdf 40k)

 

Fun Run

St Mary’s Fun Run reached its 21st year today, with the chosen theme ‘Circus and Carnival’. Pupils from both the Junior and Senior Schools turned out in colourful costumes for laps around Coe Fen, while the school’s PTA had arranged drinks and snacks for the tired runners.

Charlotte Avery, Headmistress of St Mary’s, joined in the fun: along with Junior School Head Deirdre O’Sullivan, she trotted along as a pantomime horse.

Charlotte Avery said: “We’ve had some amazing home-made costumes as always - the students love having fun whilst raising money for a good cause. The Fun Run is part of our long list of charity events throughout the year – last year the school raised over £20,000 for charity.” Read more...(pdf 63k)

 

St Mary's Donates to Charity Shortlisted for Top Award

Volunteers at local charity Khandel light were delighted to be shortlisted from over 600 contenders in The Guardian Charity Awards 2007, reaching the final 30 in the shortlisted stage.

St Mary's has been a constant supporter of Khandel light, raising over £1,000 for the charity in the last two years. The school's recent fancy dress Fun Run contributed £500 towards this total. Read more...(pdf 40k)

 

Bishop welcomes Charlotte Avery

In a Rite of Commissioning service, the Bishop of East Anglia, the Rt Rev'd Michael Evans officially welcomed Charlotte to St Mary's. Read more...(pdf 70k)

 

Hollywood lights for Y11

This half term Year 11 forms dined in style at De Luca's on Regent Street . Cocktails began a stylish and glamorous evening with food to die for! Read more...(pdf 98k)

 

Headmistress's Prizegiving Speech July 2007

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen, Mrs Wilkinson, Dr Spivey, governors, members of the CJ community, Pastonians, parents, staff and girls. When, six years ago, I stood here and spoke at my first speech day I got to the last page of my text and discovered ....Read more...(pdf 64k)