About St Mary's

St Mary’s School, Cambridge is a traditional day and boarding school for girls aged 3 to 18 in the heart of England.

Situated in the centre of Cambridge, our academically rigorous education is provided in a safe and welcoming school community. Girls join us at the following ages:

  • Preschool (aged 3 to 4)
  • Junior School (aged 4 to 11)
  • Senior School (aged 11 to 16)
  • Sixth Form (aged 16 to 18)
  • Boarding girls join us from age 9 up
Key statistics

We have c.630 students in total, split approximately as follows:

  • 26% in Junior School
  • 57% in Senior School
  • 17% in Sixth Form

Almost 50% of our teachers are Oxbridge educated.

Approximately 20% of our students are from overseas, joining us from over 20 different countries worldwide.

Total number of students*

*Approximate numbers

Average % day and international students (aged 9 to 18)

Where do our students come from?*

*Approximate numbers

Academic profile

  • Year-on-year, our girls achieve exceptional academic results at GCSE and A Level
  • Our approach focuses on enabling each girl to thrive and be happy in our school
  • Our strong value-added scores put us in the top schools in the UK and show that St Mary's girls achieve results above students with the same academic profile in other schools
  • Many students achieve one whole grade above the grade predicated by their academic profile
  • Almost 50% of our teachers are Oxbridge educated

Each year, students leave our Sixth Form to take up places on highly competitive courses, such as Law, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, at the most prestigious institutions including Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, UCL, Bristol, Durham and Warwick universities.

Inspection results

In our latest full Inspection, we were rated ‘Excellent’ in all categories, including boarding, with no recommendations for improvement in either the Senior School or Sixth Form.

This exceptional result was quickly followed by the publication of the Denominational (Section 48) Inspection, which rated us ‘Outstanding’ in all areas.

Educating girls

As a girls’ school, we understand the needs of girls better than anyone and are uniquely placed to respond to these needs. At St Mary's success comes as much from confidence as from learning.

Our girls choose subjects they enjoy most, free from the pressure of gender stereotypes. Combined with our academically rigorous environment, this enables our students to excel across the board -  achieving excellent examination results and gaining important life skills: an instinct to achieve, the ability to lead and independence.

Our history and ethos

Our school has a strong Christian ethos, built on a Catholic foundation based on the radical vision of Mary Ward about the place of women in society 400 years ago.

We have remained true to our Catholic foundation and, while we welcome girls from all denominations and faiths, a strong Christian framework firmly underpins our school, helping to build and protect the spiritual well-being of each individual student.

We believe in respecting and caring for the individual – others as well as ourselves, both in school and in the wider community.

Our teaching staff

Our highly qualified teaching staff are passionate about their subjects, with many having studied at Oxford or Cambridge university.

They continually explore effective and beneficial ways of teaching and learning, while offering outstanding pastoral care. Our teacher to student ratio is 10:1.

An international outlook

We embrace globalisation, opening our doors to students from different countries and cultures. Reflecting the cosmopolitan community of Cambridge, 20% of St Mary's girls join us from overseas, from over 20 countries worldwide.

We have a truly diverse and cosmopolitan student body from Reception right through to our Sixth Form, adding to our warm and welcoming school environment.

45%
A* - A grades
A LEVEL
69%
A* - B grades
A LEVEL
88%
A* - C grades
A LEVEL
44%
A* (9-8) grades
GCSE
65%
A*/A (9-7) grades
GCSE
90%
A*-B (9-5) grades
GCSE

Join our Boarders for a Tour

Our Boarding prefects invite you to explore Mary Ward House.