Our team

Our dedicated senior leadership team is committed to guiding students through their educational journey. Led by Charlotte Avery, this experienced team oversees all aspects of delivering our strategy.

Of course, they couldn't achieve this without our brilliant teaching and support staff, as well as the expert guidance of our Governing Body.

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  Charlotte Avery

  Headmistress

  St Mary's is about achieving academic excellence alongside a much wider set of values and attitudes ...

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  Headmistress

  Charlotte Avery

  "I am proud to lead a school where success is not limited to exam results; rather, it is about achieving academic excellence alongside a much wider set of values and attitudes that sit at the heart of our School ethos."

  Charlotte joined St Mary’s as Headmistress in 2007. Educated at St Paul’s Girls’ School and St Anne’s College, Oxford, Charlotte holds an MA in Education Management and a National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). She is also a former President and Vice President of the Girls’ School Association and a passionate advocate for the advantages of an all girls’ education.

  Charlotte’s teaching career began over 26 years ago, teaching English and Drama at Newstead Wood, Orpington, followed by South Hampstead High School, before transferring to Norwich High School, GDST, as Head of English and Drama and subsequently Head of Sixth Form. In 2004, she was appointed Deputy Head (Pastoral) at Highgate School and oversaw its successful transition to co-education and the transfer of Senior School entry from 13+ to 11+. 

  Formally a member of the Ministry of Defence’s Research Ethics Committee and Governor for a Church of England primary school, Charlotte is currently serving as a Governor at St Bede’s Inter-Church School, Cambridge, Mill Hill Independent School and Haileybury Independent School. She is also a Council member representing the independent sector for the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL).

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  Jo Christian

  Head of Preschool and Junior School

  I love everything about the Preschool and the Junior School, from working with such dedicated and enthusiastic students, to my wonderful colleagues. Having taught both boys and girls previously in co-ed and boys’ schools, I’m really enjoying being in a girls’ school. The students are confident and interested and thrive across the curriculum.’ 

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  Head of Preschool and Junior School

  Jo Christian

  Mrs Jo Christian joined St Mary's School as Head of Preschool and Junior School in 2021.

  Following the completion of a degree in Environmental Science at the University of Nottingham, Jo completed a Secondary School PGCE in Physics - reflecting her passion for science.

  Jo brings extensive teaching experience gained in secondary, primary, special needs and independent schools. Most recently she spent 13 years at Bedford Preparatory School. During this time, her roles included Head of Academic Support (SENDCo), Head of Enrichment, Head of Academic Improvement and most recently, Deputy Head (Academic, Teaching and Learning). She also led the development of an innovative Future Skills Curriculum.

  “I feel privileged to lead our Preschool and Junior School, which provide a unique learning experience for each and every student. St Mary’s is a truly welcoming and nurturing environment – creating countless opportunities for pupils to flourish – and I am excited to be part of such a dynamic team.”

   

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  Robin Griffiths

  Head of Sixth Form

  The girls here are fantastic. They’re always keen to learn and enthusiastic. It’s wonderful because every lesson is focused and they love to hear new ideas, build up their understanding, and achieve fantastic results.

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  Head of Sixth Form

  Robin Griffiths

  As Head of Sixth Form and a Physics teacher, Robin is passionate about teaching STEM and advising on STEM placements and careers. He joined St Mary's in 2019. A graduate of Imperial College, and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, Robin was first attracted to the physics at an early age:

  ‘I always loved Physics at school not just because it grappled with the big questions, like where the universe comes from, but because it covers the small questions that bamboozle you, like why some of the light hitting a window reflects off it, while some of it passes through. It helps you to think about and question experiences of the world that you may have taken for granted previously. What is also exciting about Physics is that it’s a frontier science, so what we teach is often new and always developing. I’ll be teaching new discoveries at A Level that were not known about just a few years earlier.’ 

  Mr Griffiths first taught at Saffron Walden County High School in 2007, where he progressed to Head of Physics, remaining there until 2017. This gave him first-hand experience of some of the difficulties of teaching Physics in the UK. With a shortage of Physics specialists in teaching, especially in state schools, Mr Griffiths observed that many teachers from other backgrounds were struggling to teach the subject. This motivated him to share his own knowledge and to address the gap in specialism and he joined the Institute of Physics as the Head of their Teacher Support Programme in 2017. There, he worked on government projects that looked to address the lack of Physics teachers, before returning to the classroom at St Mary's in 2019.

  At St Mary's our success is built on our superb facilities, and the opportunities that we offer. To take one example, the Youth STEM Award, a Sixth Form enrichment opportunity, gives students a chance to keep up with the world of science, whether planning a STEM career or not. And I’m especially proud that our Sixth Form STEM students get involved with younger years in the school, to help bring on their science education.

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  Aodain Fleming

  Deputy Head - Pastoral and Boarding

  I always remind our students, that they are valued because they are unique and that as such our school is a different place because they are here with us.

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  Deputy Head - Pastoral and Boarding

  Aodain Fleming

  I have always felt very lucky to work in a school where the girls and staff value what the school stands for so much. They don't necessarily know it when they arrive, but they certainly understand it when they take it into the world with them at the age of 18. I feel that there is something almost undefinable about our community which is fundamental to what makes us different.

  Aodain Fleming is the Pastoral Deputy Head at St Marys Senior School. What that means on a day-to-day basis is that Aodain looks after girls with the help and guidance of a wonderful team of tutors, Heads of Year and dedicated support staff such as the nurses and counsellors.

  Aodain first joined the school’s RE department 21 years ago and since that time has been Head of Years 7, 11 and our Sixth Form before becoming Pastoral Deputy Head. This means she is in charge of everything from attendance and punctuality, to uniform and discipline through our dedicated and keen staff. She is also the Senior School's Designated Safeguarding Lead to ensure the staff and girls are aware of important matters surrounding safegu​arding issues. 

  Aodain says she always felt as if she was coming home, when she first arrived here in 1998 because she had first met St Mary's girls when she was 16 on her very first trip to volunteer in Lourdes when many of them became her friends. To then come to work in a community which values each individual in the way we try to do, is really important for her as a teacher, she says.

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  Kate Latham

  Director of Teaching and Learning

  Here we don't reinforce society's stereotypes that girls find maths and science more challenging. St Mary’s girls understand that all pathways are open to them.

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  Director of Teaching and Learning

  Kate Latham

  To counter any suggestions that some children are naturally more able than others, we encourage our girls to develop a ‘growth mind-set’. We talk about laying down new neural pathways and the endless possibilities of each human brain and, by doing so, we erase the limitations imposed by having a ‘fixed mind-set’.

  Kate Latham is our Director of Teaching and Learning here at our Senior School. This means she oversees what happens in the classroom both in terms of core and extra curricular learning.

  Kate's daughter is a St Mary's alumna and is now a choral singer committed to improving opportunities for women in the world of Music about which she feels very strongly. As such Kate really sees the legacy of enabling young women every day.

   

   

   

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  Emma Hall

  Assistant Head: Director of Studies and Academic Registrar

  There is nowhere else I would even consider sending my daughters but St Mary’s School, Cambridge...

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  Assistant Head: Director of Studies and Academic Registrar

  Emma Hall

  "There is nowhere else I would even consider sending my daughters but St Mary’s. They are happy, known and cherished as individuals and challenged to be the best they can be in all they do. What more could a parent ask for!"

  After gaining a first class Mathematics Degree from Manchester University, Emma attended Oxford University to complete her PGCE teacher training. Over the past 20 years, she has taught in all boys, co-educational and all girls environments. Prior to joining St Mary’s School, she was Head of Mathematics for eight years.

  At St Mary’s Emma has progressed to become our Assistant Head: Director of Studies and Academic Registrar. She enjoys all aspects of her varied, challenging and fulfilling roles, which all share a common theme of placing students at the forefront of everything she does.

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  Mark Johnstone

  Bursar

  For me, St Mary’s is about continuing a family tradition. My wife and I, as well as our three children all experienced the benefits that a single-sex education ...

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  Bursar

  Mark Johnstone

  “For me, St Mary’s is about continuing a family tradition. My wife and I, as well as our three children all experienced the benefits that a single-sex education, grounded in timeless Christian values offers. I’m proud to work in a role that enables me to offer this choice for other families in Cambridgeshire, across the UK and internationally.”

  Mark began his career in corporate banking, working with Barclays Bank for a decade before moving into the education sector in 2008.

  He joined the St Mary’s team in 2017, after gaining extensive experience as Chief Financial Officer in three large secondary schools in London. As bursar, Mark’s role spans all aspects of St Mary’s life, with a focus on financial management, alongside a leading role in shaping the future of education at St Mary’s, through ambitious developments such as our exciting Long Road Sports Development.

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  Jeanette Ariano

  Head of Sales and Marketing

  I am very lucky that I have the job of communicating the work of St Mary's far and wide as I believe passionately it is an excellent school that combines high academic standards with pastoral care that is second-to-none.

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  Head of Sales and Marketing

  Jeanette Ariano

  Jeanette is a Chartered Marketer, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and in 2020 was a finalist in the CIM Marketer of the Year Awards. She has been in education marketing for over 20 years and is currently studying for her MBA through distance learning and raising her three children - two of which are pupils at St Mary's Senior School!

  "I am very lucky that I have the job of communicating the work of St Mary's far and wide as I believe passionately it is an excellent school that combines excellent academic standards with pastoral care that is second-to-none."

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  Alex Brough

  Director of Digital Learning

  St Mary’s is unique for all the right reasons, having worked across a group of 64+ schools I can say without a doubt that the respect, kindness and fundamental ethos of the St Mary’s community are what makes the difference.

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  Director of Digital Learning

  Alex Brough

  Alex is the Director of Digital Learning for the school. Having gained a first-class degree in Automotive Engineering and Motorsport from the University of Hertfordshire, Alex completed his PGCE with the University of Buckingham.

  Beginning his career in education as a learning support assistant he has had a wide range of experience as a Head of Year, Subject Lead in Physics, Head of Computing and Digital Learning and working as part of a wider school group to lead on digital strategy.

  Alex also works with schools on their digital strategy, management information systems and curriculum as part of pre-inspection frameworks.

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