St Mary's School Shaftesbury Boarding Life

Boarding Life

Welcome to St Mary’s Boarding Community Boarding has been and always will be at the heart of St Mary’s. Despite national statistics reporting a decline in boarding, we are experiencing an increase in demand for boarding places.

Boarding at St Mary’s is fun and busy. It encourages girls to be independent, to forge life-long friendships and to benefit from a breadth of extra-curricular activities outside the school timetable.

Our values and spiritual ethos lie at

the heart of the school, providing girls with an inherent sense of kindness and loyalty to each other which we believe is unique to St Mary’s.

Girls enjoy a fun and diverse programme of boarding activities during the week and at weekends and have the time and space to develop their own skills and talents, supported by a committed team of experienced boarding and pastoral staff.

‘The boarding community is at the heart of school life and girls are ‘individually known and individually nurtured.’

Pastoral Care & Wellbeing At St Mary’s we work in close partnership with pupils and their families, having regular contact with parents. The school provides girls with advice and support as needed, to ensure that all are well cared for and happy, enabling them to fulfil and balance their lives at school. Pastoral care underpins personal development and girls at St Mary’s feel cared for and valued. It is often remarked that St Mary’s girls are confident and happy in themselves during their time at the school and beyond.

Houseparents and personal tutors play a significant role in the life of each pupil.

In addition to a boarding houseparent,

every new boarder is assigned both a school houseparent and tutor when they arrive at St Mary’s, who regularly interact with them to ensure that every girl is supported and that the lines of communication are open between parents, staff and pupils.

Housemistresses, supported by house assistants, are responsible for pastoral and academic welfare. They are a dedicated team, separate from the academic staff.

Tutors also play an key role in pupils’ life at school, meeting them every morning to discuss academic progress, co-curricular and work balance. As

girls progress through the school and approach significant exams, this relationship becomes increasingly important and girls often say that they form good supportive relationships with their tutor.

Each new girl is given a Guardian Angel, a girl of the same age, when they join St Mary’s. Guardian Angels play an important role in helping new girls in their first few weeks, showing them where to go, introducing them to friends and generally helping them to settle in. All new girls are officially welcomed into the St Mary’s community at the traditional annual Rite of Welcome service in the chapel.

We have a dedicated team in the health centre who look after the needs of every girl in the school, whether a boarder or day girl. This includes a school nurse, two healthcare assistants and a counsellor.

Boarding Houses At St Mary’s we have four boarding houses. Girls board in year groups so they are able to live with their friends.

The boarding houses offer a supportive and relaxed environment to which girls can go at the end of the school day.

Younger girls board in dormitories of up to six people and as they get older have their own space in single study rooms.

Each year group has a common room, where they can go to watch movies or enjoy larger group activities with friends.

Younger girls up until Year 9 (UIV)are in St Jude. Year 9 (UIV) and 10 (LV) are in St Edith. Year 11 (UV) and 12 (LVI) are

in St Thomas More. The Upper Sixth are in Mary Ward, a stand-alone house with single rooms, a communal area and kitchen.

Every pupil also joins a School House (Newby, Harewell and York) comprising both girls and boarders and led by academic members of staff, tutors and house prefects. Strong camaraderie and a sense of family within a house spirit manifests itself in a wide range of inter-school competitive events such as sporting, musical and debating, amongst others.

Weekends Weekends at St Mary’s are busy, with girls enjoying a huge range of activities and making the most of the 52 acres of beautiful grounds and woodland surrounding the school. The school is based just outside the pretty market town of Shaftesbury, with coffee shops, independent stores and restaurants.

On Saturdays, girls take part in Enrichment activities during the morning, followed by sports matches against other schools most Saturday

afternoons. Saturday evenings include socials with other schools, ‘Live Lounge’ sessions, games and movie nights and large events such as the Firework Festival, Barn Dance, the International Food Festival and the Fetival on the Lawn. Mass is held on Saturday evenings.

On Sunday, there is often a leisurely brunch, followed by a trip out of school.

Parents and pupils often remark how vibrant, active and happy weekends at St Mary’s are.

Saturday Enrichment St Mary’s has no Saturday school. Instead boarders take part in a structured Enrichment programme every Saturday morning, run by staff and the Sixth Form. This includes cooking, beekeeping, gardening and sports training.

Older girls also take part in Enrichment, with the Lower Sixth leading activities

for the younger girls in various activities and the Upper Sixth taking part in programmes such as car maintenance, ‘dress to impress’, interview training, budgeting and planning your GAP year, in addition to many other life skills to help prepare them for life beyond St Mary’s.

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