Malvern St James Girls' School - Short Stay Immersion Programme

Short Stay Immersion Programme

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Welcome to Malvern St James Girls’ School’s Short Stay Immersion Programme Malvern St James Girls’ School short stay programme offers the perfect opportunity for international girls to immerse themselves in life at one of the UKs leading independent girls school.

Designed for girls aged seven to 17 (Years 3 – 12), our unique Short Stay Immersion Programme can be joined for one term, two terms or a full academic year. As part of their immersion, short stay pupils are fully integrated into School life with our full-time pupils and boarding community.

Girls have the opportunity to attend a wide range of academic lessons and co-curricular activities, including a huge variety of sports, together with a full programme of weekend activities and excursions and so much more.

As well as academic and English language development, the programme helps to develop girls’ transferable skills and they gain valuable life experience. Our short stay pupils form lasting friendships and enjoy learning about British culture. Being in a British Boarding School allows girls to develop their English skills both in the classroom and socially in the boarding environment. For many girls, our short stay programme ultimately is the first step to transitioning to full-time study with us.

For further information on how to register for a place at School, please contact Mrs Georgina Hanford, Admissions Manager, who will be delighted to learn more about your daughter and her interests and discuss how these would be supported here at Malvern St James Girls’ School.

We look forward to welcoming you as part of the Malvern St James Girls’ School community.

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About MSJ Malvern St James Girls’ School is a leading independent day and boarding School for girls aged 4-18 in Malvern, Worcestershire, offering exceptional academic, sport, music, drama and equestrian provision.

We are recognised as one of the leading Independent Schools in the region for A Level and GCSE exam results with superb value-added attainment. We encourage girls to be ambitious and to follow their passions whether that be as a high-flying academic, a passionate sportswoman, or both.

Intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, considered risk-taking and collaboration are all encouraged and universities and employers value these attributes. The enrichment programme is varied with something for everyone from clubs for budding engineers and scientists, extra-curricular languages, drama, music, Leiths, photography, sport of every kind, Young Enterprise, debating and Model United Nations to name a few.

The Good Schools Guide describes MSJ as “… continuing to carve out a niche for itself as being at the forefront of thinking on girls’ education... The school feels driven and full of girls who are going to change the world.”

Our location Malvern St James Girls’ School is located in a small town of Great Malvern in the heart of England, at the foot of the picturesque Malvern Hills. An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the hills are popular for walks and picnics, and on a clear day you can see more than ten counties from the top. Our rural surroundings offer a safe home-from-home environment for girls and is full of traditional English charm, yet with facilities such as a cinema, theatre, restaurants, a buzzing independent coffee shop scene and boutique shopping.

The main School building, boarding houses and facilities are all located within easy walking distance of each other.

Being centrally located, we have excellent transport links, with Birmingham and London airports within easy reach. Great Malvern train station is located opposite the School with direct trains to London and Birmingham and connections all across the UK.

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Nottingham Worcester

A449

Birmingham

A4

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Great Malvern

M5

Pershore

Worcester

Cambridge

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1 A4

A449

A4103

Ledbury

Gloucester M50

Tewkesbury

Swansea Cardiff

Exeter

Oxford

London Bristol Bath

Southampton Bournemouth

Reading

Brighton

‘Initially I was staying for just one term, but I enjoyed it so much at MSJ that I decided to stay for the whole year!’

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Teaching and Learning The girls at Malvern St James are the reason we go to work each day; their successes are our rewards, they are the reason we entered the teaching profession and they are the lifeblood of the school. The more complex and challenging the questions that are asked, the more engaging and rewarding our role becomes. Laughter and learning go hand in hand and the relationship between pupil and teacher is incredibly special.

LUCY HUTTON, DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

Girls joining us in MSJ Prep (Year 3 – 6) learn a variety of subjects including English, Maths, Science and many more. MSJ Prep is in the same building as the senior School allowing younger girls to benefit from the specialist facilities Seniors have access to, such as science labs, sport, cooking, and art.

For Senior and Sixth Form girls the focus is on empowering each girl to reach her personal potential and achieve results that exceed expectations. We equip pupils to think independently, discover their own interests and become intellectually curious. Our personalised approach will ensure your daughter will develop her confidence and self-esteem by discovering new areas and ideas through which she can truly excel.

Girls on our short stay immersion programme receive dedicated support from specialist EAL teachers, which is tailored to meet individual need and includes IELTS and TOEFL preparation. As part of the learning programme, pupils are also supported to confidently prepare for Cambridge Suite examinations, including: First (FCE), Advanced (CAE), Proficiency (CPE), Preliminary (PET), and Key (KET). Our EAL teachers offer a wealth of experience to our international pupils and are on-hand to support them every step of the way.

Sample of subjects taught Art

Biology

Chemistry

Drama

English Literature Food & Nutrition

Geography

German

Lacrosse Music

Psychology

Physics

Product Design

Spanish

Physical Education

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Computer Science

Co-curricular We believe for girls to be all-rounded individuals co-curricular activities need to be embraced alongside academic studies. We help girls to ensure a balance is struck between co-curricular and academic activities, and between developing existing interests and talents and encouraging girls to step out of their comfort zone and try new activities.

There are over 100 co-curricular clubs and activities to choose from and here are just an example of some of those.

Art Club

Law Society

Book Club

Leiths School of Food & Wine

Classics Club

Medicine Society

Choir

Model United Nations

Computer Science Coding

Orchestra

Dance

Pottery Club

Debating

Science Club

Drama Club Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Sports Clubs including: Badminton, Hockey, Kayaking, Lacrosse, Netball, Riding, Tennis and Football

Eco Club

Swimming

History & Politics Society

Women in Science Society

Language Clubs

Young Enterprise 8

At MSJ there are many lessons that we don’t have in my school at home – I learned so many different skills.

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Batsford House is the loveliest and cosiest house ever…it felt like home!

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Boarding Boarding is at the heart of Malvern St James Girls’ School and all girls whether they are full, weekly, flexi or day pupils are a part of the boarding community. Boarding adds a special, holistic dimension to the pastoral foundation of the School.

We have five Boarding Houses which are dedicated to caring for specific age groups. Each of the Boarding Houses has an experienced team of staff dedicated to looking after the health and wellbeing of the girls. Each team is made up of three staff members with two on duty overnight. All of our Boarding Houses are located a short walk from the main School building.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all served in the Alice Dining Room, located in the main School building. Our experienced team of chefs create a variety of delicious and nutritious menu choices which cater for all dietary needs.

Weekends are never dull while boarding. At Malvern St James Girls’ School, we do not have timetabled lessons on a Saturday but instead offer a full and varied weekend programme, encompassing all kinds of trips and activities. These include theatre, museum and shopping trips to the surrounding area and larger cities such as Birmingham and London, Model United Nations Conferences, sports matches home and away, reeling, socials with other schools and much more.

The schedule also incorporates a full range of Outdoor Pursuits with rock-climbing, abseiling, caving, skiing, snowboarding, kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, windsurfing and sailing just some of the activities on offer. These are valuable opportunities to learn and enjoy, be challenged and be adventurous in a safe environment, to make new friends and enjoy new experiences.

We also appreciate the importance of rest before another busy week at School. The boarding houses are all relaxing spaces where girls can have quiet time to reflect and recoup or join in with some house activities such as baking, crafting, or group games. There are no enforced exeat weekends allowing our short-stay girls to fully immerse themselves into boarding life.

ANOUSKA VAN RAVENSTEIN, DIRECTOR OF BOARDING

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Testimonials from Short Stay Pupils Loti, Year 4 Short Stay Student Hola, my name is Carlotta but everyone calls me Loti, I joined Malvern St James in Year 5. I think MSJ is such a great School. I have learnt so much, for example I discovered lots of sports and I had lots of fun with them like with: Hockey, Fencing, Lacrosse … can I tell you a little secret? I didn’t even know it existed!

I made lots of lovely friends that helped me so much when I was sad during my first week, of course it was a little hard for me to adapt to the school and the different routine when I just left my family, school, friends and country.

Initially I was just staying for the first term but I was enjoying it so much I pleaded with my parents to stay the whole year.

Batsford, which is the loveliest and cosiest boarding house, felt like home in my comfy bed surrounded by really nice people who cared about me. I had all the friends that felt like sisters and a lovely house mistress Miss D that felt like a second mum.

I really enjoyed the weekends when we went to town and bought really nice things, going on really fun trip and in the morning going to the kitchen for toast and chocolate spread! Since I’ve been at Malvern St James I’ve changed for good. Now I am not as shy as I was before and I am more open around people for example now I am not scared of speaking in front of everyone. Thanks to all the support of the great teachers I had I would say I am Loti versions 3.0!

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Carla, Year 8 Short Stay Student Hola my name is Carla and I studied at Malvern St James Girls’ School in Year 8.

When I first arrived, I didn’t know anybody, I was a bit scared and very nervous. But everybody helped me to find my pace and I changed my attitude to being more open minded, this was the key point to being relaxed and happy.

Studying at Malvern St James is wonderful and you’re going to find some incredible differences when you study here rather than at your school in Spain. At Malvern St James there are some lessons that we don’t have in Spain such as Food and Nutrition where we learn how to cook and table manners, Design Technology where we build different things, Computer Science where we learn how to design computer games, Drama where we play theatre and finally in PSHEEC where we learn different skills and talk about women’s rights.

My favourite lesson was art I learnt how to use different techniques through the study of painters this is an amazing way to learn both at once.

In Spain it is very common to have an exam at the end of each unit but at Malvern St James we didn’t have many exams and it was more common to do activities and be accessed throughout the year. I think I learnt more in that way because you practise all the things you have learnt at school.

Lastly at Malvern St James you can play some similar sports than in Spain but I encourage you to play some typical UK sports such as netball, lacrosse and you can join the trampoline club!

One of the best experiences of my year at Malvern St James was in the boarding house and living with other boarders from different countries such as China, Nigeria, France, USA and also UK. The weekends were wonderful we took a lot of trips to different cities to go shopping, to the cinema, indoor skiing. Some weekends we stayed at home and did activities with all the boarders together.

Living in a boarding house has taught me how to live with very different people and it has helped me to get to know myself better - I think I can do thing now that I never imaged I could.

I recommend you go to Malvern St James and have these wonderful experiences. If I could, I would go for another year.

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15 Avenue Road, Great Malvern Worcestershire WR14 3BA United Kingdom

T +44(0)1684 892 288 E admissions@malvernstjames.co.uk www.malvernstjames.co.uk