St Mary's School Ascot

Overview

St Mary's School is a Roman Catholic independent day and boarding school for girls in South Ascot, Berkshire, England.  It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. St Mary's School was founded by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). The school chapel was built in 1885 and funded by Cecilia Marshall, and the First Mass was celebrated there on 2 July 1896. In 1998 the school had its first lay Headmistress and only one liturgical staff member remains, Father Dermot, the school's chaplain. St Mary's has enjoyed success in the GCSE and A Levels examinations.  In the 2010 GCSEs, girls achieved a 100% pass rate and placed 27th in a Daily Mail survey ranking according to % of GCSEs awarded A* and A grades, out of 482 participating independent schools.  It was listed in The Independent's top 100 schools for 2012 based on the most recent A Levels results.The Ofsted overall quality rating is outstanding.

Unique Points

In 2006, the school opened its new sports centre, named The Orchard Centre after the Catholic family from whence the school's two previous headmistresses came. The Centre was opened by ballerina, Darcey Bussell. A Performing Arts Centre has also been built named 'The Rose Theatre'. 

Entry Requirements

The school accepts about 65 pupils each year. Entry is at 11+ (our main intake), 13+ or 16+ and is by the school's own entrance examination, an interview and a report from the current school. About 40 pupils will be admitted to Year 7 (11+). 20 admitted to Year 9 (13+) and about 5 to the Sixth Form (16+). If you wish to apply for entry to St Mary's, we suggest that you register your daughter at least two years prior to the year of entry. This will place your daughter on the candidate list to sit our entrance examination.