By joining St Mary’s in the Lower School (Years 7 & 8) girls are provided with a unique starting point to life at secondary school, making the Lower School a wonderful place to live and learn.
Girls at St Mary’s learn and board as a year group and this horizontal approach to boarding allows for firm friendships and House staff who are experts in caring for that particular age group. Our Year 7 and 8 cohorts are smaller, around half the size of the other year groups, allowing students to adapt to life at St Mary’s and grow in confidence.
Year 7 (LIV) pupils are supported by the nurturing environment of School House and then they move to St Prisca’s House in Year 8 (MIV), where they are encouraged to develop independence. An important aspect of the Lower School is to prepare the girls for the transition into St Cecilia’s (Year 9 Boarding House) and the Senior School.
The two years of the Lower School are some of the most important in a child’s educational development as these are transition years from childhood to adolescence. We aim to provide our Lower School pupils with the most stimulating educational experiences both in and out of the classroom.
We recognise that the move to a new school can be daunting, so we have a range of induction days and activities to help our new pupils to get to know each other, even before Term starts.