St Mary’s Lower School and Senior School ranked top 20 in England by the Sunday Times

The Sunday Times has identified both St Mary’s Lower School and St Mary’s Senior School as top 20 in its rankings for best preparatory schools and top fee-paying secondary schools with small or no sixth forms in the country!

Using the first post-pandemic set of results for state and independent schools since Covid-19, the Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2023 was published on 11 December. The Lower School, located in Copford, Colchester, was placed 12th highest Prep school in England and St Mary’s Senior School in Lexden Road, Colchester was ranked 20th in the country for independent senior schools with small or no sixth forms.

“We are absolutely thrilled by these rankings” said Mrs Nicola Griffiths, Principal of St Mary’s Colchester. “These results are made even more impressive by the fact that we have a broad academic intake. It showcases the excellence of the education on offer here at St Mary’s Lower School and Senior School, along with the support and dedication of our highly experienced staff.”

The latest Parent Power listing ranks schools according to the average outcomes of the national Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) in reading, maths, and spelling, punctuation and grammar taken by Year 6 children and the proportions of GCSEs awarded at grades A*/A or 9-7 in 2022. The rankings also showed the success of single-sex education, where three out of the five top independent preparatory schools and four out of the five top independent secondary schools were single sex schools.

“Whilst this position is a reflection of our girls’ academic ability, we work very hard to get the balance right between academic achievements and a brilliantly balanced education,” continues Mrs Griffiths. “Our girls not only get a fantastic grounding in the core academic subjects, they are also encouraged to take advantage of all that St Mary’s has to offer – from Forest School to Philosophy, and from Fine Art to Statistics!”

“These results once again prove the expertise we have in contemporary girls’ education, concludes Mrs Griffiths. “Our focus on character education and skills for life is at the centre of all that we do – our girls thrive as a result of our happy and supportive environment.”