Arrange a visit

There a few last remaining places available for Year 7 2024 entry

If you are interested in a place for Year 7 in September 2024, please see below for the admissions timeline.

Visit

Families are invited to book an individual tour with Admissions by telephoning 01206 594256 or by emailing registrar@stmaryscolchester.org.uk

Register

The next step is to register your daughter by completing the online registration form and paying a non-returnable Registration Fee of £75.

Scholarships

There is still time to be considered for an Academic Scholarship, which are offered on the basis of the candidate’s performance in the Entrance Assessment. The deadline for Art, Music, Sports, STEM and the All-round (Miss Comrie) Year 7 Scholarships has now passed for September 2024 entry.

Taster Day

Once registered, your daughter will be invited to join other Year 6 pupils to be a ‘St Mary’s girl for a day’ at our Taster Day. These Taster Days offer prospective Year 7 pupils to take part in a day of lessons at St Mary’s Senior School.

Entrance Assessment, interview and report

St Mary’s is not an academically selective school, but we do ask girls who might like to join us in Year 7 or any other year to sit an Entrance Assessment. This enables us to ensure that St Mary’s is able to offer just the right amount of challenge and support to every new student. We also identify our Academic Scholars on the basis of their performance in the Year 7 Entrance Assessment.

The one-hour online Entrance Assessment takes place at St Mary’s Senior School and ascertains candidates’ underlying potential in literacy, numeracy and verbal reasoning. It is not possible to coach for the assessment.

The Entrance Assessment is just one element of St Mary’s admissions process. We also request a report from the current school and invite each candidate to take part in an informal interview with the Principal, Mrs Nicola Griffiths.

Acceptance of a place

Once a place is offered, parents are asked to complete and sign the Acceptance Form, issued by the Registrar, and return it to the school along with an Entry Deposit of £400, which is returned when your child leaves us (subject to meeting the terms and conditions issued along with the offer). See further information on the how to pay page. If your daughter is transferring from St Mary’s Lower School, the Entry Deposit paid when she joined the Lower School continues to the Senior School, so there is no need to pay it again. Year 7 Scholarships are offered at the same time as the offer of a place. Bursaries may be applied for once a place has been offered.

Joining

At the New Students’ and Parents’ Induction in July, girls joining Year 7 in September are introduced to their form teachers, their forms and their Buddies (older girls who will help them to settle into the school). Meanwhile, their parents hear talks by the Principal, Head of Senior School, Head of Year 7 and Heads of School on life at St Mary’s. This is followed by tea and cakes in the Dining Hall and an opportunity to chat informally to members of staff and ask any remaining questions.

Once your daughter is a student of St Mary’s, her form teacher will keep in touch with you as she settles in and will be happy to answer any questions.

St Mary’s is an academic school and our students’ achieve impressive exam results. This is despite the fact our school has a broad academic intake.

St Mary’s Senior School has strong GCSE success, with over half of GCSE results graded 9-7/A*-A in nine subjects in 2023.

The key to our academic success is the fact that every student is well known in our close-knit community. For example, our classes are small and we are experts in contemporary girls’ education. In addition, our teachers are passionate about their subjects. They do all they can to support the girls with their learning on an individual basis. Whether this is in the classroom, in specific sessions or by suggesting extension work tailored to suit the student’s needs.

We proactively challenge stereotypes, particularly around what girls can achieve, by providing positive role models and examples.

We provide opportunities for the girls to take positive risks and we create a culture where girls are not afraid of failure in a variety of ways, from taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to public speaking.

We encourage individuality by celebrating individual successes and supporting girls to pursue their passions. We provide opportunities for the girls to develop leadership skills with the variety of positions of responsibility available to girls including Head Girls opportunities.

There are three terms per academic year. There is a range of ways for parents to pay their fees, including termly cheque, bank transfer or direct debit.

You can also spread your fees and pay monthly through My School Fee Plan.

Girls travel from far and wide to St Mary’s, on St Mary’s own fleet of school buses or on services run by other operators.

NEW FOR 2024: due to demand, our Senior School transport will be expanding from September 2024, with new routes from Frinton and Ipswich and an extended service to Sudbury. Stops will depend on interest but may include Great Bentley, Frating, Wivenhoe, Capel St Mary, East Bergholt, Dedham and Leavenheath.

Our St Mary’s bus routes currently include Great Horkesley, West Bergholt, Braiswick, Danbury, Chelmsford, Maldon, Witham, Felsted, Great Notley, Coggeshall, Mersea, Peldon, and Layer. New stops and routes are considered each year. Please contact us to discuss further.

Other providers of school transport stop right outside St Mary’s Senior School – please contact the transport provider direct for information on routes, timetables and prices.