St. Mary's School Ascot

St. Mary's School Ascot

“women in time to come will do much” (foundress Mary Ward c. 1609)

St Mary’s is a Catholic School and the Chapel is at the heart of our building and our everyday life.  As a full boarding school, St Mary’s is able to provide the facilities and opportunities that enables the girls to lead a varied and fulfilling life. 

St Mary’s School Ascot is a leading Roman Catholic boarding school for girls aged between 11 and 18 years. We are set in 55 acres of beautiful grounds in the heart of Berkshire and are a friendly, stable and caring community, proud of our academic and extra-curricular achievements and dedicated to bringing out the full potential of each of our pupils. 

On an academic level the girls work hard and cheerfully, supported by superb teaching and an excellent pastoral system. They take pride in the improvements they make, they enjoy intellectual challenges, and they are willing to take risks along the way. All of this enables our girls to achieve outstanding results in public examinations, and to go on to a range of top universities both at home and abroad.

Sport is an exciting and central part of every girl's day. We are proud to punch well above our weight in competitive sport at local, district, county and national level. Our facilities include a 6-lane/8-straight athletics track with external field areas, two floodlit AstroTurf pitches, netball and tennis courts, a grass football pitch and a 25m heated indoor swimming pool. Our state of the art indoor sports complex has a main sports hall, a fitness suite, two glass-backed squash courts, and two dance studios.

Music has a prominent role at St Mary's. There are regular concerts involving the orchestra, our various choirs, the jazz band, and other ensembles and soloists, and the choirs also take a leading role in worship at Mass on Sundays. There is at least one major concert every term, as well as regular lunchtime concerts, a scholars’ concert, a Music Captain's concert, and frequent performances at Open Mornings and other events.

There are plenty of opportunities for girls to perform on stage at St Mary’s, with six productions a year, covering all genres, as well as a Drama Captain's play and a whole school musical every other year. The Drama Captain’s play is organised and directed entirely by the Drama Captain. There is also an annual House drama competition, the entries for which are directed by the House Drama Captains, and which often experiment imaginatively with physical theatre and dance. 

Weekends and evenings are busy and fun at St Mary's and there are many extra-curricular activities in which girls can participate.  These include rehearsals for drama and music events, sports or dance practices, talks, house teas and clubs and societies. There are often sports fixtures or House competitions on Saturday. The weekend programme then extends well beyond that, and could include almost anything: including trips to theme parks such as Birdworld and Chessington, waterparks, trampoline parks, or climbing, sailing, or ice skating. There have been outings to museums and galleries both locally and in London, and to cinemas and the theatre. 

There is always plenty to do on site.  In the past we have had roller discos, giant inflatables and circus skills training, and there are always craft activities such as making jewellery, designing T-shirts, or learning professional stage make-up. Girls often take a lead in organising, advertising and running weekend events, many of which raise money for charity. 

St. Mary's School Ascot
St. Mary's Road
Ascot
Berkshire
SL5 9JF

01344 296614

admissions@st-marys-ascot.co.uk

Back to School House