Home / Schools Guide / South East /
Brighton and Hove / Independent preparatory and junior

Printable version

St Mary's Hall Junior School, Brighton

Review this schoolLatest reviews for St Mary's Hall Junior School, Brighton

St Mary's Hall Junior School details

Address:

St Mary's Hall Junior School
Eastern Road, Brighton BN2 5JF

Telephone:

01273 647763

Fax:

01273 620782

Email:

enquiries@stmaryshall.co.uk

Website:

www.stmaryshall.co.uk/ categoryRender.asp?categoryID=3552&cCID=4333

Authority:

Brighton and Hove

Admissions:

Selective

Gender of entry:

Mixed

Age range:

3-11

Number of students:

372

Affiliation:

GSA

Last inspection:

October 2006. Read the full inspection report.

General information

Headteacher: Huw May.

Staff: 40 (men 10, women 30).

Background: St Mary?s Hall was founded in 1836 for the education of clergy daughters as a senior school. It was extended to include junior department for children three to 11 years. The Junior School building, Gloucester House, opened in January 2006 and is situated on the St Mary?s Hall campus in Brighton, in attractive grounds, overlooking the sea. This architecturally feted building contains all pupils from nursery to year six. Building project linked to refurbishment programme for all school. The school has its own indoor swimming pool, pleasant grounds, and excellent programmes in art, music and sport. The school aims to give each pupil confidence in their own abilities and themselves and also to develop the personal qualities necessary to make a positive contribution to a changing and unpredictable world.

Approach to discipline: Firm but fair. Bullying is not tolerated.

Uniform: All children from reception to year six wear uniform. Grey pleated skirt/trousers (for boys) and blue and white striped shirt for girls, white shirt for boys. School jumper is a district blue colour. Blazers and kagoules for outside. Young pupils can wear grey pinafores.

Special needs: The school has designated special educational needs coordinator provision for foundation stage, Key Stage one and Key Stage two. It provides guidelines for monitoring support followed. Individual education plans written and evaluated by all parties involved. It also provides learning support teacher available for individual and small group support in literacy or numeracy. Programme too for gifted and able pupils.

Inspection: October 2006: 'St Mary?s Hall is a school with many strengths and no significant weaknesses. The leadership of the school promotes and protects its special ethos in which every member of the community is cherished and valued. The attainment of pupils of all ages is most often good and never less than sound. The pupils enjoy both their work and their extra-curricular activities where they also frequently achieve high standards. Pastoral care, the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils and the provision for boarders are among the major strengths of the school. Provision for pupils with EAL is exemplary. Relationships between pupils and between pupils and the staff are excellent, characterised by kindness and respect. Pupils of all ages acquire a natural confidence and sense of self worth, thus fulfilling the school?s main aim which is ?Educating for Confidence?. Middle management structures are not currently sufficiently well defined to ensure that school policies are consistently and effectively implemented. Since the school?s last inspection in 2000 the premises have been improved by the construction of a new, beautifully designed, junior school where all the younger children from the nursery to year six can work and play together. The sensitive and attractive conversion of another building has provided a sixth form centre which includes accommodation for the older boarders. A new ICT room has been equipped, and development of ICT resources is now managed by the school?s ICT users committee and the ICT strategy committee which is chaired by a representative of the governing body. The previous inspection report identified no major weaknesses but made a number of suggestions for improvement. Of these the school has successfully tackled punctuality for lessons and imposed more structured classroom management. Other suggestions included widening the variety of teaching methods used, providing greater challenge for the more able, making ICT an integral element in teaching, ensuring that the school?s assessment policy was applied effectively and improving the role of middle managers. The school has worked hard in all these areas and made strides in developing appropriate strategies. However, as the school is aware, there is more work to be done to ensure the effective implementation of these strategies. The school meets all the regulatory requirements.'

Secondary schools: St Mary's Hall (18 pupils).

Boys' age range: 3 to 8.

Girls' age range: 3 to 18.

Before-school care: 08.00-08.30.

After-school care: Until 18.00.

Factors taken into account other than academic ability: Whether a child will fit into the ethos of the school.

Selection procedures: Children have Taster Days with their prospective class.

Day pupils: 120.

Weekly boarders: 1.

Full boarders: 3.

Average class size (Year 5): 16.

All teachers hold teaching qualifications?: Y.

Specialist teachers used: Music from age seven, physical education from age seven, Information technology from age seven and design technology from age seven.

Subjects taught in addition to national curriculum: French.

Sports offered: Gymnastics, dance, netball, swimming, athletics, rounders and tennis.

On-site sports facilities: Indoor swimming pool, sports field, gymnastics, netball courts and tennis courts.

Off-site sports facilities: Arrangement in place with next door tennis club.

Percentage receiving instrumental tuition (Year 5): 30%.

Daily act of collective worship?: Y.

Pupils sit SATs?: Y.

SATs results provided by QCA-approved body?: Y.

Common entrance?: N.

Percentage admitted to senior schools on reduced fees: 40%.

Major scholarships won: Major academic and sports scholarships.

Browse through all the Brighton and Hove schools. Or view different types of school in Brighton and Hove

• Brighton and Hove boys' schools
• Brighton and Hove girls' schools
• Brighton and Hove mixed schools
• Brighton and Hove state schools
• Brighton and Hove independent private schools
• Brighton and Hove secondary schools
• Brighton and Hove special schools
• Brighton and Hove state primary schools
• Brighton and Hove independent private preparatory & junior schools
• Brighton and Hove state secondary schools
• Brighton and Hove independent private secondary schools
• Brighton and Hove state special schools
• Brighton and Hove independent private special schools
• Brighton and Hove state sixth form & FE colleges schools