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Photo of St Mary's School, Hampstead
Reviewed

St Mary's School, Hampstead

Independent school · London, NW3 6PG
  • Primary/prep
  • Girls
  • Ages 2-11
  • From £20,685 pa
  • 210 pupils

A popular little school (‘very much word of mouth’) which competes alongside some of the local heavyweights. Welcomes Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Balances being friendly and inclusive with high expectations. The ‘St Mary’s way’ could be your daughter’s first step on the path to some of north London’s most selective secondary schools.

Why read our school review?

Unlike other websites, schools can't pay to be included in The Good Schools Guide. This means our review of this school is independent, critical and fair, and written with parents' best interests at heart.


Overview & data

Pupil numbers
210 ·
Religion
RC
Fees
£20,685 pa
Local authority
London Borough of Camden

Headteacher

Headmistress

Miss Charlotte Owen

Since September 2023, Charlotte Owen, previously head of lower school at Woldingham School for seven years. She was also a key member of Woldingham’s senior leadership team. Prior to this she was head of languages at Prior’s Field School. She has a degree in Spanish and Italian from Royal Holloway College, University of London.


Entrance

Places go first to siblings, then to Catholics, then to non-Catholics. Family-orientated ethos means that other faiths and cultures are also welcomed. Parents advised to register early. Particularly family friendly nursery arrangements – children are admitted from 2 years and 6 months and can stay to lunch or all afternoon with minimum notice. A few further places for girls often become available in year 3. Pre-nursery and nursery children are required to attend a taster event to assess whether they have reached expected milestones. Older children are asked to complete a 7+ assessment and school reports are taken into consideration.

Open days
Regular Open Mornings and private tours throughout the school year.

Exit

All girls gain entry to leading academic secondary schools. Channing, Francis Holland Regent’s Park and South Hampstead High most popular in 2025. Others to Belmont, Queenswood, St Mary’s Ascot, Parliament Hill School and Godolphin & Latymer. Also to selective state schools (especially St Michael’s Catholic Grammar and Henrietta Barnett). School says it's all about the right fit, promising to get girls ‘into the schools they are right for and where they will thrive’. Six scholarships in 2025.


Latest results

There are no results to show for this school. Find out more.


Teaching & learning

16
Average class sizes

Learning support & SEN

0.9 %
Students with a SEN EHCP
10.8 %
Students with SEN support

Mobile phone policy

A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.

Mobile phone policy

Provided by the school and not part of our review

The school does not permit phone use during the day. Year 6 may bring into school a phone if they self-dismiss at the end of the day; this will be locked away until required.

Updated May 2024

Pupils

210
Number of pupils

Money matters

Some bursaries available.

Fee information
£20,685 pa

Our view

The school comprises a spacious turn-of-the-century building with mosaic floors and vast country-like gardens. Founded in 1871 by the Congregation of Jesus, it moved here from Belsize Park in 1926. Against this gracious period backdrop, facilities are thoroughly up to date including a large, bright assembly hall and a well-stocked library - and there has been significant recent investment in updating all the classrooms to make them colourful and more modern.

Particularly impressive since our last visit is the shiny new tech-tastic Global Learning Centre. This modern, innovative learning space has been designed to promote STEAM. As if the large interactive display screens (including the floor) and 3D printer weren’t impressive enough, every pupil has access to VR goggles to aid ‘interactive learning experiences’ as part of their lessons. While we visited, the girls were taking a 360-degree tour through Egypt and learning about hieroglyphics.

St Mary's pulls off high-flying results. We saw sharp, lively and pupil-focused teaching, with encouragement favoured over a hothousing ethos. ‘There has never been one teacher my daughter didn’t like,’ said one parent; ‘Communication with the staff is excellent,’ added another. Students are monitored and assessed from year 1 so that, ‘by the time they get to year 6, they are used to exams and we can pretty much safely say what students will achieve academically,’ says the school. Four Rs - risk-taking, resilience, respect, reflection – have recently been introduced to the curriculum, which gets the thumbs-up from parents: ‘It encourages girls to take risks and leave their comfort zone.’ ‘This is not a gimmicky sales pitch – the girls genuinely understand the four Rs and focus their lives around it, even outside of school.’

Teaching is aimed at 'challenge for all' so that each child is exposed to advanced subject material. Excellent learning support is available, with one full-time SENCo and various SEN teachers based on the needs of that cohort, providing help in class and out of it (in lovely, bright teaching spaces). ‘My daughter’s issues were picked up on early on. She goes into school early to get extra support. The school have been great,’ said one parent. The brightest are stretched through an enriched curriculum. Lunchtime puzzle club particularly popular among this cohort.

Strong sport with good facilities and a well-equipped gym. All the usual team games on offer including cricket, netball, hockey, football, rugby and athletics. Swimming at Swiss Cottage baths for years 3 to 6. Athletics in Regent’s Park. Gymnastics popular, with pupils competing at regional and national level. High achievement too in music and excellent dance and drama (including an all-encompassing production in year 6). All girls can learn an instrument.

Heaps of clubs - everything from coding to debating, ballet and accounting, plus all the usual music clubs and a wealth of languages, including German and Spanish. After-school club with late pick-up of 6pm is available every day – these girls enjoy a varied programmed of activity, and there’s also a quiet area for homework or reading with a teacher. Parents appreciate this flexibility and can book emergency places on the same day.

Wide variety of trips across the year groups. Residentials kick off in year 4 with a single night away, then there’s an activity trip for three nights in year 5 and a post-11+ exam French ski trip for year 6.

This is a school with a big heart. Charity runs through its core and during lockdown the school raised enough money to buy 22 toilets around the world as part of their ‘taps, toilets and trash’ initiative. Plastic bottles are now banned on site, and each child has been equipped with their own reusable bottle.

Very much a Catholic school, with just over half the parents coming from a Catholic background. ‘I think one of the most wonderful things about [the school] is that the Catholic ethos permeates every aspect of the children’s lives’, said one. Pupils participate in mass and study Catholicism, and those who wish can be prepared for first Holy Communion by much-loved Father Chris on his twice-weekly visits to the school chapel. ‘Many of our parents have had a Catholic education themselves and want that for their children,’ says the school. But nobody seems to feel excluded. ‘As a Hindu myself’, said one parent, ‘I did initially wonder why I was sending my child to this school. But they are very inclusive and will celebrate Diwali and other festivals too.’

Behaviour is mainly managed by everything being geared towards doing things ‘the St Mary’s Way’ - those who slip up are gently reminded of expectations. ‘We want pupils to do their best.' Pupils we met were smiley and noticeably well behaved. They had a certain girlish innocence to them, increasingly rare in today’s techno age. The group we spoke to on our tour said they were so in love with their school that the only criticism they could think of was that ‘it doesn’t go through to 18’.

Mostly professional families from Hampstead and the surrounding areas, with a wide range of backgrounds (from Europe, the US, Asia and the Far East). About half speak at least one other language at home (with good in-school support for newcomers on the foothills of English). Very welcoming parents we are told, ‘which can be unusual especially in the London private school bubble. But here they are grounded and down to earth.’ Despite its Hampstead location, this is a fairly understated place.

We saw sharp, lively and pupil-focused teaching, with encouragement favoured over a hothousing ethos. ‘There has never been one teacher my daughter didn’t like,’ said one parent

The last word

A popular little school (‘very much word of mouth’) which competes alongside some of the local heavyweights. Welcomes Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Balances being friendly and inclusive with high expectations. The ‘St Mary’s way’ could be your daughter’s first step on the path to some of north London’s most selective secondary schools.

What the school says

Recently celebrating its 150th anniversary, St Mary’s School provides an outstanding and inspirational education for girls in North London between 2.5-11 years old. We are proud of our academic rigour, exceptional pastoral care, strong 11-plus results and senior school destinations, innovative and modern facilities (including our pioneering virtual reality room) and family-oriented ethos. We empower girls through academic excellence and moral integrity to become confident, resilient and caring leaders of the future.

Contact the school

Address

47 Fitzjohn's Avenue
London
NW3 6PG
Get directions

Have you considered?

School data & information St Mary's School, Hampstead 47 Fitzjohn's Avenue, London, NW3 6PG
210 Pupil numbers
16 Average class sizes

Mobile phone policy

Provided by the school and not part of our review

The school does not permit phone use during the day. Year 6 may bring into school a phone if they self-dismiss at the end of the day; this will be locked away until required.

Updated May 2024

We do not receive results data for this school. Find out more.

Entry and exit data

Here we report figures on pupils moving between schools at the usual entry and exit points, as well as student destinations into higher education. We publish publically available data for state schools. For independent schools, The Good Schools Guide collects data from its prep schools as to where their pupils go on to. Find out more

Our review contains additional entry and exit data reported to us and is updated annually. See the review

Recent leavers' destinations

SEN overview

St Mary's School, Hampstead is a mainstream school. The school may provide support for students with special educational needs as detailed below. If you require more information on conditions the school can support, we encourage you to contact the school directly.

SEN statement

Provided by the school and not part of our review

St Mary’s School has a thriving Learning Support Department. When a pupil is identified as having SEN, we take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational needs provision in place. Quality First Teaching remains our first response in relation to the identification of SEN, but we also ensure that the child receives high quality additional support and interventions carefully matched to their needs.

Pupils receive maximum support to develop and encourage their potential and specialist teachers offer small groups or individual 1:1 lessons. Through consultation with the form teacher and parents, a flexible strategy of support is formulated. A strong link between the school and the parents is encouraged and this partnership is seen as invaluable for the child’s continued development.

Updated Jun 2017
0.9 %
Students with a SEN EHCP UK mainstream school avg. 3%
10.8 %
Students with SEN support UK mainstream school avg. 14.1%

SEN conditons supported

Schools report the conditions they might be able to support. Please note, this may not be a complete list. Find out more.

Conditions (Might cover/be referred to as) Provision
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder Aspergers, Autism, High functioning autism, Neurodivergent, Neurodiversity, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Social skills Yes
HI - Hearing Impairment Yes
MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty Learning needs Yes
MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment Sensory processing Yes
OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability Downs Syndrome, Epilepsy, Genetic, Tics, Tourettes Yes
PD - Physical Disability Yes
PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty Complex needs, Global delay, Global developmental delay
SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health Anxiety, Complex needs, Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), Mental Health Yes
SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication Selective mutism Yes
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty Complex needs
SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Auditory processing, Developmental Co-ordination Difficulties (DCD), Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Handwriting Yes
VI - Visual Impairment Special facilities for Visually Impaired Yes
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