St Mary’s College
An education for tomorrow. A framework of traditional values.

St Mary’s has a special atmosphere; you sense it as soon as you enter the school. It isn’t just about our heritage, nor our fine academic traditions. It is more to do with hearts and minds. You can see it on the faces of the children. You can feel it in their enthusiasm and contentment. The magic of St Mary’s lies in creating an atmosphere in which children can grow. Because children who are happy, secure and loved will learn, develop, and achieve.

St Mary’s provides a supportive Christian framework which encourages spiritual development, discipline, good manners and high moral values. We believe that confidence grows from a sense of being loved, valued and supported. We encourage children to accept themselves as individuals, at the same time as experiencing the many benefits of being part of a group.

At St Mary’s each child has the chance to find themselves spiritually, and is given every opportunity to excel academically. Our curriculum focuses on giving children practical experience of helping and being helped by others that will stand them in good stead in today’s competitive world. They learn to respect and celebrate cultural and personal differences. They develop communication skills and an understanding of when and how to express themselves.

St Mary’s is situated in Bitterne Park, in the heart of Southampton. It is a traditional college with an 80-year history of first class results. The 17 acres of wooded campus contains three schools which form St Mary’s college:

Charlton House Nursery (ages 3-4 years)
Charlton House Junior Department (ages 4-11 years)
St Mary’s College (ages 11-16 years)

A registered charity, St Mary’s is run by the Brothers of Christian Instruction, an order that was founded in France by John de La Mennais, in the 19th century. His vision, inspired by Gospel values, was of the importance of education to help people lead better lives. Today, the Brothers have over 400 schools in 25 countries across the world, many of them in very poor areas such as Africa, the Caribbean and the Philippines. Our fund-raising activities on behalf of these schools help to teach children the value of helping others less fortunate than themselves.

Tradition is important at St Mary’s. Our Christian ethos places an emphasis on loving, caring, honesty and integrity. We inspire a respect for home and family, for self and for others. Yet, academically and in terms of our facilities, St Mary’s successfully combines the old and the new in a perfect synthesis of tradition and technology. There is a strong emphasis on academic achievement – children are taught the value and necessity of hard work, and a high degree of application to personal study is expected and demanded. The outstanding results speak for themselves.

But more than anything, St Mary’s is about the whole child. Children who come to St Mary’s will emerge as successful, confident, rounded young adults. And they will remember the love, the fun and the magic for the rest of their lives.