St Mary's is a successful thriving 9 - 18 independent catholic boarding school for girls with a strong ethos based on the life and ideas of Mary Ward and we welcome girls of all Christian denominations.

Our Mission Statement is: "St. Mary's is a Roman Catholic Girls' School, boarding and day, founded on the principles of Mary Ward. Her vision and our mission is to educate each individual to the highest standards through fostering traditional values in the spirit of the Gospel. We are concerned with all that a girl is and could become."

At St Mary's we are proud of our history as an all girls school with all the advantages on offer. While recent research has established that girls in single sex schools achieve 16% more top grades at A level than co-ed schools, we always aim to empower each young woman to aspire to fulfil her potential in every dimension of her life.

We recently received an excellent ISI Report from The Independent Schools' Inspectorate.

St Mary's Shaftesbury is a dynamic community. The spiritual, personal, intellectual and physical development of all our students is mirrored in our provision of high-quality facilities and buildings. This website will give an insight into the life of St Mary's so please read more, send for the prospectus and come and visit us in Dorset.

Richard James

Head

St Mary's School - the independent catholic boarding school for girls located in Shaftesbury on the Dorset - Wiltshire border.