The school was founded in 1927 by Monsignor John Ward, Parish Priest of Magherafelt, to provide secondary education for Catholic girls of the area under the direction of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux.
Pastoral Care
St. Mary's strives to crate a secure, happy and caring environment in which pupils can learn successfully and develop all their talents. There is a whole school, structured approach to Pastoral Care under the direction and guidance of Pastoral Year Teams.
In Years 8 to 12, each class has a Form Teacher who meets her/his class members every day. The Form Teacher is a key figure in the pastoral system, and has a detailed knowledge of the needs, emotional development, progress and academic attainment of pupils in her/his form.
In Years 13 and 14 small groups of pupils meet with a Form Tutor on a daily basis. The Form Tutor seeks to take account of the needs, aspirations and interest of each pupil and monitors academic progress.
Each year group has a Head of Year who, working through a team of Form Teachers/Tutors, maintains oversight of the personal, social and academic development of each pupil in the year group.
There is a Senior Teacher in charge of the Junior School (Key Stage 3) and a Senior Teacher in charge of the Senior School (Key Stage 4 Post -16)
St. Mary's offers a comprehensive taught programme of Personal Development, Citizenship and Employability - Learning for Life and Work. Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE), Drugs and Alcohol Education are addressed within the programme. The school promotes a positive ethos where it is made clear that bullying is a form of unacceptable, antisocial behaviour.
Full copies of the school's policies on RSE, Drugs Education and Anti-Bullying are available on request from the school. A nominal charge will be made to cover administration and postal costs. Alternatively, they may be downloaded from our website: www.stmarysmagherafelt.com
