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.
Principals Address
Many of you will know already that St. Mary's was founded over 80 years ago, in December 1927, by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux. Since then, it has served the girls and boys of three counties - Derry, Tyrone and Antrim - with success and distinction. Throughout its history, the school has committed itself to the pursuit of academic excellence while, at the same time, nurturing the personal, social, spiritual and moral development of each child in its care. The reward has been that St. Mary's is firmly established as one of the leading grammar schools in Northern Ireland. St. Mary's pupils regularly feature among the top GCSE and 'A' level candidates in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom and their extra-curricular successes have seen them placed on provincial, national and global stages. St. Mary's past pupils can be found in many countries in the world, contributing to their communities and economies in significant and positive ways.
St. Mary's is also fortunate to have most loyal and supportive parents/guardians who work in partnership with us to achieve our aims and are committed to the values the school represents.
In May 2007, St Mary's was designated a Specialist School for Science, a status which confirms the high profile of Science within the school and the community. We are committed to the challenges and opportunities this will offer our pupils in terms of continued high quality teaching and learning and valuable links with Partner Schools, Businesses and the wider community.
St. Mary's has been an Investor in People organisation since 1999, achieving its most recent re-accreditation in June 2007. This is a national award which recognises the excellence of the St. Mary's Staff Development and Training programme and ensures that each member of staff is enabled, through annual planned, structured programmes of Professional Development, to contribute fully to the life and work of the school in order to ensure its continuing success.
In St. Mary's, we are very proud of our pastoral care and guidance system which is designed to meet each child's academic, emotional, social and spiritual needs. We work hard to enable each child to reach his/her personal and academic potential and thus become future leaders in society.
I am very pleased indeed to introduce St. Mary's to you through the words and photographs of this website. I know that you will find it interesting and informative and I hope that it will assist you in making the important decision about the secondary stage of your child's education.
D A Lambon
(Principal)
