School Type: Girls

St Mary’s School in Waverley was established in 1888 and is the oldest school in Johannesburg. It is a school with a rich history, which exudes spirit, integrity and passion in every facet of its life.

St Mary's is an Anglican School for girls and welcomes the enrichment provided by other cultures and religions. St Mary’s is unpretentious, real and relevant and strives for excellence in everything. We believe that each pupil is important and we provide a balanced education in a nurturing, friendly environment.

St Mary’s caters for pupils from nursery school through to matric. The School’s aim has always been to be a leader in the education of young women and it has often set the pace of educational change. The school believes in positive regard for all in its care. This philosophy has ensured success in developing people to be well prepared for life beyond the confines of school and to be young women prepared to make a difference in their society.

St Mary's achieved outstanding Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric results in 2004. Our pupils obtained a 100% pass rate, and a 100% university exemption rate, with 44% of its girls obtaining A aggregates (a total of 156 distinctions was obtained by the 73 candidates who wrote these exams).

Although excellent results were achieved in all subjects, the results achieved in Mathematics, English, Music, Speech and Drama and Computer Studies were particularly outstanding. “This reflects the excellent balance which exists at St Mary’s between the sciences and culturals,” comments Principal, Meg Fargher.

St Mary’s has a fine tradition of excellent sporting achievements. The girls have notable successes in swimming, diving, hockey, tennis, squash, horse riding, netball and rowing and many pupils are selected annually for Provincial and National teams. Girls who do not belong to teams still enjoy the experience of participating in a wide variety of sports. While we may not always win, we always stand a chance! And that is a life lesson – always believing you have a chance to succeed.

The First Aid Team supports all these sporting codes (logging in excess of 1 000 voluntary service hours in duties at school and other public events) and they too won the senior section of the Inter High First Aid Competition during 2004. St Mary’s has won the Johannesburg School hockey league for the past 23 years.

In 2004 the team again was victorious in the St Mary’s Hockey Festival. At present, the First XI is rated amongst the top five school teams in South Africa. The School currently boasts 3 National Representatives at U18 level and over 20 Provincial Representatives over a range of age groups.

St Mary’s put together a hockey squad who toured the USA in September 2004; their success was outstanding. The team’s final destination was Virginia Beach where they played in the Sundevil Field International Hockey Tournament. The team won all four matches at this prestigious tournament. Cultural activities, such as Music, Art and Drama are firmly entrenched in the curriculum and together with our academic and sporting excellence, St Mary’s girls are afforded a truly holistic curriculum. And the many ballerinas at St Mary’s excel.

Music, under the directorship of the talented Sue Cock, has earned the school many accolades and has evolved to an advanced level, with the school having its own orchestra. Music is also a matriculation subject, as is Speech and Drama. St Mary’s has certainly earned a proud stake on the music and drama reputation map.

St Mary’s offers a unique home-from-home boarding facility, which is offered from Form I (Grade 8) to Matric. The three homes house 14 girls each and are run in a warm and friendly environment. Dedicated staff monitor the academic, emotional and social progress of each girl, ensuring that each one thrives in this environment.

St Mary’s has a unique outdoor campus, called Kloofwaters in the Magaliesburg, which is shared with St John’s College. Kloofwaters is situated in the mountains, threaded with river pools and hiking trails, which makes it a superb venue for school field trips, retreats, leadership training and wilderness experiences.

To quote a matric parent of 2004:

“St Mary’s has given my daughter the best that education has to offer – A spirit of hope and optimism, a commitment to and tradition of excellence in every endeavour, concern for others and decency and dignity in human relationships.”

School Phase:

• Pre-Primary
• Primary
• Secondary

Lowest Grade: Grade 000
Highest Grade: Grade 12
Boarding: Yes
Boarding From: Grade 8
Number of Pupils: 986
Founding Year: 1888
Religious Affiliation: Anglican
Lowest Tuition Fees Per Annum (2008): R21060
Highest Tuition Fees Per Annum (2008): R54600
Lowest Boarding Fees (inc. Tuition): R86490
Highest Boarding Fees (inc. Tuition): R97065
Examinations or Curricula:

• General Education and Training (GETC)
• National Senior Certificate (IEB)

Postal Address: PO Box 981, Highlands North
Postal Code: 2037
Telephone: 011 531 1800
Fax: 011 786 9652
Website: http://www.stmarysschool.co.za/
Suburb: Waverley
City/Town: Johannesburg
South African Province: Gauteng
Country: South Africa