International School
St Mary's College is an International School with a diverse global community and partners across the world. We build strong relationships with overseas partners and support their communities, schools and students with charity work.
St Mary’s College – An International School
A Global Outlook
In 2021, St Mary’s was re-accredited as an International School by the British Council for the 5th time. A global outlook and a belief that we are stronger by embracing the world around us is at the centre of what we do.
We are a diverse community. There are over 65 languages spoken within the St Mary’s College family and as many nationalities represented. We are a global community within our own four walls.
Our Global Partners
We have partners around the globe. We have undertaken exchanges with colleagues and students from Zespol Szkol w Warzycach in Jaslo, Poland several times over the last few years. It is essential for us at St Mary’s that we have strong ties with Poland as we have a large Polish community within our school.
We have worked in partnership with Colegio San Agustin in Alicante, Spain. This partnership exists primarily to aid students of both schools in developing their language skills. Exchanges and events are coordinated to give students the opportunity to develop their spoken and written Spanish and English respectively.
In September 2017 we launched Project: Nepal which culminated in a group of staff and students volunteering in a community in Pokhara, Nepal for a week. This partnership allowed us to support the community in Pokhara and enabled us to live our Catholic mission by sharing our skills and expertise with those who live in less favourable conditions. We worked particularly closely with two school communities to try and improve both the resources and opportunities that they offer their students.
In recent years, students and staff at St Mary's College have been fundraising to support the Kingston Junior Academy in Kenya, our first fundraiser held and in partnership with Barclays Bank helped the school get hooked up to the local electric grid which will make a huge difference to the delivery of education at the school. Christmas 2021 saw a further amount of £400 raised which will be used to further developments at the school.
In 2022 we ran a further fundraising campaign for the school and raised over £3000 which enabled the school to build a secondary school building and extend the range of ages receiving an education at KJA. Our partnership is still alive and developing.
- Read more in their newsletter here: KJA January 2022 newsletter
An International Curriculum
As a school we strongly believe in the importance of recognising and celebrating our diverse landscape of students. We engage with cultural organisations in the city such as the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation (WISE) and the Freedom Festival which has the city's diverse heritage at its heart.
As a school we acknowledge and celebrate the special and historic relationship between Hull and Freetown in Sierra Leone. Both our core and extra- curricular offers seek to embed the importance of this relationship into students learning.
If you would like to support our overseas charity work, either financially or logistically, then please get in touch with us.
International School Leader contact, Mrs R Stephenson: rstephenson@smchull.org
“With the help of St Mary's College fundraising, we have been able to achieve so much here at Kingston Junior Academy in Kenya. Your support has been truly amazing.”
