FAQs

St Mary's School and our boarding houses are within a 5 minute walk of Cambridge Rail Station.

We can arrange airport transfers for Boarders arriving at any London airport. All taxi drivers are DBS checked.

• London Stansted - 35 minutes by car
• London Luton - 55 minutes by car
• London Heathrow - 1 hour 20 minutes by car

Younger girls share with other girls in bright and spacious dormitories.

Students in Years 10 - 12 (age 15 to 18) share a room with one other student.

Students in Year 13 have their own single room.

Living at Mary Ward House

We do not have Exeat weekends. However, boarders can arrange to visit their guardians or go home at the weekend, providing written permission is given to the Housemistress at least 48 hours in advance.

We have space for c.90 students, therefore we advise applying for a boarding space at least 12 months before the intended starting date.

This varies slightly each year, but typically we welcome girls from all over the world, from around 20 different countries. This brings a unique and special aspect to our education, as girls benefit from gaining a broad understanding of different cultures and life experiences, as part of everyday school life.

Students who do not have a family member in the UK must have a guardian living in the UK. A guardian must be appointed before we can accept a student to the school.

Often educational agents include the arrangement of guardians in their service to families; alternatively families can apply directly to AEGIS. It is the responsibility of each family, and not the school, to ensure that the guardian is in place.

AEGIS

We are licensed as a Child Student (formerly Tier 4) Sponsor by UK Visas and Immigrations (UKVI) and offer child student visa sponsorship for full boarders from age 9 to 19. 

We also sponsor day students up to the age of 12. An accompanying parent can then apply for a Dependent Parent Visa.

Please contact UKVI to help you choose the correct route.

UKVI

We welcome girls with a broad range of academic abilities, who are enthusiastic and have a desire to engage in learning.

We accept direct applications to our admissions team or applications made via an educational agent. You can apply to join all year groups except Year 11 and 13.

Places for international students are offered on the basis of an individual interview (in person or via Zoom), alongside a selection of age-appropriate activities and assessments, plus a reference from a current school.

How to apply

International applicants can apply all year round. We advise applying at least 12 months before the intended starting date.

We want to understand the unique potential of each girl. Our international application process and entrance tests are chosen to evaluate current knowledge, understanding and skills.

We test age-appropriate learning and therefore no special preparation is needed and our process is designed to put applicants at ease.

Assessments for international students

We make sure that students improve their English language skills over the course of their studies at St Mary's to become clear, fluent and confident communicators. However, on arrival, your daughter's English needs to be good enough to enable her to access the curriculum and to work collaboratively with teachers and other students, and to ensure success in public examinations.

Applicants are expected to have reached the following levels of English before applying to a particular year group. We will assess this as part of the application process - no formal qualifications are necessary.

• Joining Senior School in Year 7: approx overall CEFR level of B1.1
• Joining Senior School in Year 8: approx overall CEFR level of B1.1
• Joining Senior School in Year 9: approx overall CEFR level of B1.2
• Joining Senior School in Year 10: approx overall CEFR level of B2.1
• Joining Sixth Form in Year 12: approx overall CEFR level of B2.2

For applicants to Year 9, we can accept students whose standard in English does not meet the levels given above. These students would be considered for the Year 9 Accelerator Programme.

This programme allows students to receive additional English support in place of studying for a modern foreign language such as French or Spanish. Other than this, the students follow the same curriculum as the rest of their peer group. 

Yes, our excellent English tuition is included in our school fees, at no additional cost. Find out more about our exceptional English as an Additional provision.

We sometimes place students in a year below their peers, to more appropriately reflect their ability in, and comprehension of, the English language. If your daughter requires a visa then she must be under 18 on the first day of the year in which she begins her studies with us.