Find out more about St Mary’s empowering education by arranging a visit to our Kindergarten and Lower School.
Attend a Kindergarten and Lower School Open Day
Attend an Open Day to find out more about St Mary’s Kindergarten and Lower School:
- experts in educating girls
- top rating of ‘Excellent’ in ISI Inspection
- 12th highest performing prep school in England (Sunday Times)
- strong 11+ and Scholarship success
- empowering, all-round education
- exceptional pastoral care
- enhanced Kindergarten provision
- enhanced 11+ provision
- enhanced sporting provision
- expansion of clubs on offer
A strong academic education
St Mary’s Lower School is the 12th highest performing Prep School in England, as ranked by the Sunday Times. Alongside English, Maths, Science, ICT, Languages and Humanities, pupils follow a rich Personal Social Health, Citizenship and Economic Education programme, including philosophical enquiries.
Our pupils perform significantly higher than the national average in SATs. We also have a high 11+ pass rate for those who choose to sit the exam, alongside a consistently strong record of scholarship offers to independent secondary schools, including our Senior School, where Lower School girls along with siblings are given priority for places offered.
We’re able to achieve such success by tailoring the education to suit the needs of each individual in our small classes, and by giving the pupils the encouragement and support they need to aim high.
A safe environment for girls
We proactively challenge stereotypes, particularly around what girls can achieve, by providing positive role models and examples.
We provide opportunities for the girls to take positive risks and we create a culture where girls are not afraid of failure in a variety of ways, from Forest School to debating.
We encourage individuality by celebrating individual successes and supporting girls to pursue their passions. We provide opportunities for the girls to develop leadership skills with the variety of positions of responsibility available to girls including Head Girls opportunities.
Kindergarten Fees
Our aim is to keep St Mary’s fees as affordable as possible while maintaining the high level of education we offer. We are committed to providing an empowering education to enable pupils to thrive at St Mary’s and beyond.
St mary’s Kindergarten 2024-25 fees
| Early Start (inc breakfast) | 7.30am- 8.30am | £8.95 |
| Core Day (inc cooked lunch) | 8.30am-3.30pm | £64.00* |
| Extended Stay option 1 | 3.30pm-4.30pm | £8.95 |
| Extended Stay option 2** (inc tea) | 3.30pm-6.00pm | £16.00 |
* A booking of five Core Days per week attracts a reduction in the Core Day fee. Please ask for further details.
** a minimum of 48 hours’ notice is required.
Fees are invoiced monthly in advance for regular booked sessions, while any ad hoc sessions are invoiced with the following month’s fees.
At St Mary’s Kindergarten you can receive funding for up to 15 hours of childcare a week, which is based on 38 weeks childcare. For those taking year-round childcare this will be stretched across 51 weeks. St Mary’s Kindergarten does not currently offer the extended 30-hour entitlement. Find out more about the Government’s Early Education Entitlement.
The Government closed the Childcare Voucher Scheme for new applicants from 4 October 2018. St Mary’s will continue to deal with all approved providers of Childcare Vouchers for existing Scheme members. Please contact our Finance Office on 01206 572544 (option 4) to discuss your particular requirements.
We are able to accept payment via the Government’s Tax-Free Childcare Scheme.
For any further information regarding Kindergarten fees, please contact our Registrar, Mrs Justine Tierney, at registrar@stmaryscolchester.org.uk or on 01206 594256.
More information about Kindergarten can be found on our website. Alternatively, arrange to visit us today to see all we have to offer children in our Kindergarten.
Lower School Fees
st mary’s spring and summer term 2025 school fees
Please note that St Mary’s fees include lunch
| Original termly fees for 2024-25 | Discounted termly fees for spring and summer terms 2025 where VAT is due | |
| Prep (Reception) Class-Year 2 | £4,150 | £3,891 |
| Year 3-4 | £4,550 | £4,266 |
| Year 5-6 | £5,100 | £4,781 |
Please note the fees outlined above are exclusive of VAT. There are three terms per academic year.
St Mary’s fees are payable in advance by the first day of each term. There are various ways to pay, including bank transfer or debit/credit card. You can also opt to spread termly fees across three payments with no interest added. Alternatively, you can spread your fees and pay monthly through My School Fee Plan*.
*St Mary’s School (Colchester) Limited is an appointed representative of Premium Credit Limited which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. School Fee Plan is a trading style of Premium Credit Limited (company number 02015200). Credit is subject to status, affordability, terms and conditions apply. Over 18s only. Failure to keep up with your repayments could result in your agreement being cancelled.
You can also spread your fees and pay monthly through My School Fee Plan.
School day
Parents bring their daughters to school from 8.25am and the school day begins at 8.40am. The school is easily accessible with ample parking for a convenient and safe school run.
School finishes at 3pm for infants and 3.25pm for juniors. Infants can join activity club until the juniors finish at 3.25pm. There are numerous clubs available, from ballet to STEM Lego. Alternatively, our finishing time allows pupils to continue with any clubs, interests or hobbies they have outside of school.
Wrap around care
In addition to clubs, wrap around care is available from 7.30am and our daily Breakfast Club begins at 8am, designed to help busy families. Children enjoy a light breakfast and a chance to catch up with friends before the school day. After-school childcare is available until 6pm.
