Welcome to St Mary’s Farnham Royal Church of England Primary School

I am incredibly proud to be the Headteacher of St Mary’s and to lead such a special school community. We are a small school with a big ambition: to ensure that every child who walks through our doors feels known, valued, supported and inspired to achieve their very best.

Our vision is rooted in Faith, Family, Future and Flourish. These words are much more than a statement on our website; they are at the heart of everyday life at St Mary’s. We want our children to grow as confident, kind and resilient individuals, to develop a love of learning and to leave us ready to embrace whatever their future holds.

A school that knows every child

One of the things that makes St Mary’s so special is our size. Being a smaller school means that relationships really matter. Every child is known as an individual, not simply as a name on a register or a number in a data set.

Every morning, children are greeted at the school gate by a member of our Senior Leadership Team. We believe that the start of the day matters. A smile, a conversation, a “good morning” and knowing that there is always a familiar adult available can make a huge difference to how a child feels about coming into school.

We know our children, we know their families and we want to support them all to flourish. This allows us to respond quickly when children need additional support, but also to celebrate their successes and encourage them to aim high.

A curriculum that has evolved

Over the last few years, we have made some significant changes to our curriculum. We have been very deliberate about identifying what matters most for our children and ensuring that we get the foundations of learning right.

A particular priority has been early reading. We know that learning to read confidently is one of the most important things we can give a child. We have therefore strengthened our approach to phonics through a consistent, high-quality phonics scheme and a clear progression from the earliest stages of learning to becoming confident, fluent readers.

But we don't simply want children who can read – we want children who love reading.

We have invested in developing our library and creating inviting reading and breakout spaces around the school so that books and reading are part of everyday school life. We want children to discover authors they love, become absorbed in stories, develop their imagination and see reading as something they choose to do because they enjoy it.

Alongside this, we have continued to develop a broad and ambitious curriculum that gives children opportunities to explore, question, create, investigate and make connections between their learning. We want children to remember what they have learned because they have experienced it, not simply because they have been taught it.

Learning doesn't stop when the bell rings

We also believe that some of the most important learning happens outside the classroom.

Our OPAL approach to play has transformed lunchtime at St Mary’s. We want our children to have exciting, active and creative opportunities to play, explore and develop independence with their friends.

Our playground is a place where children can build dens, play in the sandpit, ride scooters, take part in art activities, play basketball and, importantly, invent their own games and experiences.

Lunchtime should be something children look forward to. We want our children to run back into class ready to learn because they have had fun, been active, solved problems, worked together and enjoyed being children.

High expectations and strong outcomes

Being a small school does not mean that we have small ambitions.

We have high expectations for every child, and we are proud that our children's outcomes have been above national averages. However, while data is important, we believe that a child's success cannot be measured by a test result alone.

We want our children to leave St Mary’s as confident readers, enthusiastic learners, thoughtful friends, resilient individuals and responsible members of their community. Our nativities, productions, music and arts night, Irock, and class assemblies allow children to display their skills and talents in different ways 

Our Christian foundation is central to this. We strive to create a community where every individual is valued, where differences are celebrated and where children are encouraged to show kindness, respect and compassion towards others.

Come and see us

St Mary’s has a long history in Farnham Royal, but we are very much a school looking towards the future. We are continually reflecting on what we do, listening to our children and families, and looking for ways to make our school even better. 

Our most recent Ofsted inspection in September 2024 judged the school to be Good, something of which we are rightly proud. But what I am most proud of is the atmosphere you feel when you walk through our gates: a school where children are known, relationships matter, learning is valued and everyone is encouraged to flourish.

If you are considering St Mary’s for your child, I would encourage you to come and see us for yourself. Meet our children, talk to our staff and experience our school community.

We would love to welcome you to the St Mary’s Farnham Royal family.

Mr Shane Broderick
Headteacher