St Mary's School, Ascot

St Mary's School Ascot is a Roman Catholic independent day and boarding school for girls in South Ascot, Berkshire, England. It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. It was named 2016 "Public School of the Year" at the annual Tatler Schools Awards.HistorySt Mary's School was founded by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). The school chapel was built in 1885 and funded by Cecilia Marshall, and the First Mass was celebrated there on 2 July 1896. The Chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of Humility and St Cecilia. It was consecrated by Bishop John Baptist Cahill in 1906.Since 1984, it has been run by the St Mary's School Ascot Trust. In 1998 the school had its first lay Headmistress, Mrs Mary Breen (incumbent). Only one liturgical staff member remains, Father Dermot, the school's chaplain.In 2006, the school opened its new sports centre, named the Orchard Centre after the Catholic family from which the school's two previous headmistresses came. The Centre was opened by ballerina Darcey Bussell. A Performing Arts Centre has also been built named the Rose Theatre. It opened in April 2009.In 2015, St Mary's became the first school in the UK to use vein matching for keeping track of pupil attendance.CurriculumSt Mary's has enjoyed success in the GCSE and A Levels examinations. In the 2010 GCSEs, girls achieved a 100% pass rate and placed 27th in a Daily Mail survey ranking according to % of GCSEs awarded A* and A grades, out of 482 participating independent schools. It was listed in The Independent's top 100 schools for 2012 based on the most recent A Levels results.