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Welcome to St Augustine’s Priory, Ealing’s top performing Catholic girls’ school: a visionary school with a unique community. Our girls and staff have the courage and appetite to tackle everything which life throws at us. We have been educating girls in the Catholic tradition since 1634 and we actively welcome girls of all faiths. This means that students leave us rooted in values which make them effective in their personal and professional lives.
Since the first lockdown was announced in March 2020, we have been leading in remote learning with a highly successful and innovative hybrid or blended learning offer. Our staff have been at the forefront of research-based approaches, using different platforms to ensure girls receive not just content but proper learning. We know that our pupils have continued to make excellent progress. Because of this we have sustained their experience of subjects in the wider curriculum and so Drama, Art and Music are thriving. Much use is made of our unique outdoor space – for bespoke outdoor classrooms or other learning. All of our pupils benefit from our 13 acres with an unrivalled freedom to enjoy growing up.
What we also know is that an outstanding education for the future – or what many people are styling Education 4.0, also hinges on self-confidence, collaborative skills, emotional intelligence and self- awareness. All of these soft and hard skills are embedded in our way of proceeding at St Augustine’s Priory. We see the pastoral intertwining with the academic. Our girls go on to the best universities in the world. This year our students have accepted offers from Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College for 2020 entry along with many other world-class universities such as Durham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter and Kings College London, to name a few. They don’t drop out of university. A recent Head Girl graduated from Edinburgh this year with 1st Class honours in Business Management and walked straight into a job. Our students are highly employable and when talking to all of our leavers who have recently graduated, it is gratifying just how many are in work despite these desperate times. This is no accident. Indeed, latest research shows that these are skills cherished by employers.
The tangible happiness in our lovely school is proof that while we are living in new times and we have been precipitated into the 4.0 Industrial revolution at a greater speed than we could have thought possible, we are not living in a dystopia as some people would have us believe. We are simply human beings working together to ensure that we equip our children with everything they need for their future and their children’s future.
Studying Art is an intellectual pursuit and we have high expectations for our girls to engage in art practice exploring culture, emotion, spirituality, truth, controversy and aesthetics.
100% of Art applicants have secured places on prestigious Art Foundation and degree courses, including Kingston, Loughborough, London College of Fashion, Leeds, Ravensbourne and Central St Martin's.
We believe that contemporary art practice is multi-disciplinary and we expose our students to a diverse range of art practices, from drawing and painting to print and sculpture, dressmaking to fine art textiles, design and digital manipulation, photography and film. We facilitate our girls in finding a concept and method of working that suits their interests and aspirations. Girls contribute to a broad range of school events, from creating the Carol Service programme to designing the set for the whole school production.
Co-Curricular & Enrichment
Art is very popular at St Augustine's Priory and students enjoy a range of opportunities from visiting Art galleries and participating in artist-led workshops to attending regular clubs ranging from textiles to photography.
In the Classics Department at St Augustine's Priory we encourage our students to use the ancient world, in all its variety, as a springboard for exploring and understanding our own similarly complex and diverse world. Whether you are interested in languages, literature, art or politics, the Classical World profoundly influenced western civilization, and to study its works is to discover a lot of what makes us who we are.
Depending on the talents and interests of the student, each girl has the opportunity to study Latin, Greek, and Classical Civilisation throughout her time with us in the Seniors. She will develop the analytical skills required to learn these complex languages, and will then be able to access the literature, culture and politics of two civilisations which have profoundly shaped our own. More than that, by studying the thoughts of Romans and Greeks in their own languages, we help students to gain a critical distance from their own world, vital to developing an understanding of today's multicultural society.
Alternatively, for those who prefer to study the classical world in all its variety, our pupils can follow classical civilisation at GCSE and A Level. From sculpture to vase painting, from history and culture of classical Athens to the archaeology of the Mycenaean Bronze Age, and from Greek drama to the epics of Homer and Virgil in translation, our pupils are truly preparing themselves for life!
At St Augustine's Priory we believe that Computer Studies enables our students to become the problem solvers of the future. By developing computational thinking skills our students will have the confidence to apply effective logical and analytical approaches to a range of subjects and challenges.
We want our students to question and challenge the technological world around them and consider solutions to problems we face in our everyday lives, no matter how big or small they may be.
Each year we take part in the Oxford University Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. This year a number of our girls were amongst the highest achievers in the competition.
Co-Curricular & Enrichment
We offer a programming lunch-time club for our GCSE Computer Science students where we focus on programming techniques in Python.
We also run a Digital Leaders club where students get together to support teachers in their use of the VLE. As well as this, we offer an event based around the theme of an ‘Escape Room' in our cellar or elsewhere in the school grounds which runs in the Summer Term, during which nearly 200 participants attempt to take first place in escaping and problem solving!
We are pleased to also offer a Lego Mindstorms club where students have the opportunity to build and code complex robotic Lego sets.
The St Augustine's Priory Drama Department develops individuality, encouraging students to express themselves with flair and confidence.
Children perform in or design theatre productions, or help out behind the scenes. Studying Drama engages the creative side of the brain and provides an ideal balance in students' methods of study. Drama is a natural foundation to a well-developed sense of self.
We organise regular theatre visits for girls from all years and pupils have access to streamed theatre performances via Drama Online Library. In 2019/20, pupils saw Mary Poppins, Matilda, An Inspector Calls, Six and School of Rock.
Theatre professionals come into school to perform plays and deliver workshops. In 2019/20, we hosted a Complicite workshop with Naomi Frederick, screenwriter Lisa McMullin led a workshop on writing for radio and television, and MN Academy ran an Acting for Screen workshop for Lower V GCSE Drama pupils.
Our Senior Drama Studio is fitted with state of the art audio-visual equipment giving girls the potential to produce multi-media productions. Our outdoor stage is a perfect platform for girls to blend ancient theatre tradition and contemporary concepts.
Co-curricular and Enrichment activities
Preps and Juniors
Students who show flair in Drama by the end of Lower II are invited to join the Drama Gifted Pathway (DGP); allowing them access to drama skills-based workshops and audition opportunities.
Seniors
The biennial Senior School Production enables girls from Form III to Upper VI to work together on stage and backstage in a professional theatre environment. Recent shows include: Chicago: High School Edition (2019), Little Shop of Horrors (2017), The Comedy of Errors (2015) Guys and Dolls (2013), and The Ash Girl (2012).
Senior school students with an aptitude for performance and performance support are invited to participate in workshops and public performance projects, such as the Shakespeare Schools Festival at Watermans Arts Centre and as part of the Drama Gifted Pathway (DGP).
The English Department at St Augustine's Priory produces ambitious, stimulating and successful work that demonstrates academic purpose and a keen sense of intellectual pursuit. Girls construct scholarly, fluent and sophisticated arguments based on critical and thoughtful understanding of texts, and fully grasp the opportunities for freedom and ownership of study.
We have an excellent track record in the Young People's Poetry Competition at the Chiswick Book Festival, a competition open to students aged between eight to twelve years old, where we regularly win prizes.
Co-curricular & Enrichment
Creative writing plays an important part in the work of the department. We offer the very popular weekly Creative Writing Club and several pupils from Upper IV, who attend the club, ran a brilliant workshop for Form III during Book Week 2020.
We celebrate the girls' achievements by displaying their work around the school and are delighted with the inaugural edition of ‘Scribe: Poetry and Prose at the Priory'. Please click on this link to access the online flip book version of Scribe.
Pupils in the Senior School and Sixth Form attend theatre productions such as The Duchess of Malfi at the RSC in Stratford and visit locations from literature such as the Foundling Hospital in connection with their study of Coram Boy.
Film is one of the main cultural innovations of the 20th century and a major art form of the last hundred years. Those who study it characteristically bring with them a high degree of enthusiasm and excitement for what is a powerful and culturally significant medium, inspiring a range of responses from the emotional to the reflective. Film Studies consequently makes an important contribution to the curriculum, offering the opportunity to investigate how film works both as a medium of representation and as an aesthetic medium.
Film Studies is designed to introduce A Level learners to a wide variety of films in order to broaden their knowledge and understanding of film and the range of responses films can generate. This course offers opportunities to study mainstream American films from the past and the present as well as a range of recent and contemporary British films, American independent films and global films, both non-English language and English language. The historical range of film represented in those films is extended by the study of silent film and significant film movements so that learners can gain a sense of the development of film from its early years to its still emerging digital future. Studies in documentary, experimental and short films add to the breadth of the learning experience.
Production work is a crucial part of this course and is integral to learners' study of film. Studying a diverse range of films from several different contexts is designed to give learners the opportunity to apply their knowledge and understanding of how films are constructed to their own filmmaking and screenwriting. This is intended to enable learners to create high quality film and screenplay work as well as provide an informed filmmaker's perspective on their own study of film.
Studying Film enables pupils to see the world in a different light and develop a wide range of transferable skills for further education, work and life: Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking, Emotional Intelligence, Film Analysis, Textual Analysis, Communication, Research skills, Literacy, Technical competencies (i.e. film editing).
Geography at St Augustine's Priory centres on the idea that, although the physical environment may determine which activities people may engage in at a particular location, human activity has an impact on the physical environment.
Co-curricular & Enrichment
The Geography Department contributes greatly to enrichment and the co-curricular provision of the school including the Eco-Schools Club and a variety of fieldwork opportunities.
The Eco-Schools Club takes responsibility for all of the recycling, reusing of materials and efforts to reduce wastage at St Augustine's Priory. It successfully coordinates a ‘No Paper' day, a ‘No Electricity' day and a ‘Walk to School' week each year. This year we are joining the WWF campaign to tackle the issue of plastic pollution.
Another way in which Geography contributes to enrichment and co-curricular provision is via field trips. There are many UK based field trips such as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (Stratford), the River Chess, Brighton, Cuckmere Haven and Aberystwyth. Biennial overseas field trips also take place; two recent examples of which were visits to New York and Iceland.
The History Department at St Augustine's Priory inspires pupils' interest and enjoyment of the past which they will be able to take forward into a society in which understanding and protecting heritage has a central role. We seek to provide a stimulating environment for historical enquiry to enable all students to learn and achieve.
Co-curricular & Enrichment
We are fortunate to be living in a city with so many places of historical interest: Hampton Court Palace, Hatfield House and Leeds Castle are all within easy reach of London, whilst the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Tower of London are just a tube ride away. All museums have educational resources suitable for all, from the very youngest to the most mature of history buffs.
In addition to the visit to the Battlefields of the Western Front there are a number of History visits throughout the girls' school life, from the Florence Nightingale Museum in Prep III to Hampton Court in Lower II. There are also “Victorian” days for Upper II.
A Level students attend academic conferences on aspects of their studies, delivered by university historians who are leaders in their field of study. Students also visit the National Archives in Kew to use primary sources in their A Level Historical Enquiry work.
The Mathematics Department at St Augustine's Priory believes in the importance of Mathematics as a clear, unambiguous tool in the analysis and communication of ideas and information.
We help our pupils develop knowledge, skills and understanding as well as an appreciation of the beauty of Mathematics.
We recognise that children differ in mathematical ability and we therefore employ a range of strategies to help each girl to attain her full potential.
Further Mathematics is offered for exceptionally talented mathematicians. A level Further Mathematics can be studied at AS level (8FM0) over one year or at A level (9FM0) over two years. It is studied alongside the A level Mathematics course (parallel delivery).
UKMT Maths Challenges
Pupils in Set 1 of each year group have the opportunity to take the UKMT Maths Challenge. This is a national competition at three levels: Junior (Form III and Lower IV), Intermediate (Upper IV to Upper V) and Senior (Lower VI and Upper VI). Success in this competition can lead to qualification for further European rounds (Kangaroo) or the Maths Olympiad.
Each year several girls from Upper IV, Lower V and Lower VI attend a series of Mathematics Masterclasses at the Royal Institution. The participants are introduced to topics which are beyond the scope of the normal school syllabus, and give them an opportunity to broaden their mathematical experience. These sessions are by invitation from UKMT and are based on performance in the Maths Challenges.
At St Augustine's Priory, we are passionate about language learning and we recognise its importance in today's world. With more and more people going to university and obtaining degrees, competition in the world of work is fierce and candidates need something which will make them stand out. Combine this with the impact of living in a multi-cultural society teeming with multilingual speakers; being able to speak a foreign language is as indispensable as ever in today's world.
The Modern Languages Department aims to develop a love of language learning. It guides its students to be able to communicate effectively in the target language through speaking, writing, and understanding. As well as focusing on grammar and its practical application, the Modern Languages team endeavours to develop cultural knowledge and understanding of the countries and communities where the language is spoken.
St Augustine's Priory is very proud to run a French ‘Masterclass' programme that is officially endorsed by the Institut Français du Royaume–Uni. The prestigious invitation-only course that we offer is aimed at bilingual or very able students. The course, which is taught exclusively in French, delves into various aspects of French-speaking culture ultimately working towards obtaining French Ministry of Education DELF diplomas which are also worth UCAS points.
Sainte-Marie de Neuilly Partnership
Sainte-Marie occupies the site in Neuilly, Paris, where our school was located from 1862 until 1911 when we moved to England. Each year our Lower IV (Year 8) and GCSE students visit Paris and take part in lessons with their penpals and stay with them each evening. Our girls are also able to enjoy the sights of Paris such as Versailles, the Eiffel Tower and a boat trip along the Seine. We receive immense hospitality from our hosts in Paris, and we are able to offer the same in return during their yearly visits to London.
Further Overseas Visits
In addition to our visits to Paris (See ‘Sainte-Marie de Neuilly Partnership') overseas trips include Upper II (Year 6) visiting Cote d'Opale in France, Lower V – Upper VI (Year 10 – Year 13) travelling to Valencia, as well as a combined Russian and History trip for our senior school students to Moscow and St Petersburg.
Spelling Bee
Alternating each year between French and Spanish, the Junior and Senior Spelling Bees consist of a number of rounds with new vocabulary lists distributed each round. Trophies and prizes are awarded to those who place in the top three.
French Conversation Club
French Conversation Club occurs every Friday at lunchtime.
Music is a vital part of a complete education, and at St Augustine's Priory we encourage each girl to develop her musical skills and interests both in the classroom and through partaking in a range of extra-curricular activities.
The Chamber Choir prepares challenging repertoire and harmony for the Summer Concert, the St Cecilia Concert in the Michaelmas Term and the Carol Service.
Through engaging with and studying music, we develop a unique set of skills – cognitive, physical and social as well as musical. At St Augustine's Priory we believe that everybody has musical potential and we therefore encourage each girl to develop her own musical skills and interests. This is achieved through an exciting and varied curriculum and also by offering a wide range of extra-curricular musical opportunities. A large proportion of girls also take advantage of the excellent one-to-one instrumental and singing tuition that is available in the school.
There are many gifted and talented musicians at St Augustine's Priory contributing to a very high level of music making throughout the school, and we nurture this talent by providing solo and ensemble performance opportunities at a suitably high level. Those who are less experienced are equally well catered for, with carefully differentiated tasks within the curriculum and appropriate extra-curricular ensembles which are designed to encourage and provide enjoyment to all.
Co-Curricular and Enrichment
As members of our musical ensembles, choirs or Chamber Choirs, girls are given the opportunity to perform at several school concerts and services throughout the year. In December 2019 our Chamber Choir performed at several venues in Paris.
The PE Department at St Augustine's Priory is vibrant and energetic whose aim is to give all girls the opportunity to participate in a broad and balanced curriculum. We strive for every girl to achieve success in both curricular and extra-curricular activities working to the best of her ability. Our teams consistently excel in local and national fixtures.
Sporting performance, theoretical knowledge and performance analysis skills are assessed during both years, therefore it is essential that pupils regularly participate in sport.
Co-curricular and Enrichment
In the Preps we offer extra-curricular opportunities to enhance girls' fundamental skills such as Gymnastics, Yoga and Tennis.
In the Juniors our curriculum is supported by a strong extra-curricular programme. We offer all girls the opportunity to participate in fixtures.
At Key Stage 3, the extra-curricular programme caters for girls who wish to compete and represent the school as well as girls who are participating for fun and enjoyment. Netball and Hockey are popular as are Dance, Zumba and Cheerleading.
At Key Stage 4 the girls are supported by a strong extra-curricular programme, incorporating both competitive and open clubs to cater for all pupils.
We run sports tours and trips to create opportunities for girls to improve performance and understanding including netball tours in Paris. Our girls have represented Middlesex and Ealing in the London Youth Games.
Awards
We win tournaments and place cross country runners at the top of the field, for example in the Year 7/8 Ealing Cross Country Championships, the NLCS Netball Tournament, the U12 Middlesex Netball Qualifying and U12 and U13 Middlesex Hockey Qualifying, the Handball Competition of the London Youth Games, the Year 7 Ealing Indoor Athletics Competition and the Year 8 Ealing Indoor Athletics Competition.
At St Augustine's Priory, PSHEE, RSE and Citizenship is delivered through the curriculum and is an integral part of the pastoral support and disciplinary system in the School. It is considered to be the curriculum context for the personal and social development of the individual, and underpins the whole education process.
The focus is on the development of the ‘whole' person. We aim to lead and stimulate our pupils to develop their full potential – intellectually, physically, socially, spiritually, emotionally, morally and aesthetically. Our programme reflects and supports ‘Helping Children Achieve More' and is closely interwoven with the teachings of the Catholic Church.
We encourage pupils to play a positive role in contributing to the life of the School and the wider community. These activities, both inside and outside the classroom, are valuable learning experiences and allow pupils to develop their sense of self-worth as well as teaching them about their responsibilities. They learn to appreciate what it means to be a positive member of a diverse multicultural society.
Principles and Values
St Augustine's Priory believes that PSHEE should:
- Allow pupils to understand and value themselves as individuals and as responsible and caring members of society in line with Gospel Values of Truth, Justice, Compassion and Forgiveness.
- Develop a student's knowledge and understanding of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle and be aware of safety issues.
- Promote independent and active members of the School and local community.
- Develop self-confidence and self-esteem, and assist students to make informed choices regarding personal and social issues.
- Develop good relationships with other members of the School and the wider community.
- Encourage students and teachers to share and respect each other's views.
- Recognise that the wider community has much to offer and we aim to work in partnership with relevant professionals and other School partners to deliver this.
- Encourage respect for others regardless of race, gender and mental and physical disability.
- PSHEE is delivered by Form Tutors and supplemented by a variety of engaging outside speakers.
As a Catholic school, the St Augustine's Priory curriculum for Religious Education is based on the Religious Education Curriculum Directory (RECD) for Catholic schools.
The primary content of all our RE material is the teaching and practices of the Catholic Church and the implications for the lives of children as pupils today and as citizens of tomorrow. We also study other world religions during Key Stage 3.
“Overall, religious education is one of the highest performing subjects in the school. Pupils do well at all key stages. Children enter the school with a range of skills and abilities which can vary from year to year, but are broadly average. They make excellent progress throughout the school and develop into very confident learners, displaying high levels of religious literacy. In 2015, almost all Year 11 pupils gained a grade A*−C in GCSE RE, with almost two thirds achieving A*/A, a proportion which is much higher when compared with their peers nationally.”
Diocesan Inspection Report 2016
We aim to develop knowledge and understanding of Catholicism for pupils of all faiths. We present pupils with the teachings of Jesus, mediated through the teaching of the Catholic Church. Pupils reflect on what it means to have faith and develop their own spiritual knowledge and understanding.
The Religious Education subject material reflects the three key elements of the Catholic faith:
- That every human event is marked by the creative activity of God, who communicates goodness to all beings;
- That the reality of sin limit and numb every person;
- That the life and death and resurrection of Christ, communicated by the Holy Spirit, gives believers the hope of ‘fulfillment'.
- Other faiths are addressed in the context of Catholic teaching. A respectful and tolerant approach to other faiths is fundamental to our mission. We have girls of different faiths who actively participate in our liturgies and assemblies enriching the spiritual life of our School.
Extracurricular and Enrichment
Students in Upper IV (Year 9) are invited to apply to take part in our school linking programme with the Jewish Community Secondary School in partnership with the Faith and Belief Forum.
As part of the General RE course, students participate in events hosted by ‘Aid to the Church in Need' as part of their campaigns for raising awareness for religious persecution through Red Wednesday.
At St Augustine's Priory Science is an extremely popular and well-resourced department. Situated in our own purpose-built laboratory block we engender a sense of independence and love of learning that our pupils take forward to all aspects of their lives; many of our pupils go on to study Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Engineering and other highly competitive courses. With our outstanding results we prepare pupils for their futures.
The Science Department aims to stimulate curiosity so that pupils explore areas they become passionate about. Girls develop critical skills such as investigation, evaluation and application of information, which are relevant not only in Science but in everyday life; this engenders a sense of independence that is unique to our school.
At St Augustine's Priory we enrich the pupils' experience of Science by offering visits targeted to the individual Year groups. Annually we send the Priory Sixth pupils to the Institute of Education to hear a series of lectures which are at the cutting edge of all three disciplines.
Social Sciences at St Augustine's Priory consist of A Level subjects which are new to the girls; Business Studies, Economics, Government and Politics, Psychology and Sociology.
We believe that critical thinking is essential for learning. Given that there are seldom definite “correct” answers in the Social Sciences, our girls develop the independent intellectual skills which enable them to engage with complex real world issues and problems. The girls develop a curiosity for learning and an awareness of themselves and others and of how people function in widely varying groups, organisations and societies.
They learn to appreciate the significance of different beliefs, attitudes and values and the impact that these have on social, economic, political and developmental processes.
The Social Sciences allow pupils opportunities to develop both their written and oral powers of expression. Emphasis is placed on discussions, debates and presentations, as well as more formal, written essays; these are essential skills for success at university and beyond.
The girls are encouraged to make the most of the many extra-curricular opportunities available both within and outside of school; there is an active Model United Nations Society, a Young Enterprise Group and a high-level debating club, amongst others.
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