St Mary's School Ascot's partnership with Charters School
Partnership activities, formalised under a Memorandum of Understanding, include the sharing, free of charge, of facilities and real estate - examples include the Rose Theatre, swimming pool and sports facilities. In addition, there are many academic events provided by St Mary's and available free of charge to Charter's pupils. These include Oxbridge and medicine interview practice days, external lecture opportunities, school societies such as the modern foreign language events and music masterclasses.
Aims
Our partnership activities aim to improve the educational experience of the pupils of Charters School. This is achieved by the provision of facilities, resources, skills and experience that would not normally be available to this state academy.
Background
St Mary's School Ascot has had a close relationship with Charters School for many years. The recent Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Chairs of Governors of both schools is merely a formalisation of what has been routine business for many years.
Resources
The partnership between the two schools has both breadth and depth. Resources that are often provided to Charters School free of charge include the swimming pool, sports pitches, access to the 400m athletics track as well as regular use of the Rose Theatre. Academic staff at St Mary's provide their time, skills and expertise for a variety of events including the long term loan of specialist staff who provide access to lessons otherwise not available on the Charters curriculum.
Impact
Feedback on the success or otherwise of the partnership activities is provided to St Mary's during meetings between the headmistress and joint headmasters of Charters School. This forum allows each activity to be reviewed in a frank and transparent manner which then allows adjustments to be made to future plans to ensure the pupils at Charters School gain the maximum benefit from the activities.
Pupil Involvement
Frequency
The partnership between St Mary's and Charters School is an on-going relationship which will continue to develop and evolve over the years. The Memorandum of Understanding between the two schools will ensure that future generations of pupils at Charters School will be able to benefit from the support provided by St Mary's. All age groups at Charters will benefit but support to the Sixth Form in the university application process is particularly valued.