School News
We had a huge amount of fun celebrating World Book Day!
At St Mary’s we really enjoy books, and this was a brilliant way to celebrate our love of reading. Children took part in lots of book themed activities: some of our older children in KS2 enjoyed sharing books and stories with our younger children in EYFS, KS1 and Year 3; and we all enjoyed the teacher reading relay – it was great fun for the children to workout who would be the next teacher through their classroom door to read with them for 5 minutes.
It was lovely to see such imagination as the children came to school dressed as their favourite book characters. Thank you, parents and carers, for all the effort made. We celebrated together as a whole school and really enjoyed seeing everyone’s outfits!
Congratulations to: Cherry, Pear, Holly and Willow classes who were the winners of our Masked Reader competition, successfully identifying all the teachers and teaching assistants concealing their identity! The winning classes chose a book from the Book Fair as their class prize.
Finally, thank you to everyone who supported our Book Fair, it was a great success and the school will benefit with new books for the classrooms!
Cherry Class had a visit from the ambulance service. Emily and Jack (Mr Bartrop to those who know) showed us all the important things on their ambulance and answered all of our questions. They told us how they need to have all of our 3 C's (courage, curiosity and be caring) to work in the ambulance service. We listened to the sirens and even had a go at setting them off by pressing the horn. Some of us want to be a paramedic when we grow up!
Thank you Jack and Emily! 
We are proudly celebrating the arrival of a remarkable new artwork — a vibrant 2m x 2m mosaic inspired by the ancient myth of Orpheus. The piece, a gift from The King's Foundation at Highgrove, is already attracting much admiration from pupils, staff, and visitors.
The mosaic was created as part of Project Orpheus, an ambitious collaboration led by The Barn Theatre Cirencester, The Corinium Museum, and New Brewery Arts to mark 200 years since the discovery of the famous Roman Orpheus mosaic. In Roman times, Orpheus — known for enchanting animals, nature, and people with his music — was a popular motif in floor mosaics, symbolising harmony and unity.
This contemporary panel was designed by young people from Young Gloucestershire, who took part in a residential programme at Highgrove Gardens in summer 2024, supported by The King’s Foundation. Their design was inspired by visits to the Corinium Museum, where they studied historic mosaics, including the original Orpheus piece. Under the guidance of King’s Foundation tutor Samantha Buckley, the group translated their ideas into a large-scale mosaic, learning traditional techniques along the way.
Work continued through winter and spring of 2025, with volunteers from the local community joining to help complete the mosaic. The flowing lines of tiles — known as andamento — give movement and energy to the animals and natural forms, each of which carries the unique creative imprint of its maker. Text included in the mosaic is drawn from Orpheus’ mythical song.
As the project evolved, participants were inspired to reimagine the central figure of Orpheus. Rather than depicting a single character, they chose to incorporate a reflective surface at the centre of the artwork, inviting viewers to see themselves within the story. This thoughtful touch symbolises the enduring relevance of the myth and encourages everyone to become part of Project Orpheus.
The project also reflects the ethos of The King’s Foundation, which is rooted in His Majesty King Charles III’s philosophy of Harmony — the belief that all aspects of nature and humanity are interconnected. Now in its 35th year, the charity highlights that the mosaic embodies its core values of education, sustainability, heritage craft, and wellbeing.
Now installed in pride of place on a school wall, the mosaic has already become a focal point for the school community. St Mary’s feels extremely fortunate to house such an inspiring work of art — one that not only enriches the school environment but also stands as a testament to creativity, collaboration, and the power of shared craftsmanship.
What a joyful and uplifting week we have had as our school community came together in the church for the iSingPop concerts last week. The children worked incredibly hard with Ellie from the iSingPop team, learning songs and moves and - most importantly - messages about kindness, hope and unity. The children truly shone in the church and we are so proud of them.
ISingPop is a Christian organisation that works with schools to create collective worship experiences. They teach the whole school value driven songs that are inspirational and extremely catchy. The children love the songs.
We are extremely grateful to St. Mary's Church and the PTFA who have helped us fund this project.
A huge thank you to Tetbury Trees for kindly donating a wonderful Christmas tree making our school hall look extra festive.
Not only did they choose and donate a beautiful tree but they kindly delivered it too. We are looking forward to all our Christmas activities and events including the upcoming Reception production of A Little Nativity and Year 1 and 2's production of The Grinch!
Invitation to Open Mornings
If you have a child who is due to start school in September 2026 we invite you to have a look around our school and meet our staff on the morning of the 9th October or 23rd October.
To register your place at these open mornings please go to Open Morning Bookings
We look foward to meeting you.
Welcome!
Welcome back to the start of the new school year. We hope you enjoyed the summer holidays and that you were able to relax and enjoy time with family and friends in the glorious weather. Whether your child is joining us for the first time, or returning after the holidays, we are delighted that you are part of the St. Mary’s School community.
It has been lovely to welcome the children back into school this week and hear all their news about the holidays. Over the summer we have had work done on the school site, including new fencing and Mr Morris and the cleaning staff have been busy getting the building ready for the new school year.
Over the holidays, the staff have been preparing classrooms and lessons to inspire children’s curiosity and we of course remain committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment where all children can flourish.
We are delighted to welcome several new members of staff to the team this year. We have a new Deputy Head, Mr Ball, who is teaching in Ash class on Thursdays and Fridays. Mr Ball will be around at the start and end of the school day on the days when he isn’t teaching and is available to support children or parents and answer any questions you may have. We also welcome Mr Buckland who is teaching Maple Class this year, Miss Hawkins in Willow class and Miss Janes in Beech Class.
We look forward to a year filled with learning, laughter, and lasting memories. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions—we are here to help
We have come to the end of what has been an exceptionally busy term and academic year.
We held a whole school collective worship to reflect on endings and beginnings and we finished with the following quote from Dr Seuss:
We say goodbye today to our Year 6 pupils, some staff and a few others who will be leaving St. Mary's to embark on new adventures. We hope they will all look back on our school with happy memories of their time spent here. I have received some lovely cards and messages from families this week praising the work of the school and the difference St. Mary's has made for them.
That is due to the absolute commitment of our staff who put the children at the centre of all they do and go above and beyond everyday to meet the needs of each and every child.
I would like to say a huge thankyou to all of them and I hope that they enjoy a good rest over the summer before they begin their preparations for next year.
The last two weeks has brought much laughter and joy. Sportly returned to school and the pupils and staff loved the climbing wall. Tennis club enjoyed going up to SWR on Friday to play on the courts and Year 6 had an amazing time at Bowood Park on Monday.
Year 5 also enjoyed a rocket workshop at SWR and we all had a fun French Day organised brilliantly by Madame Fuller. The Year 6 Leavers' BBQ was lots of fun on Wednesday evening and Year 6 had a very happy morning yesterday at their water fight.
Thank to our hard working PTFA who have continued to raise funds over the year to enhance the education of all the children in the school and to parents who have supported fund raising events. These funds enhance the offer we provide.
We re-open for pupils on Wednesday 3 September. I wish you all a very happy summer holiday.
With best wishes,
Mrs J Woolley
Headteacher
VE Day Celebrations
This morning, we met together for a very special collective worship for VE day. Led by Mrs Woolley, we thought about why it is important for us to celebrate and remember the 80th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War in Europe.
This evening, some children from KS2 will be joining in with Tetbury's VE Day celebrations at the Goods Shed. They are delighted to be singing a song with others, including pupils from Sir William Romney school, before the lighting of the beacon.
Reflecting on VE Day, children shared their thoughts...
"We need to remember all those people who risked their lives for our nation - for us."
"It's important that we think about all those in the war, because it wouldn't be fair on those who lost their lives if we don't remember them."
"We remember and value the courage of all those who fought, helped and waited at home."
We are delighted to announce the return of our Saplings parent and baby/toddler group.
This will run every Thursday afternoon from 1st May and is a great way to meet new parents and families and get to know our school.
