School spotlights

Wisbech Grammar School

Wisbech Grammar Prep School knows that choosing the right Early Years setting is a big decision and we are focused on ensuring every child that joins our Kindergarten and Reception class has the time to develop, grow and learn.

We pride ourselves on ensuring our children have opportunities to participate in a variety of endeavours that will help them to grow and succeed in all aspects of life. Beyond the classroom we provide an exciting programme of foreign languages, sport, science, music and forest school to name but a few.

Our class sizes are small and our teachers are passionate about ensuring every child is happy and reaches their full potential. As children progress, they get to take part in music and drama lessons, food and nutrition, more team sport, art and textiles and science lessons in our Senior School laboratories along with many other opportunities.

We aim to provide an all-round education that inspires, to unlock each child’s true potential – so they can be the very best they can be – and more.

Book onto a virtual coffee morning or book a personalised tour of our Early Years on Wednesday 24 March by contacting our Admissions Team on 01945 586750 or email admissions@wisbechgrammar.com

Oaks International School (OIS)

We are a small, friendly international school situated in Cherry Hinton Hall’s beautiful parkland. We welcome children from 2 to 11 years, from all over the world. Children who come to OIS learn in an environment that is unpressured, supportive, and inspiring. Our small class sizes mean that every child gets the individual attention and focus on their learning that they need, in a nurturing and caring environment.

For children who come to the school from a non-English speaking country, we offer EFL (English as a Foreign Language) lessons as part of the curriculum. We also offer a Mother tongue programme taught by native speakers, including Swedish, Mandarin, Spanish, German and Arabic. All children benefit from specialist teaching in Spanish, Music and Sport, and our Forest School and Outdoor Learning programme makes full use of our beautiful surroundings.

At OIS, helping every child reach their full potential is our passion. We believe every child is unique, and our caring and talented team of teachers take the time to get to know what motivates, challenges and inspires every one of them. We also get to know you, the parents, and our community is a very friendly and supportive one.

Admissions@oischool.co.uk Tel: 01223 416938

St Mary's School

St Mary’s School is the leading independent day and boarding school for girls aged three to eighteen in Cambridge. Our girls thrive academically and personally, nurtured by teachers dedicated to enabling them to fulfil their true potential.

Rated excellent by the Independent Schools Inspectorate, a St Mary’s education is about discovering and pursuing individual talents with confidence and drive. Our approach inspires girls to become great women – creative, agile, resilient learners, ready to make their mark in the world.

As a faith-based school, courage, respect, compassion and integrity are part of everyday life. This creates a supportive community, where happiness and wellbeing are a priority and each girl knows her voice will be heard and valued.

In 2020, a seamless shift to remote online learning evoked positive parental feedback, from our quality of teaching and leadership to communication, academic challenge and pupil wellbeing. Nonetheless, everyone at St Mary’s is looking forward to being back together in the classroom.

VISIT ST MARY’S

With new state-of-the-art sport facilities and a Preschool opening in September 2021, now is a great time for your daughter to join us. Discover what makes St Mary’s so special by booking a personal tour, or by accessing an ondemand open event.

Discover more: stmaryscambridge.co.uk/visit

HAVE YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES?

We first met Rita at her home. With her kind eyes and happy nature, Rita made us feel welcome from the moment we stepped in, immediately offering us a cup of tea. “I’m always knitting, I knit toys and baby clothes,” she announced cheerfully as she brought us our cups, moving her knitting out of the way. Her home was equally welcoming: countless photographs of international students she’s hosted adorned her walls: snapshots of birthday parties, days out and tea parties with her students spoke volumes about her commitment to providing the warmest possible welcome to all the international students she hosts.

To find out more about the art of hosting and what she’s learned from this experience, we took a quick sip of our tea and started asking away: You must have some great memories of the students who have stayed here. How long have you been hosting for? It’s been over three years now, and I’ve hosted over 80 students during these years. I haven’t got a computer, so I keep a record of everybody who has been here in a folder – it’s a neat record of students that have stayed with me and helps when they come back to visit, so I remember exactly who they were. Do you keep in touch with your students once they leave? Yes, I still keep in touch with quite a few of the students. They send me texts from time to time or write letters.

One girl from Switzerland had a baby recently, so I made a few bits for her and sent her some knitted clothes for the baby: a blanket and a cardigan and a bonnet. Yesterday I received a parcel full of sweets from her for my birthday!

Thanks for having us to visit Rita. Let’s start at the beginning: What made you begin hosting international students? Although I work part-time, I kept pondering and pondering what I could do to make a bit of extra money. My friend suggested hosting international students and that’s how it started. I’ve met some really nice people and made new friends on this journey; from time to time the students even write to me and get in touch. How do you greet the students when they arrive? When students arrive, I introduce myself and I show them to their room. We take it from there. That’s impressive! And this picture on the wall behind you – are these some of the students you have hosted? Yes! Last year, the school had an open evening and it happened to be my birthday. The school invited me to go and it was a really nice evening – I met lots of other host families. I told my students that I’d be away for the evening and when I came back home, the three girls I was hosting (from South Korea, France, and Japan) wouldn’t let me into the house! One of the girls said ‘you can’t come in, you can’t come in!’ After about twenty minutes they came out singing happy birthday, and when I stepped into the house, they had birthday tea set up, and even balloons all over the floor. It was a very nice surprise. Do they ever feel nervous when they arrive? I had one girl from France – it was in September-October – and she was very scared at first, but as I sat and spoke to her she gradually settled down. When I got to know her a bit better, she told me it was her first time on her own away from her family and she was really frightened and wasn’t sure if she would like it here or like me or like the school. Thankfully she started feeling comfortable very quickly.

What’s the longest period of time a student has stayed with you? Six months. And I have a few students arriving next week who are supposed to stay for eight months!

So lovely to meet you, Rita! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us! Thanks for coming! Lovely to meet you too!