What Stmarys Catholic School does

St Mary's Catholic School is a state-funded Catholic secondary school and sixth form located in Windhill, Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, UK (CM23 2NQ). Founded in 1896, the school serves students aged 11-18 across Years 7-13 and operates within the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust providing governance, shared resources, and brand positioning. Headcount is reported at 51-100 employees, and the school is led by Headteacher Deirdre McHugh (also Designated Safeguarding Lead). The institution received an Ofsted 2024 inspection rating of 'exceptional' for quality of education, 'exemplary' for pupil behaviour, and was described as 'a very special community'. In the 2025 cohort, 67 students were admitted to universities including Durham, King's College London, University of Birmingham (Medicine), University of Exeter (Law), and University of Warwick.

The school's technology ecosystem is built on third-party SaaS platforms rather than proprietary infrastructure: Go4Schools for student information and parent reporting, ParentPay for online payments (trips, music lessons, lunch cards), SHARP for anonymous safeguarding concern reporting, Unifrog for careers guidance, and Juniper Websites for the school website. Microsoft Teams supports careers information sharing. Core products comprise Years 7-11 secondary education following the National Curriculum with a Catholic ethos, a Sixth Form offering A-levels and BTEC qualifications, and add-on enrichment modules including UCAS preparation, Duke of Edinburgh Award, EPQ, mental health and pastoral support, Catholic Life programmes, and Student Leadership.

The revenue model is predominantly government funding via the academy trust for statutory education (no tuition fees), classified as recurring subscription-equivalent income. Supplementary transaction-based revenue flows from optional paid services (school trips, music lessons, lunch cards) processed through ParentPay. Transportation is operated by independent third-party coach operators (BarkerBus Coaches, ACME Coaches) with no direct revenue to the school. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through a structured admissions process targeting Catholic families within defined parish boundaries, with awareness driven by word-of-mouth within the Catholic community, the school's website, prospectus, open days, and the trust's network communications.

Name

Stmarys Catholic School

Legal name

St Mary's Catholic School

Website

https://stmarys.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1896

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

St Mary's Catholic School is a state-funded Catholic secondary school and sixth form in Bishop's Stortford, UK, founded in 1896 and operated within the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy Trust, delivering National Curriculum and faith-based education to students aged 11-18.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

Keywords

• Secondary school education
• Catholic education services
• Sixth form education
• Academic curriculum programs
• Pastoral care services

Headquarters

HQ city

Clarksville, Tennessee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. State Education Funding (Academy Trust): As a school within the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy Trust, St Mary's receives government funding for delivering the national curriculum and Catholic education to enrolled students. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. School Transport Services: The school facilitates bus transportation through third-party operators (BarkerBus Coaches, ACME Coaches) serving the A10 corridor and local bus routes. These operate under commercial licences with no direct contract with the school; families pay operators directly. Revenue flows to transport providers rather than the school.
3. Supplementary Fee-Based Services: ParentPay is used for optional paid services including school trips, music lessons, and lunch cards. These are ancillary revenue streams supplementing the core educational offering.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

St Mary's Catholic School is a Catholic secondary school (Years 7-11) and Sixth Form (Years 12-13) in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, delivering the National Curriculum alongside Catholic religious formation. It provides academic programmes, university and careers preparation, enrichment activities (Duke of Edinburgh, EPQ, student leadership), and integrated pastoral and mental health support for students aged 11-18.

Product overview

St Mary's Catholic School operates as a unified educational institution offering secondary school education (Years 7-11) and Sixth Form education (Years 12-13). The school provides a comprehensive academic curriculum across core subjects (Sciences, Humanities, Languages, Arts, Business, and Technology) delivered through a traditional term-time structure. Supporting the core educational product, the school offers an integrated suite of enrichment modules including UCAS and university preparation services, a structured careers programme, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), mental health and pastoral support, Catholic Life and enrichment activities, and student leadership opportunities. These supplementary programmes function as essential add-on modules that differentiate the school's offering and support student development beyond the core curriculum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Secondary School Education (Years 7-11)
• Sixth Form Education
• University Preparation Programme
• Careers Programme
• Mental Health and Pastoral Support
• Duke of Edinburgh Award Programme
• Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)
• Catholic Life and Enrichment
• Student Leadership Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Ofsted 2024 rated quality of education as 'exceptional'
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• St Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Mary's Catholic School is a member of the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy Trust, a multi-academy trust providing educational oversight, shared resources, and brand positioning across its member schools. The trust operates a shared website (stfrancistrust.net) and issues trust-wide communications. The trust's mission is 'the very best Catholic education now and for generations to come'.
• I Can You Can TooflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerI Can You Can Too is a social enterprise charity offering a ten-month programme exclusively to Year 12 students. It provides professional coaching, immersive work experiences, and connections to role models across top industries (finance, law, healthcare). St Mary's is one of only four schools nationally with this prestigious partnership, enabling students to gain career-boosting skills and stand out in higher education, apprenticeship, and employment applications.
• BarkerBus CoachesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBarkerBus Coaches operates home-to-school bus services along the A10 corridor to/from St Mary's. Routes are not shared with students from other schools. All bookings and enquiries are made directly with the company at 01279 793 800. The school has a Travel Coordinator (Mrs Crowhurst) who meets buses each morning and sees them off each afternoon.
• ACME CoachesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorACME Coaches operates a public bus service to St Mary's. All bookings and enquiries are made directly with the company. The school travel coordinator facilitates these services but has no direct contract.
• St Francis of Assisi (Across) — Lourdes PilgrimageminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Mary's students have the opportunity to participate in an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes with Across (a Catholic pilgrimage organisation) during Easter, as student ambassadors for the school community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School: Prominent Catholic boys' secondary school in London with strong university destination outcomes (Oxbridge, Medicine) and Ofsted recognition. Closely comparable in faith-based ethos, academic rigour, and selective Catholic admissions positioning.
• St Bonaventure's School: Catholic boys' secondary school in Forest Gate, London/Newham, with strong state-funded Catholic ethos and high university destination outcomes. Comparable in mission, faith-based admissions criteria, and academic positioning.
• Bishop Challoner Catholic School: Catholic secondary school in London East End offering faith-based education with strong pastoral care and university preparation. Comparable in mission, scale, and selective Catholic intake.
• The John Henry Newman School: Catholic secondary school in Stevenage (note: distinct from St John Henry Newman School), operating as part of a multi-academy trust. Comparable in Academy Trust governance model, faith-based ethos, and Hertfordshire catchment competition.

Regional players

• St John Henry Newman Catholic School: Catholic secondary school in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, operating within the same county as St Mary's. Directly comparable in faith-based ethos, secondary curriculum, and parish-tied admissions model; competes for Catholic families across Hertfordshire.
• Hockerill Anglo-European College: State-funded secondary school in Bishop's Stortford, directly competing in the same local catchment for student enrolments. Comparable as a local secondary option, though without the faith-based ethos.
• Bishop's Stortford College: Leading independent co-educational school in Bishop's Stortford, sharing the same local catchment. Comparable geographically and at the secondary/Sixth Form level; competes for families seeking premium secondary education in the town, though operates as fee-paying independent.
• St Edmund's College: Independent Catholic school in Ware, Hertfordshire, providing secondary education with a Catholic ethos. Comparable geographically and in faith-based offering, though operates as independent fee-paying rather than state-funded academy.

Emerging players

• St Joseph's College: Faith-based secondary school operating under multi-academy trust governance in England. Comparable in Catholic mission, state-funded Academy Trust funding model, and emphasis on pastoral care alongside academic outcomes.

Others

• Dunstable Catholic Education Trust: Multi-academy trust operating Catholic schools in the Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire region. Comparable as a sibling organisational model to the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Academy Trust; represents an alternative governance structure for similar Catholic secondary institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/stmaryscatholicschool_1896
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stmarys-catholic-school

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stmarys Catholic School