St James Schools forms a close-knit, inclusive and diverse community.
Upon entering the school, all pupils will join one of our four houses: St Genevieve, St Catherine, St Helena or St Margaret. Our vibrant vertical house programme is led by senior pupils.
Every year, we run several house competitions in a variety of activities such as debating, music, netball, lacrosse and, at the end of the academic year, our highly-anticipated Sports Day. We present a shield to the house with the highest number of hours spent engaged in community action and a trophy to the overall winner. We keep a running total of the house points pupils receive and the totals are displayed on our house noticeboard.
We host regular house lunches which enables pupils to get to know members of their house in different year groups. We also have a number of fun activities such as house quizzes.
Sharing a site with both the Prep School and Nursery School allows us to collaborate often on different projects, activities and school events.
Pupils regularly visit the Nursery for ‘Buddy Time’, when they can read with children, do puzzles or just have free play in the Nursery’s outside area.
Our pupils also benefit from working with our brother senior school in Ashford, Surrey, for activities such as lectures, debates, Model United Nations conferences, musical productions, and a variety of social events.
They can attend workshops, morning choir, art sessions, and are regularly invited to coffee mornings or lunches by the Head. They can also join our active parent charity fundraising group.
The Friends of St James represents the social and fundraising arm of all St James Schools. It is run by a committee of parents and a system of Parent Class Coordinators.
The Friends of St James runs a varied programme of events and initiatives throughout the year organised by parent volunteers and our Development Office, from the Prep School regular cake sales to larger events such as the Friends Christmas Fair. These raise funds to enhance the learning and recreational facilities at St James and contribute towards the Schools’ Bursary Fund.
Our Community Action Council provides a platform for pupils of all ages to contribute to a wide variety of projects. As they mature, they have opportunities to develop their involvement beyond participation, with the responsibility for planning and leadership resting with Sixth Formers.
Community Action activities can include: supporting Prep School readers, teaching Latin in a local primary school, cooking and serving afternoon tea to elderly visitors from local nursing homes and visiting homes for the elderly.
The school also chooses a charity to support each year. In recent years this has included The Future Hope School in Kolkata, Willberry Wonder Pony, St Mungo’s and The Dusty Yak Foundation, all of which have benefited from the pupils’ fundraising efforts.
The Seventh Form is run by our Development Office, and is an active member of our school community, which organises social events such as Alumni Matches, Art Sales or networking evenings.
You can follow them on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date.
