St Teresa's School

Infobox Secondary school
name = St Teresas School
motto = Gaudere et Bene Facere
type = Independent all-female
city = Dorking
state = Surrey
province = England
country = United Kingdom
established = 1928
head_label = Headmistress
head = Lesley Falconer
students = 370
website = [http://www.stteresasschool.com/ St Teresa's School's official website]

St Teresa's School is an independent school for girls aged 11-18 in Effingham, Surrey, England.

History

St Teresa's was founded by the Religious Order of Christian Instruction in 1928 on what was originally part of a manor site recorded in the Doomsday Book. The main house, dating from 1799, forms the centre of the Senior School, and has been extended to provide modern facilities. An all-weather pitch and new swimming pool complex were completed in 2000 and 2003 respectively and, in September 2005, music, drama and the arts benefited from a £3 million, 750-seat technologically equipped performing arts theatre hall, with new music and drama suites. Affectionately known as St T's or St Tease to the students, the school prides itself on the true sense of unity which is present throughout the school.

Location

St Teresa' is situated is in 45 acres of beautiful rural grounds in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty amid the Surrey hills. In 1953 a separate preparatory School was established at Grove House, in the village of Effingham about a mile away.

Toni Mascolo (co-founder of Toni & Guy) lives next-door to the school and is rumoured to occasionally invite the students over. His peacocks are regularly seen roaming the school.

Academics

The school has boarders (full, weekly and flexible boarding) and day girls. The Headmistress is Lesley Falconer. The school motto is 'GAUDERE ET BENE FACERE'-Latin for 'REJOICE AND DO WELL'. There is also a prep school, St Teresa's Preparatory School for girls aged 3–11. The school was ranked 12th in the UK in 2006 in the Department for Education and Skills League Tables measuring the value added by schools to their pupils’ achievements. The school was also rated 6th according to A-level scores on the bbc league table for 2008.

Admissions

Entry to St. Teresa's is selective, and is based on Entrance Examination with papers in English, Maths, Science and Verbal Reasoning.

Notable Alumnae

Past pupils are known as "STOGies" (St Teresa's Old Girls)

*Lynne Reid Banks, former actress and Author
*Lara Goodison, contestant
*Faye Maschler, Restaurant and food critic
*Jennifer Michelmore, Actress

House Systems

The students are separated into four houses which named after saints:

*Benedict
*Dominic
*Ignatius
*Francis

An inter-house festival takes place annually in November and the students compete in Drama, Music and Dance. This year, St Benedict won the festival with their 'Annie' based performance.

External links

* [http://www.stteresasschool.com St Teresa's School Official Site]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/07/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/936_gcse_lea.stm]