Bicentenary

Celebrating our 200th Anniversary!

In 2019 St. Mary’s CE Primary School is marking its bicentennial year and we would like you all to join in with the celebration!

St. Mary’s School was founded for “the benefit of the labouring classes of Putney”

St. Mary’s originated as a Sunday School run by the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Putney. In 1819 a Deed made it possible for St. Mary’s School to have its own building on agricultural land donated by Earl Spencer. It was created as a ‘National School’ by the ‘National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church in England and Wales’.

200 years later, St. Mary’s Church of England Primary School continues to serve the Parish of Putney and with our supportive community we are proud to mark this incredible achievement!

Our commemorative welcome sign; this sign was dedicated by The Bishop of Southwark, The Right Reverend Christopher Chessun, during our Service of Thanksgiving and Commemoration at St. Mary’s Church on Friday 1st March 2019.

Vision and Aims

Our bicentennial vision has 3 core elements:

Reflect on our past;
Celebrate our present;
Create a sustainable legacy for our future;

These core elements will be achieved through our strategic aims:

Celebrate 200 years of our school through a range of events;
Make physical improvements to our school which are energy efficient and sustainable;
Develop links with our community;
Raise funds to spend on lasting legacy projects and bicentenary celebrations;

Get involved

The St. Mary’s Bicentennial Planning Committee was set up back in 2017 to begin the process of commemorating the school’s forthcoming bicentenary. Made up of staff members and a supportive group of parents and carers our planning committee has grown to work on a range of initiatives that will help us to achieve our bicentennial vision and aims. Everyone is welcome to join our planning committee or to offer their skills – whether you are a former pupil, local business or an interested resident of Putney – please get in contact with the school to find out more and offer your support.

E-mail us at: 200years@st-marys-putney.wandsworth.sch.uk

We are looking for help with the following initiatives:

Bicentennial Ball
Marketing
Sponsorship
Sustainability
Alumni
Digital Communication
Silent Auction
Merchandise/mementos
History of St. Mary’s
Playground Development

Just some of the many celebratory cakes created for our anniversary; these cakes were kindly made by our catering staff.

Forthcoming events

Throughout 2019 we will be holding a number of celebratory events to mark the school’s 200th anniversary:

Monday 25th February to Friday 1st March 2019 – Bicentennial Week
Friday 1st March 2019 – Bicentennial Service of Thanksgiving and Commemoration at St. Mary’s Church
Friday 1st March 2019 – Bicentennial Open Afternoon for Alumni
Saturday 2nd March 2019 – Bicentennial Ball
Saturday 18th May 2019 – Bicentennial Art Fair and Exhibition
Saturday 29th June 2019 – Bicentennial Summer Fair and BBQ

Further events will be announced soon!

Bicentennial Fund

During our bicentennial year FoSMS (Friends of St. Mary’s School) will support the fundraising campaign – St. Mary’s School Bicentennial Fund – to raise money for the various projects that will mark the school’s bicentenary.

Our big fundraising project aims to raise enough money for the much needed redevelopment of the school’s playground and outdoor space.

We want St. Mary’s to have a playground and outdoor space that is functional, educational and sustainable. The project will see a complete transformation that will improve the school’s environment and enrich the children’s experiences.

FoSMS have created a donation page where you can donate directly to the Bicentennial Fund. To make a donation please click the link below:

⇒ Donate Now to the Bicentennial Fund

Playground Project 200

This will be a huge project for our school! We seek donations to help fund the creation of our new playground and outdoor space, which we expect to develop in stages. The more money raised, the more we can transform!

Our playground and outdoor space wish list includes:
– equipment and apparatus for active and exploratory play
– landscaped areas with trees, shrubs and grass
– nature and eco area with pond, composting and water butts
– biodome and vegetable patch
– resurfacing of the playground
– full sized netball court
– outdoor classroom
– outdoor gym
– adventure playground
– solar panels

For ideas of how our playground could be transformed take a look at the leaflet and presentation below:

⇒ Playground Project 200 Leaflet

You can donate directly to Playground Project 200 by simply clicking the link below:

⇒ Donate Now to Playground Project 200

St. Mary’s at 200 – Our Bicentennial Film

A short promotional film – St. Mary’s at 200 – was put together by a parent team on behalf of the school and was shown at our Bicentennial Ball on Saturday 2nd March 2019. You can view this film below: