The History of St Mary’s Church of England Primary School

St Mary’s School has served the local Church and community since it was founded by the local Church of England parish in 1872.  Kilburn was developing quickly as a residential and commercial centre and there was a real need for a primary school for local children.  The original school was tucked away close to the Kilburn High Road at the end of West End Lane and had something of the intimacy of a village school.  In those days there were still some fields in the area and Queen Victoria is said to have strolled in the area taking the air away from the polluted atmosphere of London itself!

For over 100 years the school remained on its original site and generations of local children went through the gates and on to all kinds of careers and lives.  But the original Victorian buildings were cramped, increasingly unsuited to modern teaching and had only a tiny playground and so in the 1970’s a prime site was found on the corner of Quex Road and West End Lane.  The Bishop of London opened St Mary's new school building in July 1991.

The new building and grounds were designed by Hans Haenlein MBE and his associates, in a partnership of the school governors, the London Diocesan Board for Schools and the Inner London Education Authority.

The building is laid out around an internal quadrangle with the central space of the school in effect a covered courtyard that can be divided with movable screens and furniture. This gives a flexible space for small group work and can be cleared to open up into a large space for our regular school performances. Outside there are separate playgrounds for Infants and Juniors, grassed areas and an ecology garden and pond. The school also has its own mini-recycling centre.

In 1998 we opened a long-planned new nursery class, with its own playground and provides a firm basis for the children's progression through into the school.

St Mary’s has served this community for over 130 years and some of our children are from the fourth generation of their family to come to the school. Many others are new not just to the school but to this country and our school reflects the changing nature of London .  Our children speak over foreign 30 languages as well as English and it seems that most can speak at least two and sometimes three or more.  The school is enriched by the wide range of cultures that our children come from and we work hard to create a community in which all are respected and given the space and resources to learn and achieve. 

Our staff and Governors are very conscious of our schools history of service to this local community and are building on these strong foundations for an equally happy and successful future for our children and our school.  We do hope that you will want to be a part of that future too.