Tag Archives: Mary Immaculate

60 Years of Mary Immaculate School

Mary Immaculate School Logo

Under the direction of Sister Bosco Costigan and Mother Eucharia Keane, 60 years ago this week, a small group of children stated their Catholic education at Haverfordwest. On January 15th 1957, the first ever lesson of the newly established school of Mary Immaculate took place. Deo Gratias!

That event was to change the direction of Catholic Schooling in Pembrokeshire because the County Town now had is own Catholic School perched on the edge of Merlin’s Hill. Originally housed in the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, the newly established school started to grow and additional buildings were built. The number of students on the roll increased and not before too long, a thriving community was established.

As time has passed there have been many successes recorded for the school, but also some setbacks too. Nevertheless, in all things God’s providence has given time for growth and development. Who can forget the tears when the sisters left and returned to Ireland, the joy and pride of the school band when they played for the Pope in Rome and the stunned despair when buildings were burnt down and work went up in smoke.

And yet today, pupils, parents and staff, both past and present, came together to celebrate our common heritage of all that has been and to usher in, with God’s blessing, all that will be.

As we look to the past history of Mary Immaculate School, may we be inspired with confidence to continue our mission together of “living and learning in the light of Christ.”

First Holy Communion.

HC 7

Congratulations and well done to those men and women of the parish who today received Holy Communion for the first time.  Many thanks to all those who helped to prepare them for this day of grace and to all those who had some part to play – be it decorating the church, preparing the breakfast party, and so on. It’s wonderful to see our school and parish coming together when our younger members receive the sacraments. May God bless you all and fill you with his strength and love. (More pictures here)

Mary Immaculate is a “Good School”

Mary Immaculate School Logo

The report of our recent school inspection shows that Mary Immaculate is a “good school.” This means that the school has: “many strengths and no important areas requiring significant improvement”.

Well done to the whole school community!

Mary Immaculate School

Mary Immaculate School

The inspectors found the school to be good because:

The school’s current performance is good because most pupils make good progress during their time at the school and achieve good standards in learning and wellbeing and most pupils develop effective speaking and listening skills during their time at the school. For those pupils who need  extra support, and those who are learning English as an additional language, they too make very good progress. Nearly all pupils get on well together and standards of behaviour are high with  rates of attendance which are good. The school has effective arrangements to monitor pupils’ progress and the school promotes healthy living well through the curriculum and extra-curricular activities.

In addition, the school’s prospects for improvement are good as well because the headteacher provides the school with a clear sense of direction and the school has established robust monitoring systems that identify areas for improvement effectively. All members of staff know the school’s strengths and the areas for improvement, and the outcomes from the self-evaluation report inform the school improvement plan successfully. There is a strong team ethos in the school, staff members at all levels are clear about their roles and responsibilities and there are a good range of partnerships that have a positive effect on pupils’ learning and wellbeing.

For a more detailed read, the report can be viewed here:

Estyn, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales – Report for Mary Immaculate V.R.C. School