As a Roman Catholic school, the Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School is committed to remain true to the gospel values which are at the very heart of our mission, our ethos and our educational vision. Business and Enterprise is concerned with the creation of wealth, which is an essential ingredient for social progress. We are seeking specialist status as a Business and Enterprise College to enable our pupils to develop a fuller understanding of how human energy and talent can be channeled in order to meet the needs of the local, national and global communities.

The principles that underpin the specialist school initiative are very much in keeping with our own values and ethos. Indeed, we believe that specialist status will give us the spur to raise achievement even further, improve the all-round educational experience of our girls and ensure that they are able to adapt to a world of rapid technological change. The specialist areas of Business, Maths and ICT will be our main focus, and we will also use specialist status to enrich our citizenship provision and enhance all other curriculum areas in each of the key stages. As an 11-18 girls’ school we are committed to extend the curriculum post-16, to increase participation in the specialist subject areas. 

Our concept of business embraces partnership with organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Enterprise relates to that dimension of the human spirit that seeks to develop the drive and initiative to ‘make things happen’. We therefore see business and enterprise when conducted for the common good as being in keeping with Christian ethical principles. Our aim is to enable the girls to develop into young women able to meet the challenges and expectations of a multilingual, ethnically diverse society and to empower them to succeed in a world of business currently dominated by men.

We will develop and promote Business and Enterprise skills in an environment where innovative approaches to teaching and learning enrich the school curriculum. We will inspire our girls at all key stages to participate in enterprise activities and create opportunities for them to follow a range of work-related pathways. We will provide girls with the skills necessary to maximise opportunities offered by employment, self employment, further training or higher education.

The community dimension provides an exciting opportunity for us to build a close working relationship with our designated partner secondary school, the local business sector and the wider community, as well as to enhance the close collaboration we currently enjoy with our family of feeder primary schools. We will use the results of our community audit to address the agreed identified needs of our partnership groups and to enhance opportunities for lifelong learning in the context of business and enterprise. The concept of partnership permeates our community bid.

Our vision is to produce ambitious young women who are competent, confident and capable of becoming leaders in the world of business and enterprise.

The glass ceiling is a barrier not only to individuals but to society as a whole. The time has come for women to break this barrier; to break the glass ceiling. – Dakotta J.K. Alex 1986.