Welcome

A very warm welcome to St Mary's Shrine and Academy. How did this all start...

St Mary's Academy is very much a grass roots academy inspired by an article written in the Dowry called 'The Villiage Option'. Click here to read the whole article. A few Homeschooling families from the Parish got together once a week on Wednesday to learn, pray and socialise. We decided that we would like more of the same thing and therefore wanted to increase it to two, then three days a week. We also realised that it needed to be more structured, so we created a curriculum and a number of resources. So essentially it has become a Catholic classical homeschooling-hybrid academy. There are two school days a week (Monday and Thursday), and this is planned to increase to three day from September 2024. We are a growing academy and currently have reached year 5. We intend to grow up to GCSE and maybe beyond. 

What is a online homeschool hybrid academy?

A homeschool hybrid is an educational model that combines elements of traditional homeschooling and traditional classroom schooling. In a homeschool hybrid program, students typically attend classes in a physical classroom setting part-time and are homeschooled part-time.

For example, a homeschool hybrid program might involve students attending classes at a physical school two or three days a week and then being homeschooled for the remaining days. The curriculum for the homeschool portion of the program is often tailored to the student's individual needs and interests.

Homeschool hybrids can be a good fit for families who want to have more control over their child's education while still providing opportunities for socialisation and learning in a structured classroom environment. They can also be a good fit for students who have special learning needs or who are pursuing interests or talents that are not typically addressed in a traditional classroom setting.