Future-Ready Learning: AI and Innovation at St Mary’s

Innovation at St Mary’s: Everyone On Board for a Future Ready School!

“Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of great teachers can be transformational.” George Couros

This week St Mary’s has been buzzing with excitement as we took another bold step forward in our Innovation Strand. With the expert support of Mark Anderson, the ICT Evangelist, our whole school community came together to explore how technology and AI can help us teach, learn and work in smarter and more creative ways. It was hands-on, providing practical tips around how we can improve the girls’ learning AND save ourselves lots of time in the process!

On Monday, Prep and Senior teachers joined an extended CPD session designed to show how technology can bring learning to life. Staff explored NotebookLM, which can transform teaching materials into revision podcasts, and Napkin, which produces clear and memorable visual diagrams. We discovered how Canva can enhance presentations and videos, and even how AI tools like Suno and Sora can be used to create songs and videos as powerful learning aids. A highlight was listening to a country and western style song about St Mary’s: an unforgettable way of showing how creative AI can be! You can listen to it here if you’d like to. On Tuesday, the energy continued with a full programme for students, staff and governors. The day began with an assembly for Years 9–13, where pupils learnt how to harness AI to support revision and study. Every girl left Tuesday’s assembly with practical strategies to support her revision and study. Later, support staff explored how technology can simplify everyday communication and admin, while Staff Digital Ambassadors looked at subject specific opportunities. SLT and governors also had the opportunity to consider the long-term strategic role of innovation, and discuss how we embed it into school development planning effectively.

While we were excited to see what these new tools can offer, we also reflected on their limitations. AI has enormous potential, but it is no substitute for deep understanding, practice and reflection. Shortcuts may be tempting, but at St Mary’s we value the process of learning itself, and the independence, resilience and critical thinking that come with it. At St Mary’s we don’t want to use AI for the sake of it. It has to be purposeful.

Looking ahead, our next step will be to ensure parents feel confident in supporting their daughters. Not just to use these tools, but to use them well. We will also be introducing student digital leaders, giving our girls the opportunity to take ownership, lead innovation in their year groups and share best practice with their peers. By working together, and by staying true to our values of Embrace, Empower, Excel, we can ensure every girl at St Mary’s is equipped for the opportunities and challenges of the future.

Sam Kelly – Director of Innovation