It was affiliated with the Church of England and had close ties with its founding order, the Community of St Mary the Virgin.

His main aims were, first, to revive the religious life in England and second, to improve education.

Sister Annie Louisa was responsible for the chief structural improvements at St Mary's including a science wing and the conversion of an old barn into a gymnasium.

By the time Sister Annie Louisa left in 1919, St Mary's was recognised as a “public school with an unusually high standard of scholarship”.

[citation needed] In 2005 the buildings were purchased for around £15m by the property developer Anton Bilton and his company, Raven Mount.