Welcome

On behalf of the children, staff and governors of St Mary’s Primary School and Nursery Unit, I am delighted to welcome you to our school website.

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School was established in 1964 and is situated in the middle of the town of Bellaghy. County Derry. Our Nursery Unit was opened in 2002, expanding our provision for the children of Bellaghy.

We believe that all children are life time learners. We know that children learn best when they feel happy, secure and well cared for. Therefore our first priority is the provision of strong pastoral care in a nurturing environment of catholic faith. We aim to develop in our children a passion and love of learning by providing an enriched, broad and balanced curriculum; that delivers a high quality, inclusive education for all, so that each may reach their full potential.

I sincerely hope that you will find our website to be an extremely useful resource, helping you to engage with your child’s educational journey through St Mary’s. Should you require any further information on admissions or would like to visit the school at any stage, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Mrs Mary McCann

Principal

Welcome

Latest News

Christmas Fun in a Box!

15th Dec 2025

Step inside, don’t be shy, A Christmas box that’s full of joy! ...

Christmas Dinner in P.3

15th Dec 2025

What a merry day for Primary 3! The tables were full of tasty treats, and the room...

P7 Christmas Dinner!

15th Dec 2025

Primary 7 enjoying their final Christmas Dinner in St Mary’s!

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Christmas Fun in a Box! Step inside, don’t be shy, A Christmas box that’s full of joy! With shiny tinsel and baubles bright, P.3’s smiles are pure delight. Snap a photo, strike a pose, Festive cheer from head to toes!

Christmas Dinner in P.3 What a merry day for Primary 3! The tables were full of tasty treats, and the room was buzzing with excitement as everyone enjoyed their Christmas dinner together. There were big smiles, lots of laughter, and even a few festive songs shared around the table. It was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season—good food, great friends, and plenty of Christmas cheer! A big thank-you to our amazing kitchen team and staff for making this special day possible.

ECO Committee - Christmas Jumper Swap & Donation Drive! As part of the Eco Committee work this term, our pupils organised a Christmas Jumper Swap & Donation Drive to help both the environment and our local community. Pupils and staff kindly donated, clean, pre loved Christmas jumpers which were swapped, giving everyone the chance to enjoy a “new” festive jumper in a sustainable way. The remaining jumpers were donated to the local charity, ensuring nothing went to waste. A huge thank you to Mary and Elish for meeting with the Eco Committee and to all parents for their continued support. Happy Christmas!

Getting ready for Christmas in Primary 1! P1 have been very busy getting our classroom ready for Christmas. We have enjoyed wrapping presents, decorating our class tree and making lots of crafts to add sparkle to our classroom. We can’t wait for Christmas!

P.1/2 Christmas Dinner On Thursday 11th of December our class had a great time at the Christmas Dinner. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with our classmates, followed by a whole song sing-along of our favourite Christmas tunes! Thank you to the canteen ladies for the delicious food.

Christmas Spirit has arrived in P6! P6 asked to have Secret Santa in their class this year, and what a fabulous experience they all made it. Thank you parents! Every gift was well received and the joy of giving was evident to see!

Crafty time in P6! Linked to our Energy topic, P6 learned about looms and the famous engineer, James Watt. They created their own using paper and then with wool scraps, to make material. We also started our Christmas Crafts, using recyclable materials, to create decorations made with mixed media eg. Toilet roll tubes, wooden pegs, acrylic paint, wool scraps etc. Impressive!

Visits from St.Pius X and St.Mary’s Grammar Schools We were delighted to host Mr Friel from St.Pius X College and Mrs McCann from St.Mary’s Grammar School, Magherafelt this week. It was a great opportunity for our P6 and P7 children to see and hear about these wonderful schools, and to help them make informed decisions when their time comes to move onto secondary school. We were so pleased to welcome back past pupils to talk about their experiences in Year 8.

P6 Sentinus P6 had a fabulous time learning how to code with Roy McClelland. They used Microsoft Makecode Arcade and Makecode Microbit to programme microbit technology. A wonderful opportunity which P6 will build on and practice to create their own coding to submit to Sentinus in the new year!

Latest Photographs

Upcoming Events...

Monday, 15th December 2025
St Mary's PS & Nursery Unit Open Day at 9.30am - 10.30am (For Nursery & Primary Places) (For Parents Only )
Wednesday, 17th December 2025
P1 Nativity (School Hall - Parents and Family welcome)
Friday, 19th December 2025
Nursery Sing along - School Hall (at 9.30am - Parents and Family Welcome )

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