Miss Mary Hare qualified as a teacher of the deaf at the age of 18 and opened her first school in 1916, in West Sussex, having previously taught children in her own home.  She devoted her entire life to teaching as well as promoting the idea of oral education for deaf children. She was determined to prove to the hearing world that deaf children were capable of academic excellence and today the Mary Hare organisation still follows her principles, believing that all children should have the opportunity for academic and personal success.

The Mary Hare Primary and Secondary Schools remain at the heart of our work, educating over 240 profoundly and severely deaf young people each year.  Mary Hare School is a registered charity and students come to us from all over the UK.  In 2008 the schools were inspected by Ofsted and judged to provide students with an ‘outstanding’ education.  Nearly all students leaving Mary Hare School go on to university or some other form of further / higher education. 

Our academic results at GCSE and A Level are equally outstanding and in terms of ‘Value Added’ success, Mary Hare School has consistently come top in the country since this measurement was introduced.  Language is at the heart of the education we provide and we place a great emphasis on the development of language skills, both in and out of the classroom.  All staff teach using an auditory/oral approach, without the use of signing.

 Mary Hare is now a true international centre of excellence in deaf education, working with families of children who are deaf as well as professionals working in the field of deafness.  As a Specialist Special School and a Training School, we are committed to sharing our experience and expertise with the wider community, of all ages.

The Trustees of the Mary Hare Foundation have  launched an Appeal to raise £1 million towards the building of a new boarding house for Year 11 pupils at Mary Hare School.

Mary Hare School educates children from all over the UK and for all but a few who live close enough to go home each day, pupils are obliged to board. Mary Hare School has an urgent need to develop and extend the boarding accommodation for the deaf children attending.  Its current facilities operate at almost 100% capacity each year.  The new boarding house will:

·         Provide study bedrooms, with internet access and a quiet area for homework for pupils at a critical time in their education

·         Provide two full accessible study bedrooms for pupils who have additional physical disabilities

·         Enable the School to increase the amount of boarding accommodation and thus increase the number of pupils attending the School

You can support this appeal by going to our website:  www.maryhare.org.uk

The Mary Hare organisation now embraces much more than ‘just’ the schools.  Our earmould laboratory is now the second largest manufacturer in the UK, bringing customers the latest technology combined with Mary Hare’s long term experience of working with deaf people. 

In 2006, Arlington Arts Centre was opened on the Mary Hare School campus. This unique venue is the only one of its kind specifically designed with the needs of deaf people to the fore.  As well as housing the Music teaching department and a recording studio for the school, the Centre contains a Music Therapy Unit, a 250 seat theatre and a suite of Meeting / Seminar Rooms, all of which are open to the public.

Our hearing aid repair service and our high street Hearing Centres offer unique, specialist advice and support for adults with hearing loss.  Our Training Services division runs a wide range of development opportunities for professionals - ranging from short course seminars, to major international conferences and post-graduate training (in association with Oxford Brookes University).

All of these ancillary services support our work with profoundly deaf children at Mary Hare Schools, who remain the driving force behind the Mary Hare charity.